Biodiversity responds to increasing climatic extremes in a biome-specific manner

Greenville, AC; Burns, E; Dickman, CR; Keith, DA; Lindenmayer, DB; Morgan, JW; Heinze, D; Mansergh, I; Gillespie, GR; Einoder, L; Fisher, A; Russell-Smith, J; Metcalfe, DJ; Green, PT; Hoffmann, AA; Wardle, GM

Biodiversity responds to increasing climatic extremes in a biome-specific manner

Burns, E Dickman, CR Keith, DA Lindenmayer, DB Morgan, JW Heinze, D Mansergh, I Gillespie, GR Einoder, L Fisher, A Russell-Smith, J Metcalfe, DJ Green, PT Hoffmann, AA Wardle, GM

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Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Science of the Total Environment, 2018, 634 pp. 382 - 393
Issue Date:: 2018-09-01

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Greenville, AC https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0113-4778	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Burns, E	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Dickman, CR	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Keith, DA	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Lindenmayer, DB	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Morgan, JW	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Heinze, D	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Mansergh, I	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Gillespie, GR	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Einoder, L	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Fisher, A	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Russell-Smith, J	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Metcalfe, DJ	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Green, PT	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Hoffmann, AA	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Wardle, GM	en_US
dc.date.available	2018-03-23	en_US
dc.date.issued	2018-09-01	en_US
dc.identifier.citation	Science of the Total Environment, 2018, 634 pp. 382 - 393	en_US
dc.identifier.issn	0048-9697	en_US
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/128252
dc.description.abstract	© 2018 Elsevier B.V. An unprecedented rate of global environmental change is predicted for the next century. The response to this change by ecosystems around the world is highly uncertain. To address this uncertainty, it is critical to understand the potential drivers and mechanisms of change in order to develop more reliable predictions. Australia's Long Term Ecological Research Network (LTERN) has brought together some of the longest running (10–60 years) continuous environmental monitoring programs in the southern hemisphere. Here, we compare climatic variables recorded at five LTERN plot network sites during their period of operation and place them into the context of long-term climatic trends. Then, using our unique Australian long-term datasets (total 117 survey years across four biomes), we synthesize results from a series of case studies to test two hypotheses: 1) extreme weather events for each plot network have increased over the last decade, and; 2) trends in biodiversity will be associated with recent climate change, either directly or indirectly through climate-mediated disturbance (wildfire) responses. We examined the biodiversity responses to environmental change for evidence of non-linear behavior. In line with hypothesis 1), an increase in extreme climate events occurred within the last decade for each plot network. For hypothesis 2), climate, wildfire, or both were correlated with biodiversity responses at each plot network, but there was no evidence of non-linear change. However, the influence of climate or fire was context-specific. Biodiversity responded to recent climate change either directly or indirectly as a consequence of changes in fire regimes or climate-mediated fire responses. A national long-term monitoring framework allowed us to find contrasting species abundance or community responses to climate and disturbance across four of the major biomes of Australia, highlighting the need to establish and resource long-term monitoring programs across representative ecosystem types, which are likely to show context-specific responses.	en_US
dc.relation.ispartof	Science of the Total Environment	en_US
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.03.285	en_US
dc.subject.classification	Environmental Sciences	en_US
dc.title	Biodiversity responds to increasing climatic extremes in a biome-specific manner	en_US
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	634	en_US
utslib.for	0502 Environmental Science and Management	en_US
utslib.for	0602 Ecology	en_US
pubs.embargo.period	Not known	en_US
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Science
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Science/School of Life Sciences
utslib.copyright.status	closed_access
pubs.publication-status	Published	en_US
pubs.volume	634	en_US

Abstract:

© 2018 Elsevier B.V. An unprecedented rate of global environmental change is predicted for the next century. The response to this change by ecosystems around the world is highly uncertain. To address this uncertainty, it is critical to understand the potential drivers and mechanisms of change in order to develop more reliable predictions. Australia's Long Term Ecological Research Network (LTERN) has brought together some of the longest running (10–60 years) continuous environmental monitoring programs in the southern hemisphere. Here, we compare climatic variables recorded at five LTERN plot network sites during their period of operation and place them into the context of long-term climatic trends. Then, using our unique Australian long-term datasets (total 117 survey years across four biomes), we synthesize results from a series of case studies to test two hypotheses: 1) extreme weather events for each plot network have increased over the last decade, and; 2) trends in biodiversity will be associated with recent climate change, either directly or indirectly through climate-mediated disturbance (wildfire) responses. We examined the biodiversity responses to environmental change for evidence of non-linear behavior. In line with hypothesis 1), an increase in extreme climate events occurred within the last decade for each plot network. For hypothesis 2), climate, wildfire, or both were correlated with biodiversity responses at each plot network, but there was no evidence of non-linear change. However, the influence of climate or fire was context-specific. Biodiversity responded to recent climate change either directly or indirectly as a consequence of changes in fire regimes or climate-mediated fire responses. A national long-term monitoring framework allowed us to find contrasting species abundance or community responses to climate and disturbance across four of the major biomes of Australia, highlighting the need to establish and resource long-term monitoring programs across representative ecosystem types, which are likely to show context-specific responses.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/128252