1
|
Lam WN, Huang J, Tay AHT, Sim HJ, Chan PJ, Lim KE, Lei M, Aritsara ANA, Chong R, Ting YY, Rahman NEB, Sloey TM, Van Breugel M, Cao KF, Wee AKS, Chong KY. Leaf and twig traits predict habitat adaptation and demographic strategies in tropical freshwater swamp forest trees. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2024; 243:881-893. [PMID: 38840520 DOI: 10.1111/nph.19876] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2023] [Accepted: 05/10/2024] [Indexed: 06/07/2024]
Abstract
Differences in demographic and environmental niches facilitate plant species coexistence in tropical forests. However, the adaptations that enable species to achieve higher demographic rates (e.g. growth or survival) or occupy unique environmental niches (e.g. waterlogged conditions) remain poorly understood. Anatomical traits may better predict plant environmental and demographic strategies because they are direct measurements of structures involved in these adaptations. We collected 18 leaf and twig traits from 29 tree species in a tropical freshwater swamp forest in Singapore. We estimated demographic parameters of the 29 species from growth and survival models, and degree of association toward swamp habitats. We examined pairwise trait-trait, trait-demography and trait-environment links while controlling for phylogeny. Leaf and twig anatomical traits were better predictors of all demographic parameters than other commonly measured leaf and wood traits. Plants with wider vessels had faster growth rates but lower survival rates. Leaf and spongy mesophyll thickness predicted swamp association. These findings demonstrate the utility of anatomical traits as indicators of plant hydraulic strategies and their links to growth-mortality trade-offs and waterlogging stress tolerance that underlie species coexistence mechanisms in tropical forest trees.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Weng Ngai Lam
- Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, 14 Science Dr. 4, Singapore City, 117543, Singapore
- Asian School of the Environment, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Ave, Singapore City, 639798, Singapore
| | - Jie Huang
- College of Forestry, Guangxi Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Conservation, Guangxi University, Daxuedonglu 100, Nanning, 530004, Guangxi, China
- Botany, School of Natural Sciences, Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin, Dublin, D2, Ireland
| | - Amanda Hui Ting Tay
- Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, 14 Science Dr. 4, Singapore City, 117543, Singapore
| | - Hong Jhun Sim
- Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, 14 Science Dr. 4, Singapore City, 117543, Singapore
| | - Pin Jia Chan
- Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, 14 Science Dr. 4, Singapore City, 117543, Singapore
- School of Environment, The University of Auckland, Auckland, 1142, New Zealand
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Auckland, Auckland, 1142, New Zealand
| | - Kiah Eng Lim
- Yale-NUS College, 16 College Ave West, Singapore City, 138527, Singapore
| | - Mingfeng Lei
- College of Forestry, Guangxi Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Conservation, Guangxi University, Daxuedonglu 100, Nanning, 530004, Guangxi, China
| | - Amy Ny Aina Aritsara
- College of Forestry, Guangxi Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Conservation, Guangxi University, Daxuedonglu 100, Nanning, 530004, Guangxi, China
- CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mengla, Yunnan, 666303, China
| | - Rie Chong
- Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, 14 Science Dr. 4, Singapore City, 117543, Singapore
| | - Ying Ying Ting
- Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, 14 Science Dr. 4, Singapore City, 117543, Singapore
| | - Nur Estya Binte Rahman
- Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, 14 Science Dr. 4, Singapore City, 117543, Singapore
- Asian School of the Environment, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Ave, Singapore City, 639798, Singapore
| | - Taylor M Sloey
- Yale-NUS College, 16 College Ave West, Singapore City, 138527, Singapore
- Department of Biological Sciences, Old Dominion University, 5115 Hampton Blvd, Norfolk, VA, 23529, USA
| | - Michiel Van Breugel
- Yale-NUS College, 16 College Ave West, Singapore City, 138527, Singapore
- Department of Geography, National University of Singapore, 1 Arts Link, #03-01 Block AS2, Singapore City, 117570, Singapore
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Roosevelt Ave. Tupper Building - 401, Panama City, 0843-03092, Panama
| | - Kun-Fang Cao
- College of Forestry, Guangxi Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Conservation, Guangxi University, Daxuedonglu 100, Nanning, 530004, Guangxi, China
| | - Alison Kim Shan Wee
- College of Forestry, Guangxi Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Conservation, Guangxi University, Daxuedonglu 100, Nanning, 530004, Guangxi, China
- School of Environmental and Geographical Sciences, The University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus, Jalan Broga, Semenyih, 43500, Selangor, Malaysia
| | - Kwek Yan Chong
- Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, 14 Science Dr. 4, Singapore City, 117543, Singapore
- Singapore Botanic Gardens, National Parks Board, 1 Cluny Road, Singapore City, 259569, Singapore
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Levine JM, HilleRisLambers J, Petry WK, Usinowicz J, Crowther TW. Demographic but not competitive time lags can transiently amplify climate-induced changes in vegetation carbon storage. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2024; 30:e17432. [PMID: 39092542 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.17432] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2024] [Revised: 05/30/2024] [Accepted: 06/25/2024] [Indexed: 08/04/2024]
Abstract
How terrestrial ecosystems will accumulate carbon as the climate continues to change is a major source of uncertainty in projections of future climate. Under growth-stimulating environmental change, time lags inherent in population and community dynamic processes have been posed to dampen, or alternatively amplify, short-term carbon gain in terrestrial vegetation, but these outcomes can be difficult to predict. To theoretically frame this problem, we developed a simple model of vegetation dynamics that identifies the stage-structured demographic and competitive processes that could govern the timescales of carbon storage and loss. We show that demographic lags associated with growth-stimulating environmental change can allow a rapid increase in population-level carbon storage that is lost back to the atmosphere in later years. However, this transient carbon storage only emerges when environmental change increases the transition of adult individuals into a larger size class that suffers markedly higher mortality. Otherwise, demographic lags simply slow carbon accumulation. Counterintuitively, an analogous tradeoff between maximum adult size and survivorship in two-species models, coupled with environmental change-driven replacement, does not generate the transient carbon gain seen in the single-species models. Instead lags in competitive replacement slow the approach to the eventual carbon trajectory. Together, our results suggest that time lags inherent in demographic and compositional turnover tend to slow carbon accumulation in systems responding to growth-stimulating environmental change. Only under specific conditions will lagged demographic processes in such systems drive transient carbon accumulation, conditions that investigators can examine in nature to help project future carbon trajectories.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan M Levine
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, USA
| | | | - William K Petry
- Department of Plant Biology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
| | - Jacob Usinowicz
- Department of Zoology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Thomas W Crowther
- Department of Environmental Systems Science, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Pasques O, Munné-Bosch S. Ancient trees are essential elements for high-mountain forest conservation: Linking the longevity of trees to their ecological function. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2024; 121:e2317866121. [PMID: 38315840 PMCID: PMC10873607 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2317866121] [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: 10/13/2023] [Accepted: 12/24/2023] [Indexed: 02/07/2024] Open
Abstract
Mature forests and their extremely old trees are rare and threatened ancient vestiges in remote European high-mountain regions. Here, we analyze the role that extremely long-living trees have in mature forests biodiversity in relation to their singular traits underlying longevity. Tree size and age determine relative growth rates, bud abortion, and the water status of long-living trees. The oldest trees suffer indefectible age-related constraints but possess singular evolutionary traits defined by fitness adaptation, modular autonomy, and a resilient metabolism that allow them to have irreplaceable roles in the ecosystem as biodiversity anchors of vulnerable lichen species like Letharia vulpina. We suggest that the role of ancient trees as unique biodiversity reservoirs is linked to their singular physiological traits associated with longevity. The set of evolutionarily plastic tools that can only be provided by centuries or millennia of longevity helps the oldest trees of mature forests drive singular ecological relationships that are irreplaceable and necessary for ecosystem dynamics.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ot Pasques
- Department of Evolutionary Biology, Ecology and Environmental Science, University of Barcelona, Barcelona08028, Spain
- Research Institute in Biodiversity, University of Barcelona, Barcelona08028, Spain
| | - Sergi Munné-Bosch
- Department of Evolutionary Biology, Ecology and Environmental Science, University of Barcelona, Barcelona08028, Spain
- Research Institute in Biodiversity, University of Barcelona, Barcelona08028, Spain
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Umaña MN, Needham J, Forero-Montaña J, Nytch CJ, Swenson NG, Thompson J, Uriarte M, Zimmerman JK. Demographic trade-offs and functional shifts in a hurricane-impacted tropical forest. ANNALS OF BOTANY 2023; 131:1051-1060. [PMID: 36702550 PMCID: PMC10457028 DOI: 10.1093/aob/mcad004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2022] [Accepted: 01/20/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND AIMS Understanding shifts in the demographic and functional composition of forests after major natural disturbances has become increasingly relevant given the accelerating rates of climate change and elevated frequency of natural disturbances. Although plant demographic strategies are often described across a slow-fast continuum, severe and frequent disturbance events influencing demographic processes may alter the demographic trade-offs and the functional composition of forests. We examined demographic trade-offs and the shifts in functional traits in a hurricane-disturbed forest using long-term data from the Luquillo Forest Dynamics Plot (LFPD) in Puerto Rico. METHODS We analysed information on growth, survival, seed rain and seedling recruitment for 30 woody species in the LFDP. In addition, we compiled data on leaf, seed and wood functional traits that capture the main ecological strategies for plants. We used this information to identify the main axes of demographic variation for this forest community and evaluate shifts in community-weighted means for traits from 2000 to 2016. KEY RESULTS The previously identified growth-survival trade-off was not observed. Instead, we identified a fecundity-growth trade-off and an axis representing seedling-to-adult survival. Both axes formed dimensions independent of resprouting ability. Also, changes in tree species composition during the post-hurricane period reflected a directional shift from seedling and tree communities dominated by acquisitive towards conservative leaf economics traits and large seed mass. Wood specific gravity, however, did not show significant directional changes over time. CONCLUSIONS Our study demonstrates that tree demographic strategies coping with frequent storms and hurricane disturbances deviate from strategies typically observed in undisturbed forests, yet the shifts in functional composition still conform to the expected changes from acquisitive to conservative resource-uptake strategies expected over succession. In the face of increased rates of natural and anthropogenic disturbance in tropical regions, our results anticipate shifts in species demographic trade-offs and different functional dimensions.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- María Natalia Umaña
