Note to users. If you're seeing this message, it means that your browser cannot find this page's style/presentation instructions -- or possibly that you are using a browser that does not support current Web standards. Find out more about why this message is appearing, and what you can do to make your experience of our site the best it can be.

Site Tools

  • AAAS
  • Subscribe
  • Feedback

Site Search

Search Advanced

Science 27 June 2008:
Vol. 320. no. 5884, pp. 1768 - 1771
DOI: 10.1126/science.1156831
Prev | Table of Contents | Next

Reports

A Significant Upward Shift in Plant Species Optimum Elevation During the 20th Century

J. Lenoir,1* J. C. Gégout,1 P. A. Marquet,2,3,4 P. de Ruffray,5 H. Brisse6

Spatial fingerprints of climate change on biotic communities are usually associated with changes in the distribution of species at their latitudinal or altitudinal extremes. By comparing the altitudinal distribution of 171 forest plant species between 1905 and 1985 and 1986 and 2005 along the entire elevation range (0 to 2600 meters above sea level) in west Europe, we show that climate warming has resulted in a significant upward shift in species optimum elevation averaging 29 meters per decade. The shift is larger for species restricted to mountain habitats and for grassy species, which are characterized by faster population turnover. Our study shows that climate change affects the spatial core of the distributional range of plant species, in addition to their distributional margins, as previously reported.

1 AgroParisTech, UMR 1092, Laboratoire d'Etude des Ressources Forêt-Bois (LERFoB), 14 rue Girardet, F-54000 Nancy, France.
2 Center for Advanced Studies in Ecology and Biodiversity (CASEB), Departamento de Ecologia, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Alameda 340 C.P. 6513677, Santiago, Chile.
3 Institute of Ecology and Biodiversity (IEB), Casilla 653, Santiago, Chile.
4 Santa Fe Institute, 1399 Hyde Park Road, Santa Fe, NM 87501, USA.
5 CNRS, Institut de Biologie Moléculaire des Plantes (IBMP), Université Louis Pasteur, 12 Rue du Général Zimmer, F-67084 Strasbourg Cedex, France.
6 CNRS, UMR 6116, Institut Méditerranéen d'Ecologie et de Paléoécologie (IMEP), Faculté des Sciences de Saint Jérôme, case 461, F-34397 Marseille Cedex 20, France.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: jonathan.lenoir{at}agroparistech.fr

Read the Full Text


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Towards a trait-based quantification of species niche.
C. Violle and L. Jiang (2009)
J Plant Ecol 2, 87-93
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
The demography of range boundaries versus range cores in eastern US tree species.
D. W Purves (2009)
Proc R Soc B 276, 1477-1484
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Elevation increases in moth assemblages over 42 years on a tropical mountain.
I-C. Chen, H.-J. Shiu, S. Benedick, J. D. Holloway, V. K. Chey, H. S. Barlow, J. K. Hill, and C. D. Thomas (2009)
PNAS 106, 1479-1483
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Birds are tracking climate warming, but not fast enough.
V. Devictor, R. Julliard, D. Couvet, and F. Jiguet (2008)
Proc R Soc B 275, 2743-2748
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Phylogenetic patterns of species loss in Thoreau's woods are driven by climate change.
C. G. Willis, B. Ruhfel, R. B. Primack, A. J. Miller-Rushing, and C. C. Davis (2008)
PNAS 105, 17029-17033
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Global Warming, Elevational Range Shifts, and Lowland Biotic Attrition in the Wet Tropics.
R. K. Colwell, G. Brehm, C. L. Cardelus, A. C. Gilman, and J. T. Longino (2008)
Science 322, 258-261
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Impact of a Century of Climate Change on Small-Mammal Communities in Yosemite National Park, USA.
C. Moritz, J. L. Patton, C. J. Conroy, J. L. Parra, G. C. White, and S. R. Beissinger (2008)
Science 322, 261-264
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Vegetation synchronously leans upslope as climate warms.
D. D. Breshears, T. E. Huxman, H. D. Adams, C. B. Zou, and J. E. Davison (2008)
PNAS 105, 11591-11592
   Full Text »    PDF »


To Advertise     Find Products

Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)