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Klesse S, Wohlgemuth T, Meusburger K, Vitasse Y, von Arx G, Lévesque M, Neycken A, Braun S, Dubach V, Gessler A, Ginzler C, Gossner MM, Hagedorn F, Queloz V, Samblás Vives E, Rigling A, Frei ER. Long-term soil water limitation and previous tree vigor drive local variability of drought-induced crown dieback in Fagus sylvatica. Sci Total Environ 2022; 851:157926. [PMID: 35985592 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.157926] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2022] [Revised: 08/03/2022] [Accepted: 08/05/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Ongoing climate warming is increasing evapotranspiration, a process that reduces plant-available water and aggravates the impact of extreme droughts during the growing season. Such an exceptional hot drought occurred in Central Europe in 2018 and caused widespread defoliation in mid-summer in European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) forests. Here, we recorded crown damage in 2021 in nine mature even-aged beech-dominated stands in northwestern Switzerland along a crown damage severity gradient (low, medium, high) and analyzed tree-ring widths of 21 mature trees per stand. We aimed at identifying predisposing factors responsible for differences in crown damage across and within stands such as tree growth characteristics (average growth rates and year-to-year variability) and site-level variables (mean canopy height, soil properties). We found that stand-level crown damage severity was strongly related to soil water availability, inferred from tree canopy height and plant available soil water storage capacity (AWC). Trees were shorter in drier stands, had higher year-to-year variability in radial growth, and showed higher growth sensitivity to moisture conditions of previous late summer than trees growing on soils with sufficient AWC, indicating that radial growth in these forests is principally limited by soil water availability. Within-stand variation of post-drought crown damage corresponded to growth rate and tree size (diameter at breast height, DBH), i.e., smaller and slower-growing trees that face more competition, were associated with increased crown damage after the 2018 drought. These findings point to tree vigor before the extreme 2018 drought (long-term relative growth rate) as an important driver of damage severity within and across stands. Our results suggest that European beech is less likely to be able to cope with future climate change-induced extreme droughts on shallow soils with limited water retention capacity.
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Affiliation(s)
- S Klesse
- Forest Dynamics, Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL, 8903 Birmensdorf, Switzerland.
| | - T Wohlgemuth
- Forest Dynamics, Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL, 8903 Birmensdorf, Switzerland
| | - K Meusburger
- Forest Soils and Biogeochemistry, Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL, 8903 Birmensdorf, Switzerland
| | - Y Vitasse
- Forest Dynamics, Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL, 8903 Birmensdorf, Switzerland
| | - G von Arx
- Forest Dynamics, Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL, 8903 Birmensdorf, Switzerland; Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - M Lévesque
- Institute of Terrestrial Ecosystems, ETH Zurich, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - A Neycken
- Institute of Terrestrial Ecosystems, ETH Zurich, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - S Braun
- Institute for Applied Plant Biology AG, Witterswil, Switzerland
| | - V Dubach
- Forest Health & Biotic Interactions, Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL, 8903 Birmensdorf, Switzerland
| | - A Gessler
- Forest Dynamics, Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL, 8903 Birmensdorf, Switzerland; Institute of Terrestrial Ecosystems, ETH Zurich, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - C Ginzler
- Land Change Science, Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL, 8903 Birmensdorf, Switzerland
| | - M M Gossner
- Institute of Terrestrial Ecosystems, ETH Zurich, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland; Forest Health & Biotic Interactions, Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL, 8903 Birmensdorf, Switzerland
| | - F Hagedorn
- Forest Soils and Biogeochemistry, Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL, 8903 Birmensdorf, Switzerland
| | - V Queloz
- Forest Health & Biotic Interactions, Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL, 8903 Birmensdorf, Switzerland
| | - E Samblás Vives
- Forest Dynamics, Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL, 8903 Birmensdorf, Switzerland; Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB), 08193 Cerdanyola del Valles, Spain
| | - A Rigling
- Forest Dynamics, Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL, 8903 Birmensdorf, Switzerland; Institute of Terrestrial Ecosystems, ETH Zurich, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - E R Frei
