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Gazol A, Valeriano C, Colangelo M, Ibáñez R, Valerio M, Rubio-Cuadrado Á, Camarero JJ. Growth of tree (Pinus sylvestris) and shrub (Amelanchier ovalis) species is constrained by drought with higher shrub sensitivity in dry sites. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2024; 918:170539. [PMID: 38296069 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.170539] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2023] [Revised: 01/26/2024] [Accepted: 01/26/2024] [Indexed: 02/09/2024]
Abstract
We lack understanding of how variable is radial growth of coexisting tree and shrub species, and how growth is constrained by drought depending on site aridity. Here, we compared the radial growth of two widespread and coexisting species, a winter deciduous shrub (Amelanchier ovalis Medik.) and an evergreen conifer tree (Pinus sylvestris L.). We sampled four sites in Northeastern Spain subjected to different aridity levels and used dendrochronological methods to quantify growth patterns and responses to climate variables. The growth of the two species varied between regions, being lower in the driest sites. The first-order autocorrelation (growth persistence) was higher in more mesic sites but without clear differences between species. Tree and shrub growth negatively responded to elevated summer temperatures and positively to spring-summer precipitation and wet conditions. However, negative growth responses of the shrub to drought were only observed in the two driest sites in contrast to widespread responses of the tree. Abrupt growth reductions were common in the drier sites, but resilience indices show that the two species rapidly recovered pre-drought growth levels. The lower growth synchrony of the shrub as compared to the tree can be due to the multistemmed architecture, fast growth and low stature of the shrub. Besides, the high dependency of the shrub growth on summer rainfall can explain why drought limitations were only apparent in the two driest sites. In any case, results point out to the dendrochronological potential of shrubs, which is particularly relevant giving its ability to inhabit woodlands and treeless regions under harsh climatic conditions. Nevertheless, further research is required to elucidate the capacity of shrub species to tolerate drought, as well as to understand how shrubs thrive in water- and cold-limited environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antonio Gazol
- Instituto Pirenaico de Ecología (IPE-CSIC), Avda. Montañana 1005, E-50192 Zaragoza, Spain.
| | - Cristina Valeriano
- Instituto Pirenaico de Ecología (IPE-CSIC), Avda. Montañana 1005, E-50192 Zaragoza, Spain
| | - Michele Colangelo
- Scuola di Scienze Agrarie, Forestali, Alimentari e Ambientali, Università della Basilicata, Viale dell'Ateneo Lucano 10, 85100 Potenza, Italy
| | - Ricardo Ibáñez
- Departamento de Biología Ambiental, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Navarra, Pamplona 31008, Navarra, Spain
| | - Mercedes Valerio
- Departamento de Biología Ambiental, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Navarra, Pamplona 31008, Navarra, Spain; Department of Botany, Faculty of Sciences, University of South Bohemia, Na Zlaté stoce 1, 370 05 České Budějovice, Czech Republic
| | - Álvaro Rubio-Cuadrado
- Departamento de Sistemas y Recursos Naturales, Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingeniería de Montes, Forestal y del Medio Natural, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Ciudad Universitaria s/n, 28040 Madrid, Spain
| | - J Julio Camarero
- Instituto Pirenaico de Ecología (IPE-CSIC), Avda. Montañana 1005, E-50192 Zaragoza, Spain
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Puchi PF, Dalmonech D, Vangi E, Battipaglia G, Tognetti R, Collalti A. Contrasting patterns of water use efficiency and annual radial growth among European beech forests along the Italian peninsula. Sci Rep 2024; 14:6526. [PMID: 38499662 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-57293-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2023] [Accepted: 03/16/2024] [Indexed: 03/20/2024] Open
Abstract
Tree mortality and forest dieback episodes are increasing due to drought and heat stress. Nevertheless, a comprehensive understanding of mechanisms enabling trees to withstand and survive droughts remains lacking. Our study investigated basal area increment (BAI), and δ13C-derived intrinsic water-use-efficiency (iWUE), to elucidate beech resilience across four healthy stands in Italy with varying climates and soil water availability. Additionally, fist-order autocorrelation (AR1) analysis was performed to detect early warning signals for potential tree dieback risks during extreme drought events. Results reveal a negative link between BAI and vapour pressure deficit (VPD), especially in southern latitudes. After the 2003 drought, BAI decreased at the northern site, with an increase in δ13C and iWUE, indicating conservative water-use. Conversely, the southern sites showed increased BAI and iWUE, likely influenced by rising CO2 and improved water availability. In contrast, the central site sustained higher transpiration rates due to higher soil water holding capacity (SWHC). Despite varied responses, most sites exhibited reduced resilience to future extreme events, indicated by increased AR1. Temperature significantly affected beech iWUE and BAI in northern Italy, while VPD strongly influenced the southern latitudes. The observed increase in BAI and iWUE in southern regions might be attributed to an acclimation response.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paulina F Puchi
- Forest Modelling Lab., Institute for Agriculture and Forestry Systems in the Mediterranean, National Research Council of Italy (CNR-ISAFOM), Via Madonna Alta 128, 06128, Perugia, Italy.
