Unexpected westward range shifts in European forest plants link to nitrogen deposition

Sanczuk, Pieter; Verheyen, Kris; Lenoir, Jonathan; Zellweger, Florian; Lembrechts, Jonas J.; Rodríguez-Sánchez, Francisco; Baeten, Lander; Bernhardt-Römermann, Markus; De Pauw, Karen; Vangansbeke, Pieter; Perring, Michael P. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8553-4893; Berki, Imre; Bjorkman, Anne D.; Brunet, Jörg; Chudomelová, Markéta; De Lombaerde, Emiel; Decocq, Guillaume; Dirnböck, Thomas; Durak, Tomasz; Greiser, Caroline; Hédl, Radim; Heinken, Thilo; Jandt, Ute; Jaroszewicz, Bogdan; Kopecký, Martin; Landuyt, Dries; Macek, Martin; Máliš, František; Naaf, Tobias; Nagel, Thomas A.; Petřík, Petr; Reczyńska, Kamila; Schmidt, Wolfgang; Standovár, Tibor; Staude, Ingmar R.; Świerkosz, Krzysztof; Teleki, Balázs; Vanneste, Thomas; Vild, Ondrej; Waller, Donald; De Frenne, Pieter. 2024 Unexpected westward range shifts in European forest plants link to nitrogen deposition. Science, 386 (6718). 193-198. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.ado0878

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Abstract/Summary

Climate change is commonly assumed to induce species’ range shifts toward the poles. Yet, other environmental changes may affect the geographical distribution of species in unexpected ways. Here, we quantify multidecadal shifts in the distribution of European forest plants and link these shifts to key drivers of forest biodiversity change: climate change, atmospheric deposition (nitrogen and sulfur), and forest canopy dynamics. Surprisingly, westward distribution shifts were 2.6 times more likely than northward ones. Not climate change, but nitrogen-mediated colonization events, possibly facilitated by the recovery from past acidifying deposition, best explain westward movements. Biodiversity redistribution patterns appear complex and are more likely driven by the interplay among several environmental changes than due to the exclusive effects of climate change alone.

Item Type:	Publication - Article
Digital Object Identifier (DOI):	https://doi.org/10.1126/science.ado0878
UKCEH and CEH Sections/Science Areas:	Soils and Land Use (Science Area 2017-)
ISSN:	0036-8075
NORA Subject Terms:	Ecology and Environment Agriculture and Soil Science Data and Information
Related URLs:	Dataset
Date made live:	17 Oct 2024 08:00 +0 (UTC)
URI:	https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/538254

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