Replication data for: Rangifer management controls a climate-sensitive tundra state transition (doi:10.18710/SAOAG5)

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Replication data for: Rangifer management controls a climate-sensitive tundra state transition

doi:10.18710/SAOAG5

DataverseNO

2017-08-25

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Bråthen, Kari Anne; Ravolainen, Virve T.; Stien, Audun; Tveraa, Torkild; Ims, Rolf Anker, 2017, "Replication data for: Rangifer management controls a climate-sensitive tundra state transition", https://doi.org/10.18710/SAOAG5, DataverseNO, V1

Replication data for: Rangifer management controls a climate-sensitive tundra state transition

doi:10.18710/SAOAG5

Bråthen, Kari Anne (UiT The Arctic University of Norway)

Ravolainen, Virve T. (Norwegian Polar Institute)

Stien, Audun (Norwegian Institute for Nature Research)

Tveraa, Torkild (Norwegian Institute for Nature Research)

Ims, Rolf Anker (UiT The Arctic University of Norway)

UiT The Arctic University of Norway

DataverseNO

UiT The Arctic University of Norway

Bråthen, Kari Anne

Stien, Audun

Bråthen, Kari Anne

2017-08-16

https://doi.org/10.18710/SAOAG5

Earth and Environmental Sciences, plant-herbivore interactions, browsing, summer temperature, shrub growth, climate change, Salix, browse trap, shrubline, life history stages

Data and script for the results presented in Bråthen, K. A., V. T. Ravolainen, A. Stien, T. Tveraa and R. A. Ims Rangifer management controls a climate-sensitive tundra state transition. Ecological Application in press

Abstract Rangifer (caribou/reindeer) management has been suggested to mitigate the temperature-driven transition of arctic tundra into a shrubland state, yet how is uncertain. Here we study this much focused ecosystem state transition in riparian areas, where palatable willows (Salix) are dominant tall shrubs and highly responsive to climate change. For the state transition to take place, small life stages must become tall and abundant. Therefore we predicted that the performance of small life stages (potential recruits) of the tall shrubs were instrumental to the focal transition, where Rangifer managed at high population density would keep the small-stage shrubs in a “browse trap” independent of summer temperature. We used a large-scale quasi-experimental study design that included real management units that spanned a wide range of Rangifer population densities and summer temperatures in order to assess the relative importance of these two driving variables. Ground-surveys provided data on density and height of the small shrub life stages, while the distributional limit (shrubline) of established shrublands (the tall shrub life stage) was derived from aerial photographs. Where Rangifer densities were above a threshold of approximately 5 animals km-2 we found, in accordance with the expectation of a “browse trap”, that the small life stages of shrubs in grasslands were at low height and low abundance. At Rangifer densities below this threshold the small life stages of shrubs were taller and more abundant indicating Rangifer were no longer in control of the grassland state. For the established shrubland state, we found that the shrubline was at a 100 m lower elevation in the management units where Rangifer have been browsing in summer as opposed to the migratory ranges with no browsing in summer. In both seasonal ranges the shrubline increased 100 m per 1°C increment in temperature. Our study supports the proposal that Rangifer management within a sustainable range of animal densities can mitigate the much-focused transition from grassland to shrubland in a warming arctic.

Bråthen, K.A., Ravolainen, V.T., Stien, A., Tveraa, T. & Ims, R.A. (2017). Rangifer management controls a climate-sensitive tundra state transition. Ecological Applications, 27(8), 2416-2427.

10.1002/eap.1618

Bråthen, K.A., Ravolainen, V.T., Stien, A., Tveraa, T. & Ims, R.A. (2017). Rangifer management controls a climate-sensitive tundra state transition. Ecological Applications, 27(8), 2416-2427.

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aerial_river_transect_data.txt

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raw data called upon from R-script

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field_transect_data.txt

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Metadata.docx

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Description of all variables in all raw data files (docx format)

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Metadata.txt

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Description of all variables in all raw data files (txt format)

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reindeer_density.txt

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R_script.r

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Script for modelling and figures

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shrub_test_data.txt

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raw data called upon from R-script

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suppl_reindeer_data.txt

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raw data called upon from R-script

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