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Safaei M, Kleinebecker T, Weis M, Große-Stoltenberg A. Tracking effects of extreme drought on coniferous forests from space using dynamic habitat indices. Heliyon 2024; 10:e27864. [PMID: 38560251 PMCID: PMC10981029 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e27864] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2023] [Revised: 02/27/2024] [Accepted: 03/07/2024] [Indexed: 04/04/2024] Open
Abstract
Terrestrial ecosystems such as coniferous forests in Central Europe are experiencing changes in health status following extreme droughts compounding with severe heat waves. The increasing temporal resolution and spatial coverage of earth observation data offer new opportunities to assess these dynamics. Dense time-series of optical satellite data allow for computing Dynamic Habitat Indices (DHIs), which have been predominantly used in biodiversity studies. However, DHIs cover three aspects of vegetation changes that could be affected by drought: annual productivity, minimum cover, and seasonality. Here, we evaluate the health status of coniferous forests in the federal state of Hesse in Germany over the period 2017-2020 including the severe drought year of 2018 using DHIs based on the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) for drought assessment. To identify the most important variables affecting coniferous forest die-off, a series of environmental variables together with the three DHIs components were used in a logistic regression (LR) model. Each DHI component changed significantly across non-damaged and damaged sites in all years (p-value 0.05). When comparing 2017 to 2019, DHI-based annual productivity decreased and seasonality increased. Most importantly, none of the DHI components had reached pre-drought conditions, which likely indicates a change in ecosystem functioning. We also identified spatially explicit areas highly affected by drought. The LR model revealed that in addition to common environmental parameters related to temperature, precipitation, and elevation, DHI components were the most important factors explaining the health status. Our analysis demonstrates the potential of DHIs to capture the effect of drought events on Central European coniferous forest ecosystems. Since the spaceborne data are available at the global level, this approach can be applied to track the dynamics of ecosystem conditions in other regions, at larger spatial scales, and for other Land Use/Land Cover types.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mojdeh Safaei
- Division of Landscape Ecology and Landscape Planning, Institute of Landscape Ecology and Resource Management, IFZ Research Centre for Biosystems, Land Use and Nutrition, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Heinrich-Buff Ring 26-32, 35392, Giessen, Germany
| | - Till Kleinebecker
- Division of Landscape Ecology and Landscape Planning, Institute of Landscape Ecology and Resource Management, IFZ Research Centre for Biosystems, Land Use and Nutrition, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Heinrich-Buff Ring 26-32, 35392, Giessen, Germany
- Center for International Development and Environmental Research (ZEU), Senckenbergstrasse 3, 35390, Giessen, Germany
| | - Manuel Weis
- Hessian Agency for Nature Conservation, Environment and Geology (HLNUG), Rheingaustraße 186, 65203, Wiesbaden, Germany
| | - André Große-Stoltenberg
- Division of Landscape Ecology and Landscape Planning, Institute of Landscape Ecology and Resource Management, IFZ Research Centre for Biosystems, Land Use and Nutrition, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Heinrich-Buff Ring 26-32, 35392, Giessen, Germany
- Center for International Development and Environmental Research (ZEU), Senckenbergstrasse 3, 35390, Giessen, Germany
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Bruxaux J, Zhao W, Hall D, Curtu AL, Androsiuk P, Drouzas AD, Gailing O, Konrad H, Sullivan AR, Semerikov V, Wang XR. Scots pine - panmixia and the elusive signal of genetic adaptation. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2024. [PMID: 38308133 DOI: 10.1111/nph.19563] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2023] [Accepted: 01/14/2024] [Indexed: 02/04/2024]
Abstract
