Category: HN publications

This paper is the first step in developing a systematic map: defining a transparent protocol to conduct an unbiased systematic search of evidence. 
Systematic maps are a synthesis tool that integrate information to assess what (and how much) has been studied where. This protocol aims at assessing the status of knowledge and current evidence on the effects of herbivores on vegetation in the Arctic. Using a systematic map we will be able to identifying which environmental contexts can be understood with the current evidence and for which we do not have enough information.

You can find the published protocol here.

Reference: Soininen, E.M., Barrio, I.C., Jepsen, J.U., Ehrich, D., Ravolainen, V.T., Speed, J.D.M. (2018) Evidence of effects of herbivory on Arctic vegetation: a systematic map protocol. Environmental Evidence 7:23

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Picture: Willow ptarmigan (photo: Neil Paprocki)

Recent studies have shown that biotic interactions influence macroecological patterns and global dynamics, stressing the need to consider them outside local or regional scales. In the context of global changes affecting the dynamics and fate of whole biomes, we still know little about the role of key biotic interactions. In this study, the intensity of invertebrate background herbivory (low intensity but chronic herbivory) on one common tundra plant (Betula nana-glandulosa complex) is investigated across the tundra biome in relation to latitude and climate. Samples were collected from 56 locations across the tundra biome in the first coordinated effort to measure invertebrate herbivory in tundra, outside the well-studied effects of insect outbreaks. Background herbivory was detected at nearly all tundra sites. The intensity of background herbivory, although low, was mainly associated with higher temperatures. As such, invertebrate herbivory is likely to increase in a warmer Arctic. This paper represents the first coordinated effort combining two international research networks in the tundra: the Herbivory Network and the
Network for Arthropods of the Tundra (NeAT).

You can access the paper here.

Reference: Barrio, I.C., Lindén, E., TeBeest, M., Olofsson, J., Rocha, A., Soininen, E.M., Alatalo, J.M., Andersson,T., Asmus, A., Boike, J., Bråthen, K.A., Bryant, J.P., Buchwal, A., Bueno, C.G., Christie, K.S., Denisova, Y.V., Egelkraut, D., Ehrich, D., Fishback, L., Forbes, B.C., Gartzia, M., Grogan, P., Hallinger, M., Heijmans, M.M.P.D., Hik, D.S., Hofgaard, A., Holmgren, M., Høye, T.T., Huebner, D.C., Jónsdóttir, I.S., Kaarlejärvi, E., Kumpula, T., Lange, C.Y.M.J.G., Lange, J., Lévesque, E., Limpens, J., Macias-Fauria, M., Myers-Smith, I., van Nieukerken, E.J., Normand,S., Post, E.S., Schmidt, N.M., Sitters, J., Skoracka, A., Sokolov, A., Sokolova, N., Speed, J.D.M., Street, L.E., Sundqvist, M.K., Suominen, O., Tananaev, N., Tremblay, J.-P., Urbanowicz, C., Uvarov, S.A., Watts, D., Wilmking, M., Wookey, P.A., Zimmermann, H.H., Zverev, V., Kozlov, M.V. (2017) Background invertebrate herbivory on dwarf birch (Betula glandulosa-nana complex) increases with temperature and precipitation across the tundra biome. Polar Biology 40, 2265–2278

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This paper summarizes the need for herbivory studies and presents the protocols designed by the Herbivory Network.

Plant-herbivore interactions are central to the functioning of tundra ecosystems, but their outcomes vary over space and time. Accurate forecasting of ecosystem responses to ongoing environmental changes requires a better understanding of the processes responsible for this heterogeneity. To effectively address this complexity at a global scale, coordinated research efforts, including multi-site comparisons within and across disciplines, are needed. The Herbivory Network was established as a forum for researchers from Arctic and alpine regions to collaboratively investigate the multifunctional role of herbivores in these changing ecosystems. One of the priorities is to integrate sites, methodologies, and metrics used in previous work, to develop a set of common protocols and design long-term geographically-balanced, coordinated experiments. The implementation of these collaborative research efforts will also improve our understanding of traditional human-managed systems that encompass significant portions of the sub-Arctic and alpine areas worldwide. A deeper understanding of the role of herbivory in these systems under ongoing environmental changes will guide appropriate adaptive strategies to preserve their natural values and related ecosystem services.

Reference: Barrio, I.C., Hik, D.S., Jónsdóttir, I.S., Bueno, C.G., Mörsdorf, M.A., Ravolainen, V.T. (2016) Herbivory Network: An international, collaborative effort to study herbivory in Arctic and alpine ecosystems. Polar Science 10: 297-302.

Link to publication / request a copy

Understanding the forces that shape biodiversity is essential for improving our ability to predict the responses of ecosystems to rapid, ongoing environmental change.  In the Arctic, herbivores often play a key role in the functioning of terrestrial ecosystems.  The diversity of herbivores varies across the Arctic, and until now, no one knew whether this was shaped by physical environmental factors, like temperature, or biotic factors, such as plant productivity.

We collected information on the distribution of all 73 species of vertebrate herbivores that occur in the Arctic.  Vertebrate herbivores are particularly important as they affect the structure and dynamics of plant communities and provide food for higher trophic-level predators.  The results of this study showed that herbivore diversity in the Arctic is higher in areas with greater plant productivity and with higher diversity of predators.  The interactions between plants, herbivores and predators, occurred over large spatial scales across the Arctic, in ecosystems where patterns of biodiversity were supposed to be affected mainly by temperature variation.

Reference: Barrio, I.C., Bueno, C.G., Gartzia, M., Soininen, E.M., Christie, K.S., Speed, J.D., Ravolainen, V.T., Forbes, B.C., Gauthier, G., Horstkotte, T., Hoset, K.S., Høye, T.T., Jónsdóttir, I.S., Lévesque, E., Mörsdorf, M.A., Olofsson, J., Wookey, P.A. and Hik, D.S. (2016) Biotic interactions mediate patterns of herbivore diversity in the Arctic. Global Ecology and Biogeography 
25(9):1108-1118

Link to publication

The very first HN publication was a short note about some of our discussions at the ASSW 2014 workshop in Helsinki.

You can find the paper here [in Spanish]

Reference: Bueno, C.G., Barrio, I.C., Hik, D.S., Jónsdóttir, I.S., Mörsdorf, M.,  Ravolainen, V.T. (2014) Herbivoría de zonas árticas y alpinas en el contexto del cambio global. Revista Ecosistemas 23(2):163.