Climate warming is expected to differentially affect CO₂ exchange of the diverse ecosystems in the Arctic. Quantifying responses of CO₂ exchange to warming in these ecosystems will require coordinated experimentation using standard temperature manipulations and measurements. Here, we used the International Tundra Experiment (ITEX) standard warming treatment to determine CO₂ flux responses to growing‐season warming for ecosystems spanning natural temperature and moisture ranges across the Arctic biome. We used the four North American Arctic ITEX sites (Toolik Lake, Atqasuk, and Barrow [USA] and Alexandra Fiord [Canada]) that span 10° of latitude. At each site, we investigated the CO₂ responses to warming in both dry and wet or moist ecosystems. Net ecosystem CO₂ exchange (NEE), ecosystem respiration (ER), and gross ecosystem photosynthesis (GEP) were assessed using chamber techniques conducted over 24‐h periods sampled regularly throughout the summers of two years at all sites.At Toolik Lake, warming increased net CO₂ losses in both moist and dry ecosystems. In contrast, at Atqasuk and Barrow, warming increased net CO₂ uptake in wet ecosystems but increased losses from dry ecosystems. At Alexandra Fiord, warming improved net carbon uptake in the moist ecosystem in both years, but in the wet and dry ecosystems uptake increased in one year and decreased the other. Warming generally increased ER, with the largest increases in dry ecosystems. In wet ecosystems, high soil moisture limited increases in respiration relative to increases in photosynthesis. Warming generally increased GEP, with the notable exception of the Toolik Lake moist ecosystem, where warming unexpectedly decreased GEP >25%. Overall, the respiration response determined the effect of warming on ecosystem CO₂ balance. Our results provide the first multiple‐site comparison of arctic tundra CO₂ flux responses to standard warming treatments across a large climate gradient. These results indicate that (1) dry tundra may be initially the most responsive ecosystems to climate warming by virtue of strong increases in ER, (2) moist and wet tundra responses are dampened by higher water tables and soil water contents, and (3) both GEP and ER are responsive to climate warming, but the magnitudes and directions are ecosystem‐dependent.

The rapidly warming temperatures in high-latitude and alpine regions have the potential to alter the phenology of Arctic and alpine plants, affecting processes ranging from food webs to ecosystem trace gas fluxes. The International Tundra Experiment (ITEX) was initiated in 1990 to evaluate the effects of expected rapid changes in temperature on tundra plant phenology, growth and community changes using experimental warming. Here, we used the ITEX control data to test the phenological responses to background temperature variation across sites spanning latitudinal and moisture gradients. The dataset overall did not show an advance in phenology; instead, temperature variability during the years sampled and an absence of warming at some sites resulted in mixed responses. Phenological transitions of high Arctic plants clearly occurred at lower heat sum thresholds than those of low Arctic and alpine plants. However, sensitivity to temperature change was similar among plants from the different climate zones. Plants of different communities and growth forms differed for some phenological responses. Heat sums associated with flowering and greening appear to have increased over time. These results point to a complex suite of changes in plant communities and ecosystem function in high latitudes and elevations as the climate warms.

Arctic tundra plant species exhibit striking variation in leaf character and growth form. Both are likely related to differences in vessel anatomy, and all may affect responses to climate changes in the Arctic. To investigate the relationships among leaf character, growth form, vessel anatomy, and susceptibility to freeze‐thaw‐induced xylem cavitation, xylem vessel characteristics were compared among six deciduous and six evergreen arctic dicot species of erect and prostrate growth forms. We hypothesized that deciduous and erect species would have larger and longer vessels than evergreen and cushion/mat‐forming species. Vessel lengths, diameters, and densities were measured for each species. Theoretical vessel flow rates were calculated using Poiseuille's law for ideal capillaries. Flow rates were used to determine the susceptibility of vessels to cavitation induced by freeze‐thaw events that may become more frequent with global warming. Vessel diameters were larger in deciduous species compared to evergreens, and in shrubs/trees vs. cushion/mat‐forming plants. Vessel length distributions, however, did not differ for growth form or leaf character. Vessel density was greater in cushion/mat‐forming species than in shrub/tree species. Deciduous plants showed a greater contribution to total conductivity by relatively larger vessels than evergreens. One of the deciduous species, Vaccinium uliginosum, is predicted to be susceptible to freeze‐thaw‐induced cavitation. These results have important implications for future arctic species composition and plant community structure.

Climate change is warming the temperatures and lengthening the Arctic growing season with potentially important effects on plant phenology. The ability of plant species to acclimate to changing climatic conditions will dictate the level to which their spatial coverage and habitat-type dominance is different in the future. While the effect of changes in temperature on phenology and species composition have been observed at the plot and at the regional scale, a systematic assessment at medium spatial scales using new noninvasive sensor techniques has not been performed yet. At four sites across the North Slope of Alaska, changes in the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) signal were observed by Mobile Instrumented Sensor Platforms (MISP) that are suspended over 50 m transects spanning local moisture gradients. The rates of greening (measured in June) and senescence (measured in August) in response to the air temperature was estimated by changes in NDVI measured as the difference between the NDVI on a specific date and three days later. In June, graminoid- and shrub-dominated habitats showed the greatest rates of NDVI increase in response to the high air temperatures, while forb- and lichen-dominated habitats were less responsive. In August, the NDVI was more responsive to variations in the daily average temperature than spring greening at all sites. For graminoid- and shrub-dominated habitats, we observed a delayed decrease of the NDVI, reflecting a prolonged growing season, in response to high August temperatures. Consequently, the annual C assimilation capacity of these habitats is increased, which in turn may be partially responsible for shrub expansion and further increases in net summer CO₂ fixation. Strong interannual differences highlight that long-term and noninvasive measurements of such complex feedback mechanisms in arctic ecosystems are critical to fully articulate the net effects of climate variability and climate change on plant community and ecosystem processes.