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48103, USA
| | - Jessica Needham
- Climate and Ecosystem Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | | | - Christopher J Nytch
- Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras, PR 00936, USA
| | - Nathan G Swenson
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Notre Dame, South Bend, IN 46556, USA
| | - Jill Thompson
- UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, Bush Estate, Penicuik, Midlothian EH26 0QB, UK
| | - María Uriarte
- Department of Ecology, Evolution & Environmental Biology, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA
| | - Jess K Zimmerman
- Department of Biology, University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras, PR 00931, USA
- Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras, PR 00936, USA
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Pasques O, Munné-Bosch S. Physiological mechanisms underlying extreme longevity in mountain pine trees. PLANT PHYSIOLOGY 2023; 191:974-985. [PMID: 36440969 PMCID: PMC9922391 DOI: 10.1093/plphys/kiac540] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2022] [Accepted: 10/31/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Ancient trees are life history longevity winners that mostly persist in remote and environmentally harsh mountainous areas. Here, we performed a multifeature analysis in a protected mature mountain pine (Pinus uncinata) forest to identify the morphological and physiological traits that make these trees unique. We compared the physiology of meristematic and somatic tissues (apical buds and needles, respectively) from juvenile, mature young, mature old, and mature ancient trees under cold stress and nonstress conditions. We successfully identified key morphological features of extreme longevity at the organism level, as well as various growth, vigor, stress, and dormancy markers underlying extreme longevity in old and ancient trees. Results indicated that evolution has exerted selective pressure on specific physiological traits that make trees become longevity winners (<0.1% of the tree population were ancient trees, with an average trunk diameter >100 cm and an estimated age of 700 years). Traits entailing longevity not only included apical dominance loss, epicormic growth, and modular senescence, but also an extreme plasticity in both meristematic and somatic tissues (buds and needles, respectively), as shown by various physiological markers. In conclusion, ancient trees are oddities that not only possess a unique ecological value but also show divergent physiological behaviors selected during their evolution to allow them to cope with adversities and attain long life.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ot Pasques
- Department of Evolutionary Biology, Ecology and Environmental Sciences, University of Barcelona, Barcelona 08028, Spain
| | - Sergi Munné-Bosch
- Department of Evolutionary Biology, Ecology and Environmental Sciences, University of Barcelona, Barcelona 08028, Spain
- Research Institute in Biodiversity (IRBio), University of Barcelona, Barcelona 08028, Spain
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Liu Y, He F. Warming shifts soil microbial communities and tropical tree seedling mortality. Ecology 2022; 103:e3810. [PMID: 35796422 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.3810] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2021] [Revised: 05/19/2022] [Accepted: 06/02/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Plant-soil feedback (PSF), regulated by both mycorrhizae and soil-borne pathogens, is a primary mechanism maintaining high tree species diversity in the tropics. But how warming actually affects PSF is not well understood. We conducted a field warming experiment to test PSF on seedling mortality of two tree species: a rhizobia-associated tree (Ormosia semicastrata, Fabaceae) suffering from host-specific soil-borne pathogens and an ectomycorrhizal fungi-associated tree (Cyclobalanopsis patelliormis, Fagaceae) with low susceptibility to soil-borne pathogens. Soil fungi from the warming versus control seedling plots were identified by molecular sequencing. Results showed that the elevated temperature lowered seedling mortality of O. semicastrata, but had no effect on C. patelliormis seedlings. This indicates that warming weakened the negative PSF on O. semicastrata, presumably due to the observed decrease of the relative abundance of plant-pathogenic fungi and increase of ectomycorrhizal fungi but did not affect the PSF on C. patelliormis. The differential warming effects on seedling mortality of species with different microbial associations afford an example showcasing how the change in soil-borne microbes in response to global warming would in turn, through PSF, alters tropical tree species composition and diversity. This study helps shed mechanistic light on the debate of biodiversity change as driven by climate change.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yu Liu
- ECNU-Alberta Joint Lab for Biodiversity Study, Tiantong National Station for Forest Ecosystem Research, School of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China.,Shanghai Institute of Pollution Control and Ecological Security, Shanghai, China
| | - Fangliang He
- ECNU-Alberta Joint Lab for Biodiversity Study, Tiantong National Station for Forest Ecosystem Research, School of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China.,Department of Renewable Resources, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Makoto K, Templer PH, Katayama A, Seki O, Takagi K. Early snowmelt by an extreme warming event affects understory more than overstory trees in Japanese temperate forests. Ecosphere 2022. [DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.4182] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Kobayashi Makoto
- Teshio Experimental Forest, Field Science Center for Northern Biosphere Hokkaido University Horonobe Japan
| | | | - Ayumi Katayama
- Shiiba Research Forest Kyushu University Shiiba Miyazaki Japan
| | - Osamu Seki
- Institute of Low Temperature Science Hokkaido University Sapporo Japan
| | - Kentaro Takagi
- Teshio Experimental Forest, Field Science Center for Northern Biosphere Hokkaido University Horonobe Japan
