Effects of Warming on Two Species of the Boreal-Temperate Forest Ecotone

Additional sponsors: Peter Reich; Yan Li; Changming Zhao; Peter Reich (faculty mentor).Global climate change affects many aspects of the future biodiversity of this planet. Scientists are especially interested in understanding the effects of increasing temperatures on cold-dependent species. The Boreal Forest Warming at an Ecotone in Danger, or B4WARMED, project investigated the consequences of this warming on the forest at the boreal-temperate ecotone in northern Minnesota. I and a team of researchers studied how resilient eleven tree species are to increased growth temperatures, or how well they could carry out photosynthesis under these higher temperatures. I looked at the data for two species, Sugar Maple (A. saccharum) and Quaking Aspen (P. tremuloides), and preliminary analysis shows that in four out of the six tests, these two species were able to photosynthesize at the higher temperatures they were grown under. There is some evidence to show that A. saccharum was better at adapting than P. tremuloides. The analyses done for all eleven species will provide a more comprehensive picture of the adaptability and resilience of the northern forest, and give a better understanding of how the composition of the species within the forests will change within a warming ecosystem.This project was sponsored by the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP)