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Zhu M, Ester GDA, Wang Y, Xu Z, Ye J, Yuan Z, Lin F, Fang S, Mao Z, Wang X, Hao Z. El Niño-Southern Oscillation affects the species-level temporal variation in seed and leaf fall in a mixed temperate forest. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2022; 850:157751. [PMID: 35926612 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.157751] [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: 06/06/2022] [Revised: 07/28/2022] [Accepted: 07/28/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), the variation between anomalously cold (La Niña) and warm conditions (El Niño), is one of the most prominent large-scale climate patterns with worldwide effects. Elevated seed and leaf fall has been found at the positive phase of ENSO (El Niño) in tropical forests. However, how seed and leaf fall respond to ENSO at species level is understudied, especially in temperate forests. In this study, we monitored seed and leaf fall at the species-level at 150 points across a 25-ha temperate forest in northeastern China over a span of 12 years. Using time series and wavelet analyses, we assessed three hypotheses: 1) temperate tree species' seed and leaf fall are strongly, but differently, correlated with ENSO and, 2) community synchrony in seed and leaf occurred both at seasonal and ENSO scales; finally, 3) local climatic modulated the effects of ENSO on seed and leaf fall. We found that ENSO was significantly correlated with seed and leaf fall of all species, although correlation strength varied across species (r = 0.206-0.658). Specifically, ENSO indices (ENSO12 or ENSO34) accounted for the most variation in seed and leaf fall of Acer pseudo-sieboldianum (40 % and 34 %, respectively) and ranged 4 %-31 % in all other species. Leaf fall was synchronous with ENSO cycles with a period of 2-7 years, but community synchrony of seed fall was only detected at seasonal scales. ENSO influenced seed fall of Fraxinus mandshurica and Tilla amurensis by mediating rainfall and relative humidity, respectively, highlighting the interactive effects of local climate and ENSO. Our findings highlight the potential effects of ENSO on ecosystems outside of tropical regions and improve our ability to predict regeneration dynamics and nutrient cycling of temperate forests under the context of global change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Meihui Zhu
- CAS Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Management, Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang 110016, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China; Key Laboratory of Terrestrial Ecosystem Carbon Neutrality, Liaoning Province, China
| | | | - Yunyun Wang
- Faculty of Life Science and Technology, Central South University of Forestry and Technology and National Engineering Laboratory for Applied Forest Ecological Technology in Southern China, Changsha, China
| | - Zhichao Xu
- CAS Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Management, Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang 110016, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China; Key Laboratory of Terrestrial Ecosystem Carbon Neutrality, Liaoning Province, China
| | - Ji Ye
- CAS Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Management, Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang 110016, China; Key Laboratory of Terrestrial Ecosystem Carbon Neutrality, Liaoning Province, China
| | - Zuoqiang Yuan
- CAS Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Management, Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang 110016, China; Key Laboratory of Terrestrial Ecosystem Carbon Neutrality, Liaoning Province, China
| | - Fei Lin
- CAS Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Management, Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang 110016, China; Key Laboratory of Terrestrial Ecosystem Carbon Neutrality, Liaoning Province, China
| | - Shuai Fang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Management, Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang 110016, China; Key Laboratory of Terrestrial Ecosystem Carbon Neutrality, Liaoning Province, China
| | - Zikun Mao
- CAS Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Management, Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang 110016, China; Key Laboratory of Terrestrial Ecosystem Carbon Neutrality, Liaoning Province, China
| | - Xugao Wang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Management, Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang 110016, China; Key Laboratory of Terrestrial Ecosystem Carbon Neutrality, Liaoning Province, China
| | - Zhanqing Hao
- School of Ecology and Environment, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an 710072, China.
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Abstract
Although it has long been recognized that seed production by many forest trees varies greatly from year to year, masting (along with 'mast fruiting', 'mast seeding' and 'masting behaviour') as a concept referring to such variability is a relatively recent development. Here, I provide a brief history of masting research, highlighting some of the early contributions by foresters, zoologists and others that paved the way for the burgeoning number of studies currently being conducted by researchers around the world. Of particular current interest is work attempting to understand the proximate mechanisms, evolutionary drivers and community effects of this important ecological phenomenon as well as the ways that climate change may influence masting behaviour in the future. This article is part of the theme issue 'The ecology and evolution of synchronized seed production in plants'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Walter D Koenig
- Hastings Natural History Reservation, University of California Berkeley, Carmel Valley, CA 93924, USA.,Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14850, USA
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Ascoli D, Hacket-Pain A, Pearse IS, Vacchiano G, Corti S, Davini P. Modes of climate variability bridge proximate and evolutionary mechanisms of masting. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2021; 376:20200380. [PMID: 34657463 PMCID: PMC8520781 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2020.0380] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 05/20/2021] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
There is evidence that variable and synchronous reproduction in seed plants (masting) correlates to modes of climate variability, e.g. El Niño Southern Oscillation and North Atlantic Oscillation. In this perspective, we explore the breadth of knowledge on how climate modes control reproduction in major masting species throughout Earth's biomes. We posit that intrinsic properties of climate modes (periodicity, persistence and trends) drive interannual and decadal variability of plant reproduction, as well as the spatial extent of its synchrony, aligning multiple proximate causes of masting through space and time. Moreover, climate modes force lagged but in-phase ecological processes that interact synergistically with multiple stages of plant reproductive cycles. This sets up adaptive benefits by increasing offspring fitness through either economies of scale or environmental prediction. Community-wide links between climate modes and masting across plant taxa suggest an evolutionary role of climate variability. We argue that climate modes may 'bridge' proximate and ultimate causes of masting selecting for variable and synchronous reproduction. The future of such interaction is uncertain: processes that improve reproductive fitness may remain coupled with climate modes even under changing climates, but chances are that abrupt global warming will affect Earth's climate modes so rapidly as to alter ecological and evolutionary links. This article is part of the theme issue 'The ecology and evolution of synchronized seed production in plants'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Davide Ascoli
- Department DISAFA, University of Torino (IT), Torino TO, Italy
| | - Andrew Hacket-Pain
- Department of Geography and Planning, School of Environmental Sciences, University of Liverpool (UK), UK
| | - Ian S. Pearse
- Fort Collins Science Center, US Geological Survey, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | | | - Susanna Corti
- Istituto di Scienze dell'Atmosfera e del Clima, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR-ISAC), Bologna, Italy
| | - Paolo Davini
- Istituto di Scienze dell'Atmosfera e del Clima, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR-ISAC), Torino, Italy
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