Global distribution and climatic controls of natural mountain treelines

He，Xinyue1,2; Jiang，Xin1; Spracklen，Dominick V.2; Holden，Joseph3; Liang，Eryuan4,5; Liu，Hongyan6; Xu，Chongyang6; Du，Jianhui7; Zhu，Kai8,9; Elsen，Paul R.10; Zeng，Zhenzhong1

2023

10.1111/gcb.16885

Global Change Biology   Impact Factor & Quartile

1354-1013

1365-2486

Mountain treelines are thought to be sensitive to climate change. However, how climate impacts mountain treelines is not yet fully understood as treelines may also be affected by other human activities. Here, we focus on “closed-loop” mountain treelines (CLMT) that completely encircle a mountain and are less likely to have been influenced by human land-use change. We detect a total length of ~916,425 km of CLMT across 243 mountain ranges globally and reveal a bimodal latitudinal distribution of treeline elevations with higher treeline elevations occurring at greater distances from the coast. Spatially, we find that temperature is the main climatic driver of treeline elevation in boreal and tropical regions, whereas precipitation drives CLMT position in temperate zones. Temporally, we show that 70% of CLMT have moved upward, with a mean shift rate of 1.2 m/year over the first decade of the 21st century. CLMT are shifting fastest in the tropics (mean of 3.1 m/year), but with greater variability. Our work provides a new mountain treeline database that isolates climate impacts from other anthropogenic pressures, and has important implications for biodiversity, natural resources, and ecosystem adaptation in a changing climate.

alpine area climate forest boundary mountain ecosystems tree cover treeline

SCI

English

First ; Corresponding

National Natural Science Foundation of China[29/Y01296602] ; null[42071022] ; null[29/Y01296122] ; null[29/Y01296222]

Biodiversity & Conservation ; Environmental Sciences & Ecology

Biodiversity Conservation ; Ecology ; Environmental Sciences

WOS:001033797100001

WILEY

ENVIRONMENT/ECOLOGY

2-s2.0-85165501181

Scopus

1.School of Environmental Science and Engineering,Southern University of Science and Technology,Shenzhen,China
2.School of Earth and Environment,University of Leeds,Leeds,United Kingdom
3.School of Geography,University of Leeds,Leeds,United Kingdom
4.Key Laboratory of Alpine Ecology,Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research,Chinese Academy of Sciences,Beijing,China
5.CAS Center for Excellence in Tibetan Plateau Earth Sciences,Beijing,China
6.College of Urban and Environmental Science and MOE Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes,Peking University,Beijing,China
7.School of Geography and Planning,Sun Yat-Sen University,Guangzhou,China
8.Department of Environmental Studies,University of California,Santa Cruz,United States
9.Institute for Global Change Biology and School for Environment and Sustainability,University of Michigan,Ann Arbor,United States
10.Wildlife Conservation Society,Global Conservation Program,Bronx,United States

He，Xinyue,Jiang，Xin,Spracklen，Dominick V.,et al. Global distribution and climatic controls of natural mountain treelines[J]. Global Change Biology,2023.

He，Xinyue.,Jiang，Xin.,Spracklen，Dominick V..,Holden，Joseph.,Liang，Eryuan.,...&Zeng，Zhenzhong.(2023).Global distribution and climatic controls of natural mountain treelines.Global Change Biology.

He，Xinyue,et al."Global distribution and climatic controls of natural mountain treelines".Global Change Biology (2023).