Early life history transitions and recruitment of Picea mariana in thawed boreal permafrost peatlands.

Black spruce (Picea mariana) is the most abundant tree species in the boreal biome, but little is known about how climate warming may change recruitment in peatlands, especially those affected by permafrost thaw. We used results from a seven-year study in northern Manitoba, Canada, to address the following questions: (1) What is the relative importance of early life history transitions on P. mariana recruitment? (2) How are these transitions mediated by biological and environmental factors, including competition, facilitation, disease, herbivory, water table depth, and soil nutrients? (3) Do interactions among these factors create additional recruitment limitations beyond those imposed by environmental factors changing with climate warming, such as hydrology? Seed rain was measured over six years on forested permafrost plateaus and in neighboring collapse scar bogs.