The effect of warming, nitrogen addition and grazing on alpine1 biodiversity and ecosystem function in Norway
Halbritter, A., J. Gaudard, H. Sandsten, I. Petrauskaite, S. Berthelsen, G. Austrheim, I. Dahle, K. Klanderud, L. C. Kr¨uger, E. Little, R. J. Telford and V. Vandvik. 2025.
Abstract
Multiple global change drivers including land-use and climate change, and pollution
threaten alpine biodiversity and ecosystem functions. Experimental approaches can be used
to disentangle the single and interactive effects of these drivers. Across three sites along an
elevational gradient (469 - 1290 m a.s.l.) in south-western Norway, we exposed plant
communities to warmer climate, nitrogen fertilization, and grazing, as well as simulated
grazing by clipping, in a fully factorial design. After three years of treatment, we recorded
data on vegetation, ecosystem functioning, and microclimate in 160 experimental and
control plots. This database consists of records of the following datasets: aboveground
standing biomass (3,417 records), aboveground plant productivity (2,071), reflectance
(1,769), vascular plant community composition (8,954 records covering 95 taxa), below
ground productivity and traits (796), soil characteristics (193), soil nutrient (1,132),
ecosystem CO2 fluxes (2427), soil ecosystem CO2 respiration (64), and microclimate
(30,751,264). The data can be combined with long-term climate and plant functional traits
collected within the study region.
