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1. Understanding the climate impacts on decadal vegetation change in northern Alaska

   https://doi.org/10.1139/as-2020-0050  

   Harris, Jacob A.; Hollister, Robert D.; Botting, Timothy F.; Tweedie, Craig E.; Betway, Katlyn R.; May, Jeremy L.; Barrett, Robert T.S.; Leibig, Jenny A.; Christoffersen, Hana L.; Vargas, Sergio A.; et al (September 2022, Arctic Science)

   The Arctic is experiencing rapid climate change. This research documents changes to tundra vegetation near Atqasuk and Utqiaġvik, Alaska. At each location, 30 plots were sampled annually from 2010 to 2019 using a point frame. For every encounter, we recorded the height and classified it into eight groupings (deciduous shrubs, evergreen shrubs, forbs, graminoids, bryophytes, lichens, litter, and standing dead vegetation); for vascular plants we also identified the species. We found an increase in plant stature and cover over time, consistent with regional warming. Graminoid cover and height increased at both sites, with a 5-fold increase in cover in Atqasuk. At Atqasuk, the cover and height of shrubs and forbs increased. Species diversity decreased at both the sites. Year was generally the strongest predictor of vegetation change, suggesting a cumulative change over time; however, soil moisture and soil temperature were also predictors of vegetation change. We anticipate that plants in the region will continue to grow taller as the region warms, resulting in greater plant cover, especially of graminoids and shrubs. The increase in plant cover and accumulation of litter may negatively impact non-vascular plants. Continued changes in community structure will impact energy balance and carbon cycling and may have regional and global consequences. 

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2. Functional properties improve predictions of long‐term productivity invariability but not resistance to drought

   https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.70421  

   Perez, Sierra B; Lau, Jennifer A (May 2026, Ecology)

   Abstract Identifying the factors mediating the resilience and invariability of plant communities and their associated ecosystem functions is critical to understand the ecological impacts of climate change. Prior work has explored how classic “community properties” (characterizing a community by species composition) regulate the resilience and invariability of ecosystem functioning. Mechanistically, community properties influence resilience and invariability via species' traits, and as a result, “functional properties” (characterizing a community via functional traits) might better predict these qualities. For example, functional traits associated with conservative resource‐use strategies (e.g., short stature, low specific leaf area [SLA], high leaf dry matter content [LDMC]) are expected to promote both resistance to periods of stress or resource limitation and long‐term invariability. While there is a strong conceptual basis linking functional traits and functional diversity to resilience and invariability, empirical evidence is thus far mixed, and sourcing accurate functional trait data may be challenging. Therefore, it is important to know if community properties are sufficient for evaluating the resilience and invariability of ecosystem functioning, or if functional properties provide necessary insights. Capitalizing on a decades‐long study, we tested the effects of plant functional and community properties on the resistance of ecosystem functioning (a component of resilience) to drought or long‐term invariability. Including functional properties did not improve our ability to explain primary productivity resistance to droughts but considerably improved our explanatory power for productivity invariability. Our results supported expectations that conservative trait strategies promote ecosystem functioning resistance to perturbations and temporal invariability. These findings highlight that the utility of functional properties in explaining the resilience and invariability of ecosystem functioning may depend on the attribute under consideration and that functional properties may primarily be useful for identifying the traits promoting resilience and invariability. 

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3. MoveTraits —A Database for Integrating Animal Behaviour Into Trait‐Based Ecology

   https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.70297  

   Beumer, Larissa T; Hertel, Anne G; Royauté, Raphaël; Tucker, Marlee A; Albrecht, Jörg; Beltran, Roxanne S; Cagnacci, Francesca; Davidson, Sarah C; Dejid, Nandintsetseg; Kays, Roland; et al (January 2026, Ecology Letters)