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Brienen R, Helle G, Pons T, Boom A, Gloor M, Groenendijk P, Clerici S, Leng M, Jones C. Paired analysis of tree ring width and carbon isotopes indicates when controls on tropical tree growth change from light to water limitations. TREE PHYSIOLOGY 2022; 42:1131-1148. [PMID: 34718816 PMCID: PMC9190751 DOI: 10.1093/treephys/tpab142] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2021] [Accepted: 10/22/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Light and water availability are likely to vary over the lifespan of closed-canopy forest trees, with understory trees experiencing greater limitations to growth by light and canopy trees greater limitation due to drought. As drought and shade have opposing effects on isotope discrimination (Δ13C), paired measurement of ring width and Δ13C can potentially be used to differentiate between water and light limitations on tree growth. We tested this approach for Cedrela trees from three tropical forests in Bolivia and Mexico that differ in rainfall and canopy structure. Using lifetime ring width and Δ13C data for trees of up to and over 200 years old, we assessed how controls on tree growth changed from understory to the canopy. Growth and Δ13C are mostly anti-correlated in the understory, but this anti-correlation disappeared or weakened when trees reached the canopy, especially at the wettest site. This indicates that understory growth variation is controlled by photosynthetic carbon assimilation due to variation in light levels. Once trees reached the canopy, inter-annual variation in growth and Δ13C at one of the dry sites showed positive correlations, indicating that inter-annual variation in growth is driven by variation in water stress affecting stomatal conductance. Paired analysis of ring widths and carbon isotopes provides significant insight in what environmental factors control growth over a tree's life; strong light limitations for understory trees in closed-canopy moist forests switched to drought stress for (sub)canopy trees in dry forests. We show that combined isotope and ring width measurements can significantly improve our insights in tree functioning and be used to disentangle limitations due to shade from those due to drought.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Gerhard Helle
- GFZ—German Research Centre for Geosciences, Section 4.3 Climate Dynamics and Landscape Evolution, 14473 Potsdam, Germany
| | - Thijs Pons
- Plant Ecophysiology, Institute of Environmental Biology, Utrecht University, 3512 Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Arnoud Boom
- School of Geography, University of Leicester, Leicester LE1 7RH, UK
| | - Manuel Gloor
- School of Geography, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK
| | - Peter Groenendijk
- Department of Plant Biology, Institute of Biology, PO Box: 6109, University of Campinas, UNICAMP, Campinas 13083-970, Brazil
- Ecology and Biodiversity, Institute of Environmental Biology, Utrecht University, 3584 Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | | | - Melanie Leng
- National Environmental Isotope Facility, British Geological Survey, Nottingham NG12 5GG, UK
| | | |
Collapse
|
9
|
Tropical tree mortality has increased with rising atmospheric water stress. Nature 2022; 608:528-533. [PMID: 35585230 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-022-04737-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/10/2021] [Accepted: 04/06/2022] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Evidence exists that tree mortality is accelerating in some regions of the tropics1,2, with profound consequences for the future of the tropical carbon sink and the global anthropogenic carbon budget left to limit peak global warming below 2 °C. However, the mechanisms that may be driving such mortality changes and whether particular species are especially vulnerable remain unclear3-8. Here we analyse a 49-year record of tree dynamics from 24 old-growth forest plots encompassing a broad climatic gradient across the Australian moist tropics and find that annual tree mortality risk has, on average, doubled across all plots and species over the last 35 years, indicating a potential halving in life expectancy and carbon residence time. Associated losses in biomass were not offset by gains from growth and recruitment. Plots in less moist local climates presented higher average mortality risk, but local mean climate did not predict the pace of temporal increase in mortality risk. Species varied in the trajectories of their mortality risk, with the highest average risk found nearer to the upper end of the atmospheric vapour pressure deficit niches of species. A long-term increase in vapour pressure deficit was evident across the region, suggesting that thresholds involving atmospheric water stress, driven by global warming, may be a primary cause of increasing tree mortality in moist tropical forests.
Collapse
|
10
|
Life Stage and Neighborhood-Dependent Survival of Longleaf Pine after Prescribed Fire. FORESTS 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/f13010117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Determining mechanisms of plant establishment in ecological communities can be particularly difficult in disturbance-dominated ecosystems. Longleaf pine (Pinus palustris Mill.) and its associated plant community exemplify systems that evolved with disturbances, where frequent, widespread fires alter the population dynamics of longleaf pine within distinct life stages. We identified the primary biotic and environmental conditions that influence the survival of longleaf pine in this disturbance-dominated ecosystem. We combined data from recruitment surveys, tree censuses, dense lidar point clouds, and a forest-wide prescribed fire to examine the response of longleaf pine individuals to fire and biotic neighborhoods. We found that fire temperatures increased with increasing longleaf pine neighborhood basal area and decreased with higher oak densities. There was considerable variation in longleaf pine survival across life stages, with lowest survival probabilities occurring during the bolt stage and not in the earlier, more fire-resistant grass stage. Survival of grass-stage, bolt-stage, and sapling longleaf pines was negatively associated with basal area of neighboring longleaf pine and positively related to neighboring heterospecific tree density, primarily oaks (Quercus spp.). Our findings highlight the vulnerability of longleaf pine across life stages, which suggests optimal fire management strategies for controlling longleaf pine density, and—more broadly—emphasize the importance of fire in mediating species interactions.
