Freezing resistance in high arctic plant species of Svalbard in mid-summer

Abstract

It is well known that freezing temperatures put arctic and alpine plants at risk during the growing period only. Here we explore responses of high arctic plant species to a simulated early summer freezing event of -7 °C. After gradual cooling, several hours at target conditions and slow thawing over 21 hours, the 12 species tested exhibited a broad damage spectrum from zero to 100%. We conclude that -7 °C is a critical temperature for many arctic taxa, and repeated freezing episodes like this would exert major changes in species abundance.