@article{e9f702c91e54487397c19e1a33ca66f8,
title = "Developing common protocols to measure tundra herbivory across spatial scales",
abstract = "Understanding and predicting large-scale ecological responses to global environmental change requires comparative studies across geographic scales with coordinated efforts and standardized methodologies. We designed, applied and assessed standardized protocols to measure tundra herbivory at three spatial scales: plot, site (habitat), and study area (landscape). The plot and site-level protocols were tested in the field during summers 2014-2015 at eleven sites, nine of them comprising warming experimental plots included in the International Tundra Experiment (ITEX). The study area protocols were assessed during 2014-2018 at 24 study areas across the Arctic. Our protocols provide comparable and easy-to-implement methods for assessing the intensity of invertebrate herbivory within ITEX plots and for characterizing vertebrate herbivore communities at larger spatial scales. We discuss methodological constraints and make recommendations for how these protocols can be used and how sampling effort can be optimized to obtain comparable estimates of herbivory, both at ITEX sites and at large landscape scales. The application of these protocols across the tundra biome will allow characterizing and comparing herbivore communities across tundra sites and at ecologically relevant spatial scales, providing an important step towards a better understanding of tundra ecosystem responses to large-scale environmental change Understanding and predicting large-scale ecological responses to global environmental change requires comparative studies across geographic scales with coordinated efforts and standardized methodologies. We designed, applied and assessed standardized protocols to measure tundra herbivory at three spatial scales: plot, site (habitat), and study area (landscape). The plot and site-level protocols were tested in the field during summers 2014-2015 at eleven sites, nine of them comprising warming experimental plots included in the International Tundra Experiment (ITEX). The study area protocols were assessed during 2014-2018 at 24 study areas across the Arctic. Our protocols provide comparable and easy-to-implement methods for assessing the intensity of invertebrate herbivory within ITEX plots and for characterizing vertebrate herbivore communities at larger spatial scales. We discuss methodological constraints and make recommendations for how these protocols can be used and how sampling effort can be optimized to obtain comparable estimates of herbivory, both at ITEX sites and at large landscape scales. The application of these protocols across the tundra biome will allow characterizing and comparing herbivore communities across tundra sites and at ecologically relevant spatial scales, providing an important step towards a better understanding of tundra ecosystem responses to large-scale environmental change",
keywords = "COMMUNITY, CONSTRAINTS, ENVIRONMENTAL-CHANGE, ITEX, International Tundra Experiment, Invertebrate, RESPONSES, SUMMER, arctic, area, communities, constraint, ecosystem, ecosystem responses, environmental change, global environmental change, habitat, herbivore, herbivory, landscape, sampling, scale, spatial, spatial scale, tundra, vertebrate, warming",
author = "Barrio, {Isabel C.} and D. Ehrich and Soininen, {Eeva M.} and Virve Ravolainen and C.Guillermo Bueno and Olivier Gilg and Koltz, {Amanda M.} and Speed, {James DM} and David Hik and S. M{\"o}rsdorf and Juha Alatalo and Anders Angerbj{\"o}rn and Joel B{\^e}ty and L. Bollache and N. Boulanger-Lapointe and Glen Brown and Isabell Eischeid and Giroux, {Marie A.} and Tomas H{\'a}jek and Brage Hansen and Stijn Hofhuis and Lamarre, {Jean Francois} and Johannes Lang and Christopher Latty and Nicolas Lecomte and Petr Macek and Laura McKinnon and Isla Myers-Smith and {\AA}shild Pedersen and Janet Prev{\'e}y and Roth, {James D.} and Sarah Saalfeld and Schmidt, {Niels Martin} and Smith, {Paul Allen} and Alexandr Sokolov and Natalya Sokolova and Christian Stolz and {Van Bemmelen}, Robert and {\O}ystein Varpe and Paul Woodard and I.S. J{\'o}nsd{\'o}ttir",
year = "2022",
month = sep,
doi = "10.1139/AS-2020-0020",
language = "Dansk",
volume = "8",
pages = "638–679",
journal = "Arctic Science",
issn = "2368-7460",
publisher = "CANADIAN SCIENCE PUBLISHING, NRC RESEARCH PRESS",
number = "3",
}