Collapse
|
11
|
Zuleta D, Arellano G, Muller-Landau HC, McMahon SM, Aguilar S, Bunyavejchewin S, Cárdenas D, Chang-Yang CH, Duque A, Mitre D, Nasardin M, Pérez R, Sun IF, Yao TL, Davies SJ. Individual tree damage dominates mortality risk factors across six tropical forests. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2022; 233:705-721. [PMID: 34716605 DOI: 10.1111/nph.17832] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2021] [Accepted: 10/21/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
The relative importance of tree mortality risk factors remains unknown, especially in diverse tropical forests where species may vary widely in their responses to particular conditions. We present a new framework for quantifying the importance of mortality risk factors and apply it to compare 19 risks on 31 203 trees (1977 species) in 14 one-year periods in six tropical forests. We defined a condition as a risk factor for a species if it was associated with at least a doubling of mortality rate in univariate analyses. For each risk, we estimated prevalence (frequency), lethality (difference in mortality between trees with and without the risk) and impact ('excess mortality' associated with the risk, relative to stand-level mortality). The most impactful risk factors were light limitation and crown/trunk loss; the most prevalent were light limitation and small size; the most lethal were leaf damage and wounds. Modes of death (standing, broken and uprooted) had limited links with previous conditions and mortality risk factors. We provide the first ranking of importance of tree-level mortality risk factors in tropical forests. Future research should focus on the links between these risks, their climatic drivers and the physiological processes to enable mechanistic predictions of future tree mortality.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Zuleta
- Forest Global Earth Observatory, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Washington, DC, 20560, USA
| | - Gabriel Arellano
- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA
- Oikobit LLC, Albuquerque, NM, 87120, USA
| | - Helene C Muller-Landau
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado, Balboa, 0843-03092, República de Panamá
| | - Sean M McMahon
- Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, Edgewater, MD, 21037, USA
| | - Salomón Aguilar
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado, Balboa, 0843-03092, República de Panamá
| | - Sarayudh Bunyavejchewin
- Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation, Forest Research Office, Bangkok, 10900, Thailand
| | - Dairon Cárdenas
- Herbario Amazónico Colombiano, Instituto Amazónico de Investigaciones Científicas Sinchi, Bogotá, 110311, Colombia
| | - Chia-Hao Chang-Yang
- Department of Biological Sciences, National Sun Yat-sen University, Kaohsiung, 80424, Taiwan
| | - Alvaro Duque
- Departamento de Ciencias Forestales, Universidad Nacional de Colombia Sede Medellín, Medellín, 050034, Colombia
| | - David Mitre
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado, Balboa, 0843-03092, República de Panamá
| | - Musalmah Nasardin
- Forestry and Environment Division, Forest Research Institute Malaysia, Kepong, Selangor, 52109, Malaysia
| | - Rolando Pérez
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado, Balboa, 0843-03092, República de Panamá
| | - I-Fang Sun
- Center for Interdisciplinary Research on Ecology and Sustainability, National Dong Hwa University, Hualien, 94701, Taiwan
| | - Tze Leong Yao
- Forestry and Environment Division, Forest Research Institute Malaysia, Kepong, Selangor, 52109, Malaysia
| | - Stuart J Davies
- Forest Global Earth Observatory, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Washington, DC, 20560, USA
| |
Collapse
|
12
|
Ren J, Fang S, Lin G, Lin F, Yuan Z, Ye J, Wang X, Hao Z, Fortunel C. Tree growth response to soil nutrients and neighborhood crowding varies between mycorrhizal types in an old-growth temperate forest. Oecologia 2021; 197:523-535. [PMID: 34542674 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-021-05034-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2021] [Accepted: 09/06/2021] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
Forest dynamics are shaped by both abiotic and biotic factors. Trees associating with different types of mycorrhizal fungi differ in nutrient use and dominate in contrasting environments, but it remains unclear whether they exhibit differential growth responses to local abiotic and biotic gradients where they co-occur. We used 9-year tree census data in a 25-ha old-growth temperate forest in Northeast China to examine differences in tree growth response to soil nutrients and neighborhood crowding between tree species associating with arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM), ectomycorrhizal (EM), and dual-mycorrhizal (AEM) fungi. In addition, we tested the role of individual-level vs species-level leaf traits in capturing differences in tree growth response to soil nutrients and neighborhood crowding across mycorrhizal types. Across 25 species, soil nutrients decreased AM tree growth, while neighborhood crowding reduced both AM and EM tree growth, and neither soil nor neighbors impacted AEM tree growth. Across mycorrhizal types, individual-level traits were stronger predictors of tree growth than species-level traits. However, most traits poorly mediated tree growth response to soil nutrients and neighborhood crowding. Our findings indicate that mycorrhizal types strongly shape differences in tree growth response to local soil and crowding gradients, and suggest that including plant-mycorrhizae associations in future work offers great potential to improve our understanding of forest dynamics.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jing Ren
- 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.,AMAP (Botanique et Modélisation de l'Architecture des Plantes et des Végétations), Université de Montpellier, CIRAD, CNRS, INRAE, IRD, Montpellier, France
| | - Shuai Fang
- Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Management, Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang, 110016, China
| | - Guigang Lin
- Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Management, Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang, 110016, China
| | - Fei Lin
- Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Management, Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang, 110016, China
| | - Zuoqiang Yuan
- Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Management, Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang, 110016, China
| | - Ji Ye
- Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Management, Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang, 110016, China
| | - Xugao Wang
- Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Management, Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang, 110016, China
| | - Zhanqing Hao
- Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Management, Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang, 110016, China. .,Research Center for Ecological and Environmental Sciences, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an, 710072, China.
