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Aims We examined the importance of litter quality and microclimate on early-stage litter mass loss, analysed the importance of interactions among environmental factors in determining key decomposition parameters and compared the variation in decomposition rates in vegetation types and sites with similar climate. Methods Following the Tea-Bag Index approach, 464 tea-bags were incubated in the soil in 79 sites, distributed across Italy, which included six vegetation types and a broad range of microclimatic conditions. Results Litter type exerted a stronger control on mass loss compared to climatic factors. The effects of soil moisture were not the same for high and lower quality litter. In addition, the effects of temperature on the decomposition rate depended on soil moisture. The stabilization factor was strongly temperature-dependent, but the influence of temperature differed among vegetation types: those dominated by small-size plants showed a strong decrease in the potential amount of plant material entering into the soil stock under warmer temperatures. The lowest variation in decomposition rate was found in sites characterised by low temperatures, and, among the vegetation types, in alpine snowbeds. Conclusions The role of litter quality and of the interactions among environmental conditions can potentially determine significant shifts in the expected patterns of ecosystem carbon fluxes.

Alpine snowbed communities are among the habitats most threatened by climate change. The warmer temperature predicted, coupled with advanced snowmelt time, will influence flowering phenology, which is a key process in species adaptation to changing environmental conditions and plant population dynamics. However, we know little about the effects of changing micro-climate on flowering time in snowbeds and the mechanisms underlying such phenological responses. The flowering phenology of species inhabiting alpine snowbeds was assessed with weekly observations over five growing seasons. We analysed flowering time in relation to micro-climatic variation in snowmelt date, soil and air temperature, and experimental warming during the snow-free period. This approach allowed us to test hypotheses concerning the processes driving flowering phenology. The plants were finely tuned with inter-annual and intra-seasonal variations of their micro-climate, but species did not track the same micro-climatic feature to flower. At the growing-season time-scale, the air surrounding the plants was the most common trigger of the blooming period. However, at the annual time-scale, the snowmelt date was the main controlling factor for flowering time, even in warmer climate. Moreover, spatial patterns of the snowmelt influenced the developmental rate of the species because in later snowmelt sites the plants needed a lower level of heat accumulation to enter anthesis. Phenological responses to experimental warming differed among species, were proportional to the pre-flowering time-span of plants, and did not show consistent trends of change over time. Finally, warmer temperature produced an overall increase of flowering synchrony both within and among plant species.

Understanding the timescales that shape spatial genetic structure is pivotal to ascertain the impact of habitat fragmentation on the genetic diversity and reproductive viability of long-lived plant populations. Combining genetic and ecological information with current and past fragmentation conditions allows the identification of the main drivers important in shaping population structure and declines in reproduction, which is crucial for informing conservation strategies. Using historic aerial photographs, we defined the past fragmentation conditions for the shrub Conospermum undulatum, a species now completely embedded in an urban area. We explored the impact of current and past conditions on its genetic layout and assessed the effects of genetic and environmental factors on its reproduction. The historically high structural connectivity was evident in the genetics of the species. Despite the current intense fragmentation, we found similar levels of genetic diversity across populations and a weak spatial genetic structure. Historical connectivity was negatively associated with genetic differentiation among populations and positively related to within-population genetic diversity. Variation partitioning of reproductive performance explained ~ 66% of the variance, showing significant influences for genetic (9%), environmental (15%), and combined (42%) fractions. Our study highlights the importance of considering the historical habitat dynamics when investigating fragmentation consequences in long-lived plants. A detailed characterization of fragmentation from 1953 has shown how low levels of genetic fixation are due to extensive gene flow through the non-fragmented landscape. Moreover, knowledge of the relationships between genetic and environmental variation and reproduction can help to implement effective conservation strategies, particularly in highly dynamic landscapes.

Open top chambers (OTCs) were adopted as the recommended warming mechanism by the International Tundra Experiment (ITEX) network in the early 1990’s. Since then, OTCs have been deployed across the globe. Hundreds of papers have reported the impacts of OTCs on the abiotic environment and the biota. Here we review the impacts of the OTC on the physical environment, with comments on the appropriateness of using OTCs to characterize the response of biota to warming. The purpose of this review is to guide readers to previously published work and to provide recommendations for continued use of OTCs to understand the implications of warming on low stature ecosystems. In short, the OTC is a useful tool to experimentally manipulate temperature, however the characteristics and magnitude of warming varies greatly in different environments, therefore it is important to document chamber performance to maximize the interpretation of biotic response. When coupled with long-term monitoring, warming experiments are a valuable means to understand the impacts of climate change on natural ecosystems.