Scots pine is the foundation species of diverse forested ecosystems across Eurasia and displays remarkable ecological breadth, occurring in environments ranging from temperate rainforests to arid tundra margins. Such expansive distributions can be favored by various demographic and adaptive processes and the interactions between them. To understand the impact of neutral and selective forces on genetic structure in Scots pine, we conducted range-wide population genetic analyses on 2321 trees from 202 populations using genotyping-by-sequencing, reconstructed the recent demography of the species and examined signals of genetic adaptation. We found a high and uniform genetic diversity across the entire range (global FST 0.048), no increased genetic load in expanding populations and minor impact of the last glacial maximum on historical population sizes. Genetic-environmental associations identified only a handful of single-nucleotide polymorphisms significantly linked to environmental gradients. The results suggest that extensive gene flow is predominantly responsible for the observed genetic patterns in Scots pine. The apparent missing signal of genetic adaptation is likely attributed to the intricate genetic architecture controlling adaptation to multi-dimensional environments. The panmixia metapopulation of Scots pine offers a good study system for further exploration into how genetic adaptation and plasticity evolve under gene flow and changing environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jade Bruxaux
- Department of Ecology and Environmental Science, Umeå Plant Science Center, Umeå University, 901 87, Umeå, Sweden
| | - Wei Zhao
- Department of Ecology and Environmental Science, Umeå Plant Science Center, Umeå University, 901 87, Umeå, Sweden
| | - David Hall
- Department of Ecology and Environmental Science, Umeå Plant Science Center, Umeå University, 901 87, Umeå, Sweden
- Forestry Research Institute of Sweden (Skogforsk), 918 21, Sävar, Sweden
| | | | - Piotr Androsiuk
- Department of Plant Physiology, Genetics and Biotechnology, Faculty of Biology and Biotechnology, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, 10-719, Olsztyn, Poland
| | - Andreas D Drouzas
- Laboratory of Systematic Botany and Phytogeography, School of Biology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124, Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - Oliver Gailing
- Department of Forest Genetics and Forest Tree Breeding, University of Göttingen, 37077, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Heino Konrad
- Department of Forest Biodiversity and Nature Conservation, Unit of Ecological Genetics, Austrian Research Centre for Forests (BFW), 1140, Vienna, Austria
| | - Alexis R Sullivan
- Department of Ecology and Environmental Science, Umeå Plant Science Center, Umeå University, 901 87, Umeå, Sweden
| | - Vladimir Semerikov
- Institute of Plant and Animal Ecology, Ural Division of Russian Academy of Sciences, 620144, Ekaterinburg, Russia
| | - Xiao-Ru Wang
- Department of Ecology and Environmental Science, Umeå Plant Science Center, Umeå University, 901 87, Umeå, Sweden
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Rybar J, Sitková Z, Marcis P, Pavlenda P, Pajtík J. Declining Radial Growth in Major Western Carpathian Tree Species: Insights from Three Decades of Temperate Forest Monitoring. PLANTS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2023; 12:4081. [PMID: 38140406 PMCID: PMC10747720 DOI: 10.3390/plants12244081] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2023] [Revised: 11/27/2023] [Accepted: 11/29/2023] [Indexed: 12/24/2023]
Abstract
This study investigates the radial growth response of five key European forest tree species, i.e., Fagus sylvatica, Picea abies, Abies alba, Quercus petraea, and Pinus sylvestris, to dry years in the West Carpathians, Slovakia. Utilizing data from ICP Forests Level I plots, we identified species-specific growth declines, particularly in Pinus sylvestris and Fagus sylvatica, with milder radial growth declines for Quercus petraea and Picea abies. Abies alba exhibited a growth peak in the mid-2000s, followed by a decline in the end of the observed period. Elevation emerged as the only significant environmental predictor, explaining 3.5% of growth variability during dry periods, suggesting a potential mitigating effect. The scope of this study was limited by the complex interplay of ecological factors that influence tree growth, which vary across the ICP Forests Level I monitoring sites. Nonetheless, our findings enhance the understanding of species-specific growth responses and offer insights for the climate-smart management of temperate forests under changing conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jergus Rybar
- National Forest Centre, Forest Research Institute, T.G. Masaryka 22, 960 01 Zvolen, Slovakia; (Z.S.); (P.M.); (P.P.); (J.P.)
- Faculty of Forestry, Technical University in Zvolen, T.G. Masaryka 24, 96001 Zvolen, Slovakia
| | - Zuzana Sitková
- National Forest Centre, Forest Research Institute, T.G. Masaryka 22, 960 01 Zvolen, Slovakia; (Z.S.); (P.M.); (P.P.); (J.P.)
| | - Peter Marcis
- National Forest Centre, Forest Research Institute, T.G. Masaryka 22, 960 01 Zvolen, Slovakia; (Z.S.); (P.M.); (P.P.); (J.P.)
