Location of studies and evidence of effects of herbivory on Arctic vegetation : a systematic map
(2021) In Environmental Evidence 10(1).- Abstract
Background: Herbivores modify the structure and function of tundra ecosystems. Understanding their impacts is necessary to assess the responses of these ecosystems to ongoing environmental changes. However, the effects of herbivores on plants and ecosystem structure and function vary across the Arctic. Strong spatial variation in herbivore effects implies that the results of individual studies on herbivory depend on local conditions, i.e., their ecological context. An important first step in assessing whether generalizable conclusions can be produced is to identify the existing studies and assess how well they cover the underlying environmental conditions across the Arctic. This systematic map aims to identify the ecological contexts in... (More)
Background: Herbivores modify the structure and function of tundra ecosystems. Understanding their impacts is necessary to assess the responses of these ecosystems to ongoing environmental changes. However, the effects of herbivores on plants and ecosystem structure and function vary across the Arctic. Strong spatial variation in herbivore effects implies that the results of individual studies on herbivory depend on local conditions, i.e., their ecological context. An important first step in assessing whether generalizable conclusions can be produced is to identify the existing studies and assess how well they cover the underlying environmental conditions across the Arctic. This systematic map aims to identify the ecological contexts in which herbivore impacts on vegetation have been studied in the Arctic. Specifically, the primary question of the systematic map was: “What evidence exists on the effects of herbivores on Arctic vegetation?”. Methods: We used a published systematic map protocol to identify studies addressing the effects of herbivores on Arctic vegetation. We conducted searches for relevant literature in online databases, search engines and specialist websites. Literature was screened to identify eligible studies, defined as reporting primary data on herbivore impacts on Arctic plants and plant communities. We extracted information on variables that describe the ecological context of the studies, from the studies themselves and from geospatial data. We synthesized the findings narratively and created a Shiny App where the coded data are searchable and variables can be visually explored. Review findings: We identified 309 relevant articles with 662 studies (representing different ecological contexts or datasets within the same article). These studies addressed vertebrate herbivory seven times more often than invertebrate herbivory. Geographically, the largest cluster of studies was in Northern Fennoscandia. Warmer and wetter parts of the Arctic had the largest representation, as did coastal areas and areas where the increase in temperature has been moderate. In contrast, studies spanned the full range of ecological context variables describing Arctic vertebrate herbivore diversity and human population density and impact. Conclusions: The current evidence base might not be sufficient to understand the effects of herbivores on Arctic vegetation throughout the region, as we identified clear biases in the distribution of herbivore studies in the Arctic and a limited evidence base on invertebrate herbivory. In particular, the overrepresentation of studies in areas with moderate increases in temperature prevents robust generalizations about the effects of herbivores under different climatic scenarios.
(Less)
- author
- organization
- publishing date
- 2021-12
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- Browsing, Defoliation, Forest-tundra, Grazing, Grubbing, Invertebrate, Plant–herbivore interaction, Tundra, Vertebrate
- in
- Environmental Evidence
- volume
- 10
- issue
- 1
- article number
- 25
- publisher
- BioMed Central (BMC)
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:85117315691
- ISSN
- 2047-2382
- DOI
- 10.1186/s13750-021-00240-0
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 9c58f229-df04-4769-93ff-ea0ff9e3c4a7
- date added to LUP
- 2022-03-23 10:22:51
- date last changed
- 2023-09-06 07:57:08
@article{9c58f229-df04-4769-93ff-ea0ff9e3c4a7,
abstract = {{<p>Background: Herbivores modify the structure and function of tundra ecosystems. Understanding their impacts is necessary to assess the responses of these ecosystems to ongoing environmental changes. However, the effects of herbivores on plants and ecosystem structure and function vary across the Arctic. Strong spatial variation in herbivore effects implies that the results of individual studies on herbivory depend on local conditions, i.e., their ecological context. An important first step in assessing whether generalizable conclusions can be produced is to identify the existing studies and assess how well they cover the underlying environmental conditions across the Arctic. This systematic map aims to identify the ecological contexts in which herbivore impacts on vegetation have been studied in the Arctic. Specifically, the primary question of the systematic map was: “What evidence exists on the effects of herbivores on Arctic vegetation?”. Methods: We used a published systematic map protocol to identify studies addressing the effects of herbivores on Arctic vegetation. We conducted searches for relevant literature in online databases, search engines and specialist websites. Literature was screened to identify eligible studies, defined as reporting primary data on herbivore impacts on Arctic plants and plant communities. We extracted information on variables that describe the ecological context of the studies, from the studies themselves and from geospatial data. We synthesized the findings narratively and created a Shiny App where the coded data are searchable and variables can be visually explored. Review findings: We identified 309 relevant articles with 662 studies (representing different ecological contexts or datasets within the same article). These studies addressed vertebrate herbivory seven times more often than invertebrate herbivory. Geographically, the largest cluster of studies was in Northern Fennoscandia. Warmer and wetter parts of the Arctic had the largest representation, as did coastal areas and areas where the increase in temperature has been moderate. In contrast, studies spanned the full range of ecological context variables describing Arctic vertebrate herbivore diversity and human population density and impact. Conclusions: The current evidence base might not be sufficient to understand the effects of herbivores on Arctic vegetation throughout the region, as we identified clear biases in the distribution of herbivore studies in the Arctic and a limited evidence base on invertebrate herbivory. In particular, the overrepresentation of studies in areas with moderate increases in temperature prevents robust generalizations about the effects of herbivores under different climatic scenarios.</p>}},
author = {{Soininen, E. M. and Barrio, I. C. and Bjørkås, R. and Björnsdóttir, K. and Ehrich, D. and Hopping, K. A. and Kaarlejärvi, E. and Kolstad, A. L. and Abdulmanova, S. and Björk, R. G. and Bueno, C. G. and Eischeid, I. and Finger-Higgens, R. and Forbey, J. S. and Gignac, C. and Gilg, O. and den Herder, M. and Holm, H. S. and Hwang, B. C. and Jepsen, J. U. and Kamenova, S. and Kater, I. and Koltz, A. M. and Kristensen, J. A. and Little, C. J. and Macek, P. and Mathisen, K. M. and Metcalfe, D. B. and Mosbacher, J. B. and Mörsdorf, M. and Park, T. and Propster, J. R. and Roberts, A. J. and Serrano, E. and Spiegel, M. P. and Tamayo, M. and Tuomi, M. W. and Verma, M. and Vuorinen, K. E.M. and Väisänen, M. and van der Wal, R. and Wilcots, M. E. and Yoccoz, N. G. and Speed, J. D.M.}},
issn = {{2047-2382}},
keywords = {{Browsing; Defoliation; Forest-tundra; Grazing; Grubbing; Invertebrate; Plant–herbivore interaction; Tundra; Vertebrate}},
language = {{eng}},
number = {{1}},
publisher = {{BioMed Central (BMC)}},
series = {{Environmental Evidence}},
title = {{Location of studies and evidence of effects of herbivory on Arctic vegetation : a systematic map}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s13750-021-00240-0}},
doi = {{10.1186/s13750-021-00240-0}},
volume = {{10}},
year = {{2021}},
}