| | - Claire Fortunel
- AMAP (Botanique et Modélisation de l'Architecture des Plantes et des Végétations), Université de Montpellier, CIRAD, CNRS, INRAE, IRD, Montpellier, France.
| |
Collapse
|
13
|
Needham JF, Chambers J, Fisher R, Knox R, Koven CD. Forest responses to simulated elevated CO 2 under alternate hypotheses of size- and age-dependent mortality. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2020; 26:5734-5753. [PMID: 32594557 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.15254] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2020] [Revised: 06/08/2020] [Accepted: 06/09/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide (eCO2 ) is predicted to increase growth rates of forest trees. The extent to which increased growth translates to changes in biomass is dependent on the turnover time of the carbon, and thus tree mortality rates. Size- or age-dependent mortality combined with increased growth rates could result in either decreased carbon turnover from a speeding up of tree life cycles, or increased biomass from trees reaching larger sizes, respectively. However, most vegetation models currently lack any representation of size- or age-dependent mortality and the effect of eCO2 on changes in biomass and carbon turnover times is thus a major source of uncertainty in predictions of future vegetation dynamics. Using a reduced-complexity form of the vegetation demographic model the Functionally Assembled Terrestrial Ecosystem Simulator to simulate an idealised tropical forest, we find increases in biomass despite reductions in carbon turnover time in both size- and age-dependent mortality scenarios in response to a hypothetical eCO2 -driven 25% increase in woody net primary productivity (wNPP). Carbon turnover times decreased by 9.6% in size-dependent mortality scenarios due to a speeding up of tree life cycles, but also by 2.0% when mortality was age-dependent, as larger crowns led to increased light competition. Increases in aboveground biomass (AGB) were much larger when mortality was age-dependent (24.3%) compared with size-dependent (13.4%) as trees reached larger sizes before death. In simulations with a constant background mortality rate, carbon turnover time decreased by 2.1% and AGB increased by 24.0%, however, absolute values of AGB and carbon turnover were higher than in either size- or age-dependent mortality scenario. The extent to which AGB increases and carbon turnover decreases will thus depend on the mechanisms of large tree mortality: if increased size itself results in elevated mortality rates, then this could reduce by about half the increase in AGB relative to the increase in wNPP.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jessica F Needham
- Climate and Ecosystem Sciences Department, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Jeffrey Chambers
- Climate and Ecosystem Sciences Department, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Rosie Fisher
- Centre Européen de Recherche et de Formation Avancée en Calcul Scientifique, Toulouse, France
| | - Ryan Knox
- Climate and Ecosystem Sciences Department, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Charles D Koven
- Climate and Ecosystem Sciences Department, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, USA
| |
Collapse
|
14
|
Brienen RJW, Caldwell L, Duchesne L, Voelker S, Barichivich J, Baliva M, Ceccantini G, Di Filippo A, Helama S, Locosselli GM, Lopez L, Piovesan G, Schöngart J, Villalba R, Gloor E. Forest carbon sink neutralized by pervasive growth-lifespan trade-offs. Nat Commun 2020; 11:4241. [PMID: 32901006 PMCID: PMC7479146 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-17966-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2020] [Accepted: 07/27/2020] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Land vegetation is currently taking up large amounts of atmospheric CO2, possibly due to tree growth stimulation. Extant models predict that this growth stimulation will continue to cause a net carbon uptake this century. However, there are indications that increased growth rates may shorten trees' lifespan and thus recent increases in forest carbon stocks may be transient due to lagged increases in mortality. Here we show that growth-lifespan trade-offs are indeed near universal, occurring across almost all species and climates. This trade-off is directly linked to faster growth reducing tree lifespan, and not due to covariance with climate or environment. Thus, current tree growth stimulation will, inevitably, result in a lagged increase in canopy tree mortality, as is indeed widely observed, and eventually neutralise carbon gains due to growth stimulation. Results from a strongly data-based forest simulator confirm these expectations. Extant Earth system model projections of global forest carbon sink persistence are likely too optimistic, increasing the need to curb greenhouse gas emissions.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- R J W Brienen
- School of Geography, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK.