- Faculty of Forestry, Technical University in Zvolen, T.G. Masaryka 24, 96001 Zvolen, Slovakia
| | - Pavel Pavlenda
- National Forest Centre, Forest Research Institute, T.G. Masaryka 22, 960 01 Zvolen, Slovakia; (Z.S.); (P.M.); (P.P.); (J.P.)
| | - Jozef Pajtík
- National Forest Centre, Forest Research Institute, T.G. Masaryka 22, 960 01 Zvolen, Slovakia; (Z.S.); (P.M.); (P.P.); (J.P.)
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López-Ballesteros A, Rodríguez-Caballero E, Moreno G, Escribano P, Hereş AM, Yuste JC. Topography modulates climate sensitivity of multidecadal trends of holm oak decline. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2023; 29:6336-6349. [PMID: 37688536 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.16927] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2023] [Revised: 08/14/2023] [Accepted: 08/15/2023] [Indexed: 09/11/2023]
Abstract
Forest decline events have increased worldwide over the last decades being holm oak (Quercus ilex L.) one of the tree species with the most worrying trends across Europe. Since this is one of the tree species with the southernmost distribution within the European continent, its vulnerability to climate change is a phenomenon of enormous ecological importance. Previous research identified drought and soil pathogens as the main causes behind holm oak decline. However, despite tree health loss is a multifactorial phenomenon where abiotic and biotic factors interact in time and space, there are some abiotic factors whose influence has been commonly overlooked. Here, we evaluate how land use (forests versus savannas), topography, and climate extremes jointly determine the spatiotemporal patterns of holm oak defoliation trends over almost three decades (1987-2014) in Spain, where holm oak represents the 25% of the national forested area. We found an increasing defoliation trend in 119 out of the total 134 holm oak plots evaluated, being this defoliation trend significantly higher in forests compared with savannas. Moreover, we have detected that the interaction between topography (which covariates with the land use) and summer precipitation anomalies explains trends of holm oak decline across the Mediterranean region. While a higher occurrence of dry summers increases defoliation trends in steeper terrains where forests dominate, an inverse relationship was found in flatter terrains where savannas are mainly located. These opposite relationships suggest different causal mechanisms behind decline. Whereas hydric stress is likely to occur in steeper terrains where soil water holding capacity is limited, soil waterlogging usually occurs in flatter terrains what increases tree vulnerability to soil pathogens. Our results contribute to the growing evidence of the influence of local topography on forest resilience and could assist in the identification of potential tree decline hotspots and its main causes over the Mediterranean region.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana López-Ballesteros
- Department of Agricultural and Forest Systems, and the Environment, Agrifood Research and Technology Centre of Aragon (CITA), Zaragoza, Spain
| | - Emilio Rodríguez-Caballero
- Department of Agronomy and Centro de Investigación de Colecciones Científicas (CECOUAL), Universidad de Almería, Almeria, Spain
| | - Gerardo Moreno
- Forestry School, Institute for Dehesa Research (INDEHESA), Universidad de Extremadura, Plasencia, Spain
| | | | - Ana-Maria Hereş
- Faculty of Silviculture and Forest Engineering, Transilvania University of Braşov, Braşov, Romania
- BC3-Basque Centre for Climate Change, Scientific Campus of the University of the Basque Country, Leioa, Spain
| | - Jorge Curiel Yuste
- BC3-Basque Centre for Climate Change, Scientific Campus of the University of the Basque Country, Leioa, Spain
- IKERBASQUE, Basque Foundation for Science, Bilbao, Spain
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van der Woude AM, Peters W, Joetzjer E, Lafont S, Koren G, Ciais P, Ramonet M, Xu Y, Bastos A, Botía S, Sitch S, de Kok R, Kneuer T, Kubistin D, Jacotot A, Loubet B, Herig-Coimbra PH, Loustau D, Luijkx IT. Temperature extremes of 2022 reduced carbon uptake by forests in Europe. Nat Commun 2023; 14:6218. [PMID: 37803032 PMCID: PMC10558467 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-41851-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2023] [Accepted: 08/30/2023] [Indexed: 10/08/2023] Open
Abstract
The year 2022 saw record breaking temperatures in Europe during both summer and fall. Similar to the recent 2018 drought, close to 30% (3.0 million km2) of the European continent was under severe summer drought. In 2022, the drought was located in central and southeastern Europe, contrasting the Northern-centered 2018 drought. We show, using multiple sets of observations, a reduction of net biospheric carbon uptake in summer (56-62 TgC) over the drought area. Specific sites in France even showed a widespread summertime carbon release by forests, additional to wildfires. Partial compensation (32%) for the decreased carbon uptake due to drought was offered by a warm autumn with prolonged biospheric carbon uptake. The severity of this second drought event in 5 years suggests drought-induced reduced carbon uptake to no longer be exceptional, and important to factor into Europe's developing plans for net-zero greenhouse gas emissions that rely on carbon uptake by forests.
