Understanding the factors influencing species range limits is increasingly crucial in anticipating migrations due to human-caused climate change. In the boreal biome, ongoing climate change and the associated increases in the rate, size, and severity of disturbances may alter the distributions of boreal tree species. Notably, Interior Alaska lacks native pine, a biogeographical anomaly that carries implications for ecosystem structure and function. The current range of lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta var. latifolia) in the adjacent Yukon Territory may expand into Interior Alaska, particularly with human assistance. Evaluating the potential for pine expansion in Alaska requires testing constraints on range limits such as dispersal limitations, environmental tolerance limits, and positive or negative biotic interactions. In this study, we used field experiments with pine seeds and transplanted seedlings, complemented by model simulations, to assess the abiotic and biotic factors influencing lodgepole pine seedling establishment and growth after fire in Interior Alaska. We found that pine could successfully recruit, survive, grow, and reproduce across our broadly distributed network of experimental sites. Our results show that both mammalian herbivory and competition from native tree species are unlikely to constrain pine growth and that environmental conditions commonly found in Interior Alaska fall well within the tolerance limits for pine. If dispersal constraints are released, lodgepole pine could have a geographically expansive range in Alaska, and once established, its growth is sufficient to support pine-dominated stands. Given the impacts of lodgepole pine on ecosystem processes such as increases in timber production, carbon sequestration, landscape flammability, and reduced forage quality, natural or human-assisted migration of this species is likely to substantially alter responses of Alaskan forest ecosystems to climate change.

中文翻译：

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限制阿拉斯加内陆黑松潜在范围扩张的因素。


了解影响物种范围限制的因素对于预测人为气候变化导致的迁徙变得越来越重要。在北方生物群落中，持续的气候变化以及相关的干扰速率、规模和严重程度的增加可能会改变北方树种的分布。值得注意的是，阿拉斯加内陆缺乏本土松树，这是一种生物地理异常，会对生态系统的结构和功能产生影响。目前邻近育空地区的黑松 (Pinus contorta var. latifolia) 范围可能会扩展到阿拉斯加内陆，特别是在人类的帮助下。评估阿拉斯加松树扩张的潜力需要测试范围限制的限制，例如扩散限制、环境耐受限制以及积极或消极的生物相互作用。在这项研究中，我们利用松籽和移植幼苗进行田间实验，并辅以模型模拟，评估影响阿拉斯加内陆火灾后黑松幼苗生长和生长的非生物和生物因素。我们发现松树可以在我们广泛分布的实验地点网络中成功地招募、生存、生长和繁殖。我们的研究结果表明，哺乳动物食草和来自本地树种的竞争不太可能限制松树的生长，并且阿拉斯加内陆地区常见的环境条件完全在松树的耐受限度内。如果解除扩散限制，黑松可能在阿拉斯加拥有广阔的地理范围，一旦建立，其生长足以支持以松树为主的林分。 鉴于黑松对生态系统过程的影响，例如木材产量增加、碳固存、景观可燃性和饲料质量下降，该物种的自然或人为迁徙可能会大大改变阿拉斯加森林生态系统对气候变化的响应。