International Tundra Experiment ITEX - Expert Network Monitoring Plan. Supporting publication to the CAFF Circumpolar Biodiversity Monitoring Program Framework Document

Currently, the International Tundra Experiment, ITEX, is a collaborative effort involving scientists from more than 11 countries, including all the Arctic nations, and involves research teams at more than two dozen circumpolar and alpine tundra sites. After a successful decade where the focus has been on plants and plant communities, initiatives are now being encouraged within the network to consider other trophic levels and landscape diversity as a next step towards a better understanding of terrestrial ecosystem responses to climate change. From this perspective, participation in the Circumpolar Biodiversity Monitoring Program of CAFF (Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna Working Group of the Arctic Council), would match well with future long-term goals of ITEX

Warming shortens flowering seasons of tundra plant communities

Advancing phenology is one of the most visible effects of climate change on plant communities, and has been especially pronounced in temperature-limited tundra ecosystems. However, phenological responses have been shown to differ greatly between species, with some species shifting phenology more than others. We analysed a database of 42,689 tundra plant phenological observations to show that warmer temperatures are leading to a contraction of community-level flowering seasons in tundra ecosystems due to a greater advancement in the flowering times of late-flowering species than early-flowering species. Shorter flowering seasons with a changing climate have the potential to alter trophic interactions in tundra ecosystems. Interestingly, these findings differ from those of warmer ecosystems, where early-flowering species have been found to be more sensitive to temperature change, suggesting that community-level phenological responses to warming can vary greatly between biomes