- Forest Dynamics, Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL, 8903 Birmensdorf, Switzerland; Alpine Environment and Natural Hazards, WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF, 7260 Davos Dorf, Switzerland; Climate Change and Extremes in Alpine Regions Research Centre CERC, 7260 Davos Dorf, Switzerland
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Frei ER, Gossner MM, Vitasse Y, Queloz V, Dubach V, Gessler A, Ginzler C, Hagedorn F, Meusburger K, Moor M, Samblás Vives E, Rigling A, Uitentuis I, von Arx G, Wohlgemuth T. European beech dieback after premature leaf senescence during the 2018 drought in northern Switzerland. Plant Biol (Stuttg) 2022; 24:1132-1145. [PMID: 36103113 PMCID: PMC10092601 DOI: 10.1111/plb.13467] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2022] [Accepted: 09/04/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
During the particularly severe hot summer drought in 2018, widespread premature leaf senescence was observed in several broadleaved tree species in Central Europe, particularly in European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.). For beech, it is yet unknown whether the drought evoked a decline towards tree mortality or whether trees can recover in the longer term. In this study, we monitored crown dieback, tree mortality and secondary drought damage symptoms in 963 initially live beech trees that exhibited either premature or normal leaf senescence in 2018 in three regions in northern Switzerland from 2018 to 2021. We related the observed damage to multiple climate- and stand-related parameters. Cumulative tree mortality continuously increased up to 7.2% and 1.3% in 2021 for trees with premature and normal leaf senescence in 2018, respectively. Mean crown dieback in surviving trees peaked at 29.2% in 2020 and 8.1% in 2019 for trees with premature and normal leaf senescence, respectively. Thereafter, trees showed first signs of recovery. Crown damage was more pronounced and recovery was slower for trees that showed premature leaf senescence in 2018, for trees growing on drier sites, and for larger trees. The presence of bleeding cankers peaked at 24.6% in 2019 and 10.7% in 2020 for trees with premature and normal leaf senescence, respectively. The presence of bark beetle holes peaked at 22.8% and 14.8% in 2021 for trees with premature and normal leaf senescence, respectively. Both secondary damage symptoms occurred more frequently in trees that had higher proportions of crown dieback and/or showed premature senescence in 2018. Our findings demonstrate context-specific differences in beech mortality and recovery reflecting the importance of regional and local climate and soil conditions. Adapting management to increase forest resilience is gaining importance, given the expected further beech decline on dry sites in northern Switzerland.
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Affiliation(s)
- E. R. Frei
- Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSLBirmensdorfSwitzerland
- WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLFDavos DorfSwitzerland
- SwissForestLabBirmensdorfSwitzerland
- Climate Change and Extremes in Alpine Regions Research Centre CERCDavos DorfSwitzerland
| | - M. M. Gossner
- Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSLBirmensdorfSwitzerland
- SwissForestLabBirmensdorfSwitzerland
- Department of Environmental Systems ScienceETH ZurichZurichSwitzerland
| | - Y. Vitasse
- Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSLBirmensdorfSwitzerland
- SwissForestLabBirmensdorfSwitzerland
| | - V. Queloz
- Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSLBirmensdorfSwitzerland
- SwissForestLabBirmensdorfSwitzerland
| | - V. Dubach
- Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSLBirmensdorfSwitzerland
| | - A. Gessler
- Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSLBirmensdorfSwitzerland
- SwissForestLabBirmensdorfSwitzerland
- Department of Environmental Systems ScienceETH ZurichZurichSwitzerland
| | - C. Ginzler
- Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSLBirmensdorfSwitzerland
- SwissForestLabBirmensdorfSwitzerland
| | - F. Hagedorn
- Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSLBirmensdorfSwitzerland
- SwissForestLabBirmensdorfSwitzerland
| | - K. Meusburger
- Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSLBirmensdorfSwitzerland
- SwissForestLabBirmensdorfSwitzerland
| | - M. Moor
- Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSLBirmensdorfSwitzerland
| | - E. Samblás Vives
- Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSLBirmensdorfSwitzerland
- Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB)Cerdanyola del VallesSpain
| | - A. Rigling
- Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSLBirmensdorfSwitzerland
- SwissForestLabBirmensdorfSwitzerland
- Department of Environmental Systems ScienceETH ZurichZurichSwitzerland
| | - I. Uitentuis
- Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSLBirmensdorfSwitzerland
| | - G. von Arx
- Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSLBirmensdorfSwitzerland
- SwissForestLabBirmensdorfSwitzerland
- Oeschger Centre for Climate Change ResearchUniversity of BernBernSwitzerland
| | - T. Wohlgemuth
- Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSLBirmensdorfSwitzerland
- SwissForestLabBirmensdorfSwitzerland
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