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Affiliation(s)
- Auke M van der Woude
- University of Groningen, Centre for Isotope Research, Groningen, 8481 NG, The Netherlands
- Wageningen University, Meteorology & Air Quality Dept, Wageningen, 6700 AA, The Netherlands
| | - Wouter Peters
- University of Groningen, Centre for Isotope Research, Groningen, 8481 NG, The Netherlands.
- Wageningen University, Meteorology & Air Quality Dept, Wageningen, 6700 AA, The Netherlands.
| | - Emilie Joetzjer
- Université de Lorraine, AgroParisTech, INRAE, UMR Silva, 54000, Nancy, France
| | - Sébastien Lafont
- Functional Ecology and Environmental Physics, Ephyse, INRA, Villenave d'Ornon, France
| | - Gerbrand Koren
- Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Philippe Ciais
- UMR CEA-CNRS-UVSQ, Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement, Gif sur Yvette, France
| | - Michel Ramonet
- UMR CEA-CNRS-UVSQ, Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement, Gif sur Yvette, France
| | - Yidi Xu
- UMR CEA-CNRS-UVSQ, Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement, Gif sur Yvette, France
| | - Ana Bastos
- Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, Jena, Germany
| | | | - Stephen Sitch
- Faculty of Environment, Science and Economy, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | - Remco de Kok
- Wageningen University, Meteorology & Air Quality Dept, Wageningen, 6700 AA, The Netherlands
- ICOS ERIC, Carbon Portal, Geocentrum II, Sölvegatan 12, SE-22362, Lund, Sweden
| | - Tobias Kneuer
- Deutscher Wetterdienst, Hohenpeissenberg Meteorological Observatory, Hohenpeissenberg, Germany
| | - Dagmar Kubistin
- Deutscher Wetterdienst, Hohenpeissenberg Meteorological Observatory, Hohenpeissenberg, Germany
| | - Adrien Jacotot
- Sol, Agro et hydrosystèmes, Spatialisation (SAS), UMR 1069, INRAE, Institut Agro, Rennes, France
| | - Benjamin Loubet
- Université Paris Saclay, AgroParisTech, INRAE, UMR 1402 ECOSYS, 91120, Palaiseau, France
| | | | - Denis Loustau
- ISPA, Bordeaux Sciences Agro, INRAE, F-33140, Villenave d'Ornon, France
| | - Ingrid T Luijkx
- Wageningen University, Meteorology & Air Quality Dept, Wageningen, 6700 AA, The Netherlands
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Schuldt B, Ruehr NK. Responses of European forests to global change-type droughts. PLANT BIOLOGY (STUTTGART, GERMANY) 2022; 24:1093-1097. [PMID: 36445187 DOI: 10.1111/plb.13484] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2022] [Accepted: 11/08/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- B Schuldt
- Chair of Forest Botany, Institute of Forest Botany and Forest Zoology, Technical University of Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - N K Ruehr
- Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Institute of Meteorology and Climate Research - Atmospheric Environmental Research (IMK-IFU), Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany
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Werner C. Extreme droughts and heatwaves endanger temperate forests. PLANT BIOLOGY (STUTTGART, GERMANY) 2022; 24:1091-1092. [PMID: 36445188 DOI: 10.1111/plb.13488] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
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