Variation in reproductive potential across a multi-species treeline

2018 
ABSTRACTCone and seed production at the forest-tundra ecotone, or treeline, depend on species-specific tolerances to limiting abiotic and biotic factors. As range expansion via seed dispersal is needed to keep pace with climate change, reproductive limitations act as a bottleneck for treeline advance. The treeline in the Mealy Mountains, central Labrador, was comprised of four codominant species: black spruce (Picea mariana [Mill.] B.S.P.), white spruce (Picea glauca [Moench] Voss), eastern larch (Larix laricina [Du Roi] K. Koch), and balsam fir (Abies balsamea [L.] Mill.). Conifer stem surveys from three treeline zones (forest, forest-tundra transition, krummholz) were used to assess patterns of altitudinal distributions, tree densities, and cone production to provide insight into overall reproductive potential. The altitudinal limit of the spruce species was 39 m a.s.l. higher than the altitudinal limit of black spruce cone production. Black spruce had the highest densities of cone-bearing trees across ...
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