Effects of climate change on the vegetation of the high mountains of Tenerife

Abstract

The high mountain vegetation of Tenerife is formed by a sparse schrub where the broom (Spartocutisus supranubius) and the rosalillo (Pterocephalus lasiospermum) are the dominant species. This place is suffering a significant increase in the mean annual temperature which is having consequences on plant species dominance and vegetation structure. Indeed, while species such as the broom are in decline, others such as P. lasiospermum are expanding. Herbivory is an additional factor that interacts with increasing temperatures amplifying their effects on these plant communities. There are species more palatable to herbivores and species less palatable, and also species that can be classified as climate change winners or climate change losers. The combined effects of climate change and herbivory are restructuring the vegetation with the appearance of new plant communities, different from any known plant community in the island of Tenerife.