Asking the pikas politely…
Alpine plant communities are particularly susceptible to the impacts of climate change, which makes predicting how these communities will respond important for their conservation. This can be better predicted by understanding how the communities assemble, which is highly influenced by species interactions like facilitation. In alpine environments, clustered plants may experience facilitative interactions that can improve vital rates like survival and fecundity. Alpine facilitation is known to occur via increased soil moisture and buffered air temperatures, but this is likely not the full extent of the facilitative interaction. Plant leaf temperature regulation is essential for photosynthesis, respiration, and water retention. Leaf temperature could also be influenced by facilitative interactions in spatially clumped plants. The goal of this study is to address the question: How does leaf surface temperature relate to neighbor density in alpine plant communities? I hypothesized that clumped plants will display smaller Average Tleaf measurements compared to spatially isolated plants and that plants will experience temperature buffering, causing leaves in clustered plants to be cooler relative to surrounding soils (larger Soil Plant Delta values). This research occurred in an alpine plant community in the Elk Mountains of Colorado during July and August 2025. Leaf temperature and surrounding soil temperature data were collected using an infrared thermometer for three focal species (Elymus lanceolatus, Eriogonum umbellatum, and Ivesia gordonii) when found alone and when clumped with each of the other focal species. Soil surface temperature, air temperature, plant area and height, and wind speed were also measured. Using linear mixed effects modelling, species were found to respond differently to the effects of clumping. Two species displayed lower Average Tleaf and higher Soil Plant Delta values in clumps, whereas the third showed no trend with either. Overall, clumping was determined to be a significant variable impacting both Average Tleaf and Soil Plant Delta. This difference in temperature means that plants found in clumps will have different responses to environmental temperature changes because their energy balance is impacted by clumping effects.
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