- Institute of Bioeconomy, Italian National Research Council (CNR-IBE), Via Madonna del Piano 10, 50019, Sesto Fiorentino, Italy.
| | - Daniela Dalmonech
- Forest Modelling Lab., Institute for Agriculture and Forestry Systems in the Mediterranean, National Research Council of Italy (CNR-ISAFOM), Via Madonna Alta 128, 06128, Perugia, Italy
- National Biodiversity Future Center (NBFC), 90133, Palermo, Italy
| | - Elia Vangi
- Forest Modelling Lab., Institute for Agriculture and Forestry Systems in the Mediterranean, National Research Council of Italy (CNR-ISAFOM), Via Madonna Alta 128, 06128, Perugia, Italy
| | - Giovanna Battipaglia
- Department of Environmental, Biological and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies, University of Campania 'L. Vanvitelli', Caserta, Italy
| | - Roberto Tognetti
- Faculty of Agricultural, Environmental and Food Sciences, Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, Piazza Università 1, 39100, Bolzano, Italy
| | - Alessio Collalti
- Forest Modelling Lab., Institute for Agriculture and Forestry Systems in the Mediterranean, National Research Council of Italy (CNR-ISAFOM), Via Madonna Alta 128, 06128, Perugia, Italy
- National Biodiversity Future Center (NBFC), 90133, Palermo, Italy
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Hogan JA, Domke GM, Zhu K, Johnson DJ, Lichstein JW. Climate change determines the sign of productivity trends in US forests. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2024; 121:e2311132121. [PMID: 38227667 PMCID: PMC10823222 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2311132121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2023] [Accepted: 12/01/2023] [Indexed: 01/18/2024] Open
Abstract
Forests are integral to the global land carbon sink, which has sequestered ~30% of anthropogenic carbon emissions over recent decades. The persistence of this sink depends on the balance of positive drivers that increase ecosystem carbon storage-e.g., CO2 fertilization-and negative drivers that decrease it-e.g., intensifying disturbances. The net response of forest productivity to these drivers is uncertain due to the challenge of separating their effects from background disturbance-regrowth dynamics. We fit non-linear models to US forest inventory data (113,806 plot remeasurements in non-plantation forests from ~1999 to 2020) to quantify productivity trends while accounting for stand age, tree mortality, and harvest. Productivity trends were generally positive in the eastern United States, where climate change has been mild, and negative in the western United States, where climate change has been more severe. Productivity declines in the western United States cannot be explained by increased mortality or harvest; these declines likely reflect adverse climate-change impacts on tree growth. In the eastern United States, where data were available to partition biomass change into age-dependent and age-independent components, forest maturation and increasing productivity (likely due, at least in part, to CO2 fertilization) contributed roughly equally to biomass carbon sinks. Thus, adverse effects of climate change appear to overwhelm any positive drivers in the water-limited forests of the western United States, whereas forest maturation and positive responses to age-independent drivers contribute to eastern US carbon sinks. The future land carbon balance of forests will likely depend on the geographic extent of drought and heat stress.
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Affiliation(s)
- J. Aaron Hogan
- Department of Biology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL32611
| | - Grant M. Domke
- Northern Research Station, United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service, Saint Paul, MN55108
| | - Kai Zhu
- School for Environment and Sustainability, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI48109
| | - Daniel J. Johnson
- School of Forest, Fisheries, and Geomatics Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL32611
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