Ecol Appl. 2014 Mar;24(2):413-27. doi: 10.1890/13-0587.1.
Interacting threats to ecosystem function, including climate change, wildfire, and invasive species necessitate native plant restoration in desert ecosystems. However, native plant restoration efforts often remain unguided by ecological genetic information. Given that many ecosystems are in flux from climate change, restoration plans need to account for both contemporary and future climates when choosing seed sources. In this study we analyze vegetative responses, including mortality, growth, and carbon isotope ratios in two blackbrush (Coleogyne ramosissima) common gardens that included 26 populations from a range-wide collection. This shrub occupies ecotones between the warm and cold deserts of Mojave and Colorado Plateau ecoregions in western North America. The variation observed in the vegetative responses of blackbrush populations was principally explained by grouping populations by ecoregions and by regression with site-specific climate variables. Aridity weighted by winter minimum temperatures best explained vegetative responses; Colorado Plateau sites were usually colder and drier than Mojave sites. The relationship between climate and vegetative response was mapped within the boundaries of the species-climate space projected for the contemporary climate and for the decade surrounding 2060. The mapped ecological genetic pattern showed that genetic variation could be classified into cool-adapted and warm-adapted ecotypes, with populations often separated by steep dines. These transitions are predicted to occur in both the Mojave Desert and Colorado Plateau ecoregions. While under contemporary conditions the warm-adapted ecotype occupies the majority of climate space, climate projections predict that the cool-adapted ecotype could prevail as the dominant ecotype as the climate space of blackbrush expands into higher elevations and latitudes. This study provides the framework for delineating climate change-responsive seed transfer guidelines, which are needed to inform restoration and management planning. We propose four transfer zones in blackbrush that correspond to areas currently dominated by cool-adapted and warm-adapted ecotypes in each of the two ecoregions.
生态系统功能的相互作用威胁，包括气候变化、野火和入侵物种，这使得在沙漠生态系统中需要进行本地植物恢复。然而，本地植物恢复工作往往没有得到生态遗传信息的指导。鉴于许多生态系统正在受到气候变化的影响，恢复计划在选择种子来源时需要考虑到当代和未来的气候。在这项研究中，我们分析了包括来自广泛收集的 26 个种群的两个黑brush（Coleogyne ramosissima）普通花园的营养体反应，包括死亡率、生长和碳同位素比值。这种灌木分布在温暖和寒冷沙漠之间的生态过渡带，位于北美西部的莫哈韦沙漠和科罗拉多高原生态区。黑brush 种群的营养体反应的观察到的变化主要通过按生态区对种群进行分组以及与特定地点的气候变量进行回归来解释。由冬季最低温度加权的干旱度最好地解释了营养体反应；科罗拉多高原的地点通常比莫哈韦地点更冷更干燥。在为当代气候和 2060 年前后十年预测的物种-气候空间的边界内，绘制了气候与营养体反应之间的关系。所绘制的生态遗传模式表明，遗传变异可以分为冷适应和暖适应生态型，种群通常通过陡峭的峡谷分离。这些过渡预计将在莫哈韦沙漠和科罗拉多高原生态区同时发生。虽然在当代条件下，暖适应生态型占据了大部分气候空间，但气候预测表明，随着黑brush 气候空间向更高的海拔和纬度扩展，冷适应生态型可能成为主要生态型。这项研究为制定气候变化响应的种子转移指南提供了框架，这些指南对于指导恢复和管理规划是必要的。我们在两个生态区的每个生态区中提出了四个转移区，这些转移区对应于当前由冷适应和暖适应生态型主导的区域。
