Growth rings show limited evidence for ungulates’ potential to suppress shrubs across the Arctic

Abstract Global warming has pronounced effects on tundra vegetation, and rising mean temperatures increase plant growth potential across the Arctic biome. Herbivores may counteract impacts by reducing growth, but strength of this effect depend prevailing regional climatic conditions. To study how ungulates interact with temperature to influence shrubs biome, we assembled dendroecological data from 20 sites, comprising 1,153 individual 22,363 annual rings. Evidence for suppressing shrub radial was only observed at intermediate summer (6.5-9°C), even these not strong. Multiple factors, including forage preferences landscape use ungulates, favourable conditions enabling effective compensatory shrubs, weaken possibly explaining weakness ungulate effects. Earlier local studies have shown that demonstrate ungulates’ suppress is always evident, be limited certain