   ABSTRACT Trait‐based approaches are key to understanding eco‐evolutionary processes but rarely account for animal behaviour despite its central role in ecosystem dynamics. We propose integrating behaviour into trait‐based ecology through movement traits—standardised and comparable measures of animal movement derived from biologging data, such as daily displacements or range sizes. Accounting for animal behaviour will advance trait‐based research on species interactions, community structure and ecosystem functioning. Importantly, movement traits allow for quantification of behavioural reaction norms, offering insights into species’ acclimation and adaptive capacity to environmental change. We outline a vision for a ‘living’ global movement trait database that enhances trait data curation by (1) continuously growing alongside shared biologging data, (2) calculating traits directly from individual‐level data using standardised, consistent methodology and (3) providing information on multi‐level (species, individual, within‐individual) trait variation. We present a proof‐of‐concept ‘MoveTraits’ database with 52 mammal and 97 bird species, demonstrating calculation workflows for 5 traits across multiple timescales. Movement traits have significant potential to improve trait‐based global change predictions and contribute to global biodiversity assessments as Essential Biodiversity Variables. By making animal movement data more accessible and interpretable, this database could bridge the gap between movement ecology and biodiversity policy, facilitating evidence‐based conservation. 

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4. Effects of Grazing, Wind Erosion, and Dust Deposition on Plant Community Composition and Structure in a Temperate Steppe

   https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-020-00526-3  

   Zheng, Mengmei; Song, Jian; Ru, Jingyi; Zhou, Zhenxing; Zhong, Mingxing; Jiang, Lin; Hui, Dafeng; Wan, Shiqiang (June 2020, Ecosystems)

   Grazing can affect plant community composition and structure directly by foraging and indirectly by increasing wind erosion and dust storms and subsequently influence ecosystem functioning and ecological services. However, the combined effects of grazing, wind erosion, and dust deposition have not been explored. As part of a 7-year (2010–2016) field manipulative experiment, this study was conducted to examine the impacts of grazing and simulated aeolian processes (wind erosion and dust deposition) on plant community cover and species richness in a temperate steppe on the Mongolian Plateau, China. Grazing decreased total cover by 4.2%, particularly the cover of tall-stature plants (> 20 cm in height), but resulted in 9.1% greater species richness. Wind erosion also reduced total cover by 17.0% primarily via suppressing short-stature plants associated with soil nitrogen loss, but had no effect on species richness. Dust deposition enhanced total cover by 5.7%, but resulted in a 7.3% decrease in species richness by driving some of the short-stature plant species to extinction. Both wind erosion and dust deposition showed additive effects with grazing on vegetation cover and species richness, though no detectable interaction between aeolian processes and grazing could be detected due to our methodological constraints. The changes in gross ecosystem productivity, ecosystem respiration, and net ecosystem productivity under the wind erosion and dust deposition treatments were positively related to aeolian process-induced changes in vegetation cover and species richness, highlighting the important roles of plant community shifts in regulating ecosystem carbon cycling. Our findings suggest that plant traits (for example, canopy height) and soil nutrients may be the key for understanding plant community responses to grassland management and natural hazards. 

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5. Plant trait and vegetation data along a 1314 m elevation gradient with fire history in Puna grasslands, Perú

   https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-024-02980-3  

   Halbritter, Aud H; Vandvik, Vigdis; Cotner, Sehoya H; Farfan-Rios, William; Maitner, Brian S; Michaletz, Sean T; Oliveras_Menor, Imma; Telford, Richard J; Ccahuana, Adam; Cruz, Rudi; et al (December 2024, Scientific Data)

   Abstract Alpine grassland vegetation supports globally important biodiversity and ecosystems that are increasingly threatened by climate warming and other environmental changes. Trait-based approaches can support understanding of vegetation responses to global change drivers and consequences for ecosystem functioning. In six sites along a 1314 m elevational gradient in Puna grasslands in the Peruvian Andes, we collected datasets on vascular plant composition, plant functional traits, biomass, ecosystem fluxes, and climate data over three years. The data were collected in the wet and dry season and from plots with different fire histories. We selected traits associated with plant resource use, growth, and life history strategies (leaf area, leaf dry/wet mass, leaf thickness, specific leaf area, leaf dry matter content, leaf C, N, P content, C and N isotopes). The trait dataset contains 3,665 plant records from 145 taxa, 54,036 trait measurements (increasing the trait data coverage of the regional flora by 420%) covering 14 traits and 121 plant taxa (ca. 40% of which have no previous publicly available trait data) across 33 families. 

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