Environmental and Biotic Determinants of Growth and Height of Arctic Willow Shrubs along a Latitudinal Gradient

Abstract

Ecological factors determining the growth of arctic shrubs remain poorly understood, thereby obscuring the current predictions about climate change effects. I conducted a study on the Yamal Peninsula, West Siberia, to find out which factors determine the growth and height of upright willows (Salix glauca and S. lanata). I sampled willow thickets at different slope positions at 13 sites along a 300-km-long north-south transect. The measurements included the height of willow shrubs and the length and diameter of shoots.