In ecological theory, it is currently unclear if intraspecific trait responses to environmental variation are shared across plant species. We use one of the strongest environmental variations in alpine ecosystems, i.e., advanced snowmelt due to climate warming, to answer this question for alpine snowbed plants. Snowbeds are extreme habitats where long-lasting snow cover represents the key environmental factor affecting plant life. Intraspecific variation in plant functional traits is a key to understanding the performance and vulnerability of species in a rapidly changing environment. We sampled snowbed species after an above-average warm winter to assess their phenotypic adjustment to advanced snowmelt, based on differences in the natural snowmelt dynamics with magnitudes reflecting predicted future warming. We measured nine functional traits related to plant growth and reproduction in seven vascular species, comparing snowbeds of early and late snowmelt across four snowbed sites in the southern Alps in Italy. The early snowbeds provide a proxy for the advanced snowmelt caused by climatic warming. Seed production was reduced under advanced snowmelt in all seed-forming snowbed species. Higher specific leaf area (SLA) and lower leaf dry matter content (LDMC) were indicative of improved growth potential in most seed-forming species under advanced snowmelt. We conclude, first, that in the short term, advanced snowmelt can improve snowbed species' growth potential. However, in the long term, results from other studies hint at increasing competition in case of ongoing improvement of conditions for plant growth under continued future climate warming, representing a risk for snowbed species. Second, a lower seed production can negatively affect the seed rain. A reduction of propagule pressure can be crucial in a context of loss of the present snowbed sites and the formation of new ones at higher altitudes along with climate warming. Finally, our findings encourage using plant functional traits at the intraspecific level across species as a tool to understand the future ecological challenges of plants in changing environments.

This study aimed to assess the impact of different biochar (BCH) applications (0%, 10%, 20%, and 50%, v/v) on soil respiration in a European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) forest located in the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines. The experiment was conducted over four months during summer 2023. Results revealed that BCH applications did not significantly affect overall soil respiration. On the other hand, soil respiration was positively influenced by soil temperature and soil moisture, the latter only for the 10% and 20% BCH amendments. At higher BCH concentrations (50%), soil respiration was not enhanced by moisture, probably due to soil water saturation and reduced oxygen availability. In conclusion, it appears that BCH does not directly stimulate soil respiration in field conditions, although specific concentrations may improve soil carbon sequestration. These findings highlight the potential for BCH amendments to be employed as a climate-smart forestry strategy in support of carbon sequestration and ecosystem stability in temperate forest ecosystems.

In snowbed habitats, characterized by a long-lasting snow cover, the timing of snowmelt can be included among the major factors controlling plant phenology. Nevertheless, only a few ecological studies have tested the responses of flowering phenology of species growing in very late snow-free habitats to an advanced snowmelt (AS) date. The aim of this study was to determine the impacts of an extremely earlier melt-out of snow on flowering phenology of vascular plant species inhabiting an alpine snowbed. The study was conducted in the high Gavia Valley (Italy, 2,700 m a.s.l.). On 30th May 2012, we removed manually the snow cover and set up an experiment with 5 AS and 5 control plots. Phenological observations of the most abundant vascular species were conducted every 4–6 days. Moreover, we calculated cumulative soil temperature and recorded the mortality of reproductive structures of three species. For several species flowering occurred earlier, and the prefloration period was extended in the AS treatment in comparison with the control. For the majority of species, cumulative soil temperatures in the AS treatment and the control were comparable, confirming that temperature exerts the main control on the flowering of the species inhabiting snowbeds. Earlier flowering species resulted more affected by an AS date in comparison with later flowering species. The mortality of reproductive structures did not increase in the AS treatments in comparison with the control suggesting that few and weak frost events in late spring do not affect the survival of reproductive structures of the species studied.

The relative contribution of bryophytes to plant diversity, primary productivity, and ecosystem functioning increases towards colder climates. Bryophytes respond to environmental changes at the species level, but because bryophyte species are relatively difficult to identify, they are often lumped into one functional group. Consequently, bryophyte function remains poorly resolved. Here, we explore how higher resolution of bryophyte functional diversity can be encouraged and implemented in tundra ecological studies. We briefly review previous bryophyte functional classifications and the roles of bryophytes in tundra ecosystems and their susceptibility to environmental change. Based on shoot morphology and colony organization, we then propose twelve easily distinguishable bryophyte functional groups. To illustrate how bryophyte functional groups can help elucidate variation in bryophyte effects and responses, we compiled existing data on water holding capacity, a key bryophyte trait. Although plant functional groups can mask potentially high interspecific and intraspecific variability, we found better separation of bryophyte functional group means compared with previous grouping systems regarding water holding capacity. This suggests that our bryophyte functional groups truly represent variation in the functional roles of bryophytes in tundra ecosystems. Lastly, we provide recommendations to improve the monitoring of bryophyte community changes in tundra study sites.

Biochar (BC) soil amendments could partially counteract soil carbon (C) stock decrease in broad-leaved forests in Italy; however, its effects on the growth of representative tree species—Fagus sylvatica L. and Quercus cerris L.—has not yet been addressed. We examine whether seed germination and growth of these species are affected by addition of BC obtained from deciduous broadleaf trees. Seeds were left to germinate in greenhouse conditions under three different BC amendments: 0% (control), 10% and 20% (v/v). Seedlings were then subjected to controlled conditions under the same BC percentage. Biochar effects on seed germination were assessed measuring germination time and percentage, while effects on photosynthesis were assessed using leaf chlorophyll content (mg/m2) and photosynthetic efficiency (FV/FM). Plant growth was estimated by recording leaf number, longest leaf length and plant height. Biochar treatments had no negative effects on germination and early growth stage of the two species. Positive effects were found on the chlorophyll content of both species (ca. +8%) regardless of the treatment and on the leaf number (+30%), leaf length (+14%) and plant height (+48%) of Q. cerris (only with 10% BC). Biochar applications seem, therefore, a suitable method for increasing broad-leaved forest C stock in Italy.