| | - L Caldwell
- School of Geography, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK
| | - L Duchesne
- Ministère des Forêts, de la Faune et des Parcs, Direction de la recherche forestière, 2700 Einstein Street, Quebec, QC, G1P 3W8, Canada
| | - S Voelker
- Department of Environmental and Forest Biology, SUNY-ESF, Syracuse, New York, NY, 13210, USA
| | - J Barichivich
- Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement, IPSL, CNRS/CEA/UVSQ, 91191, Gif sur Yvette, France.,Instituto de Geografía, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Valparaíso, Chile
| | - M Baliva
- Department of Agriculture and Forest Sciences (DAFNE), University of Tuscia, 01100, Viterbo, Via SC de Lellis, Italy
| | - G Ceccantini
- University of São Paulo, Institute of Biosciences, Department of Botany, Rua do Matão, 277, São Paulo, SP, 05508-090, Brazil
| | - A Di Filippo
- Department of Agriculture and Forest Sciences (DAFNE), University of Tuscia, 01100, Viterbo, Via SC de Lellis, Italy
| | - S Helama
- Natural Resources Institute Finland, Ounasjoentie 6, 96200, Rovaniemi, Finland
| | - G M Locosselli
- University of São Paulo, Institute of Biosciences, Department of Botany, Rua do Matão, 277, São Paulo, SP, 05508-090, Brazil
| | - L Lopez
- Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales (IANIGLA), CONICET-Mendoza, C.C. 330, (5500), Mendoza, Argentina
| | - G Piovesan
- Department of Agriculture and Forest Sciences (DAFNE), University of Tuscia, 01100, Viterbo, Via SC de Lellis, Italy
| | - J Schöngart
- Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Da Amazônia (INPA), Coordenação de Dinâmica Ambiental (CODAM), Av. André Araújo 2936, 69067-375, Manaus, Brazil
| | - R Villalba
- Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales (IANIGLA), CONICET-Mendoza, C.C. 330, (5500), Mendoza, Argentina
| | - E Gloor
- School of Geography, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK
| |
Collapse
|
15
|
Martínez Cano I, Shevliakova E, Malyshev S, Wright SJ, Detto M, Pacala SW, Muller-Landau HC. Allometric constraints and competition enable the simulation of size structure and carbon fluxes in a dynamic vegetation model of tropical forests (LM3PPA-TV). GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2020; 26:4478-4494. [PMID: 32463934 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.15188] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/31/2019] [Accepted: 04/24/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Tropical forests are a key determinant of the functioning of the Earth system, but remain a major source of uncertainty in carbon cycle models and climate change projections. In this study, we present an updated land model (LM3PPA-TV) to improve the representation of tropical forest structure and dynamics in Earth system models (ESMs). The development and parameterization of LM3PPA-TV drew on extensive datasets on tropical tree traits and long-term field censuses from Barro Colorado Island (BCI), Panama. The model defines a new plant functional type (PFT) based on the characteristics of shade-tolerant, tropical tree species, implements a new growth allocation scheme based on realistic tree allometries, incorporates hydraulic constraints on biomass accumulation, and features a new compartment for tree branches and branch fall dynamics. Simulation experiments reproduced observed diurnal and seasonal patterns in stand-level carbon and water fluxes, as well as mean canopy and understory tree growth rates, tree size distributions, and stand-level biomass on BCI. Simulations at multiple sites captured considerable variation in biomass and size structure across the tropical forest biome, including observed responses to precipitation and temperature. Model experiments suggested a major role of water limitation in controlling geographic variation forest biomass and structure. However, the failure to simulate tropical forests under extreme conditions and the systematic underestimation of forest biomass in Paleotropical locations highlighted the need to incorporate variation in hydraulic traits and multiple PFTs that capture the distinct floristic composition across tropical domains. The continued pressure on tropical forests from global change demands models which are able to simulate alternative successional pathways and their pace to recovery. LM3PPA-TV provides a tool to investigate geographic variation in tropical forests and a benchmark to continue improving the representation of tropical forests dynamics and their carbon storage potential in ESMs.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Isabel Martínez Cano
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
| | | | - Sergey Malyshev
- NOAA/Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, Princeton, NJ, USA
| | | | - Matteo Detto
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
| | - Stephen W Pacala
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
| | | |
Collapse
|
16
|
Litton CM, Giardina CP, Freeman KR, Selmants PC, Sparks JP. Impact of Mean Annual Temperature on Nutrient Availability in a Tropical Montane Wet Forest. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2020; 11:784. [PMID: 32595675 PMCID: PMC7304228 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2020.00784] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/25/2019] [Accepted: 05/18/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Despite growing understanding of how rising temperatures affect carbon cycling, the impact of long-term and whole forest warming on the suite of essential and potentially limiting nutrients remains understudied, particularly for elements other than N and P. Whole ecosystem warming experiments are limited, environmental gradients are often confounded by variation in factors other than temperature, and few studies have been conducted in the tropics. We examined litterfall, live foliar nutrient content, foliar nutrient resorption efficiency (NRE), nutrient return, and foliar nutrient use efficiency (NUE) of total litterfall and live foliage of two dominant trees to test hypotheses about how increasing mean annual temperature (MAT) impacts the availability and ecological stoichiometry of C, N, P, K, Ca, Mg, Mn, Fe, Zn, and Cu in tropical montane wet forests located along a 5.2°C gradient in Hawaii. Live foliage responded to increasing MAT with increased N and K concentrations, decreased C and Mn concentrations, and no detectable change in P concentration or in foliar NRE. Increases in MAT increased nutrient return via litterfall for N, K, Mg, and Zn and foliar NUE for Mn and Cu, while decreasing nutrient return for Cu and foliar NUE for K. The N:P of litterfall and live foliage increased with MAT, while there was no detectable effect of MAT on C:P. The ratio of live foliar N or P to base cations and micronutrients was variable across elements and species. Increased MAT resulted in declining N:K and P:K for one species, while only P:K declined for the other. N:Ca and N:Mn increased with MAT for both species, while N:Mg increased for one and P:Mn increased for the other species. Overall, results from this study suggest that rising MAT in tropical montane wet forest: (i) increases plant productivity and the cycling and availability of N, K, Mg, and Zn; (ii) decreases the cycling and availability of Mn and Cu; (iii) has little direct effect on P, Ca or Fe; and (iv) affects ecological stoichiometry in ways that may exacerbate P-as well as other base cation and micronutrient - limitations to tropical montane forest productivity.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Creighton M. Litton
- Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Management, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, Honolulu, HI, United States
| | - Christian P. Giardina
- Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry, Pacific Southwest Research Station, USDA Forest Service, Hilo, HI, United States
| | - Kristen R. Freeman
- Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Management, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, Honolulu, HI, United States
| | - Paul C. Selmants
- Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Management, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, Honolulu, HI, United States
- Western Geographic Science Center, United States Geological Survey, Menlo Park, CA, United States
| | - Jed P. Sparks
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, United States
| |
Collapse
|
17
|
McDowell NG, Allen CD, Anderson-Teixeira K, Aukema BH, Bond-Lamberty B, Chini L, Clark JS, Dietze M, Grossiord C, Hanbury-Brown A, Hurtt GC, Jackson RB, Johnson DJ, Kueppers L, Lichstein JW, Ogle K, Poulter B, Pugh TAM, Seidl R, Turner MG, Uriarte M, Walker AP, Xu C. Pervasive shifts in forest dynamics in a changing world. Science 2020; 368:368/6494/eaaz9463. [DOI: 10.1126/science.aaz9463] [Citation(s) in RCA: 301] [Impact Index Per Article: 75.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Craig D. Allen
- U.S. Geological Survey, Fort Collins Science Center, New Mexico Landscapes Field Station, Los Alamos, NM 87544, USA
| | - Kristina Anderson-Teixeira
- Conservation Ecology Center, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, Front Royal, VA 22630, USA
- Forest Global Earth Observatory, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Republic of Panama
| | - Brian H. Aukema
- Department of Entomology, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55108, USA
| | - Ben Bond-Lamberty
- Joint Global Change Research Institute, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, College Park, MD 20740, USA
| | - Louise Chini
- Department of Geographical Sciences, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
| | - James S. Clark
- Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA
| | - Michael Dietze
- Department of Earth and Environment, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA
| | - Charlotte Grossiord
- Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL, 8903 Birmensdorf, Switzerland
| | - Adam Hanbury-Brown
- Energy and Resources Group, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - George C. Hurtt
- Department of Geographical Sciences, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
| | - Robert B. Jackson
- Department of Earth System Science, Woods Institute for the Environment, and Precourt Institute for Energy, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Daniel J. Johnson
- School of Forest Resources and Conservation, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
| | - Lara Kueppers
- Energy and Resources Group, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
- Division of Climate and Ecosystem Sciences, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | | | - Kiona Ogle
- School of Informatics, Computing, and Cyber Systems, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ 86001, USA
| | - Benjamin Poulter
- Biospheric Sciences Laboratory, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
| | - Thomas A. M. Pugh
- School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, B15 2TT Birmingham, UK
- Birmingham Institute of Forest Research, University of Birmingham, B15 2TT Birmingham, UK
| | - Rupert Seidl
- Department of Forest and Soil Sciences, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna, 1180 Vienna, Austria
- School of Life Sciences, Technical University of Munich, 85354 Freising, Germany
| | - Monica G. Turner
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA
| | - Maria Uriarte
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Biology, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA
| | - Anthony P. Walker
- Environmental Sciences Division and Climate Change Science Institute, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831, USA
| | - Chonggang Xu
- Earth and Environmental Sciences Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87545, USA
| |
Collapse
|
18
|
Landscape Representation by a Permanent Forest Plot and Alternative Plot Designs in a Typhoon Hotspot, Fushan, Taiwan. REMOTE SENSING 2020. [DOI: 10.3390/rs12040660] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Permanent forest dynamics plots have provided valuable insights into many aspects of forest ecology. The evaluation of their representativeness within the landscape is necessary to understanding the limitations of findings from permanent plots at larger spatial scales. Studies on the representativeness of forest plots with respect to landscape heterogeneity and disturbance effect have already been carried out, but knowledge of how multiple disturbances affect plot representativeness is lacking—particularly in sites where several disturbances can occur between forest plot censuses. This study explores the effects of five typhoon disturbances on the Fushan Forest Dynamics Plot (FFDP) and its surrounding landscape, the Fushan Experimental Forest (FEF), in Taiwan where typhoons occur annually. The representativeness of the FFDP for the FEF was studied using four topographical variables derived from a digital elevation model and two vegetation indices (VIs), Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and Normalized Difference Infrared Index (NDII), calculated from Landsat-5 TM, Landsat-7 ETM+, and Landsat-8 OLI data. Representativeness of four alternative plot designs were tested by dividing the FFDP into subplots over wider elevational ranges. Results showed that the FFDP neither represents landscape elevational range (<10%) nor vegetation cover (<7% of the interquartile range, IQR). Although disturbance effects (i.e., ΔVIs) were also different between the FFDP and the FEF, comparisons showed no under- or over-exposure to typhoon damage frequency or intensity within the FFDP. In addition, the ΔVIs were of the same magnitudes in the plots and the reserve, and the plot covered 30% to 75.9% of IQRs of the reserve ΔVIs. Unexpectedly, the alternative plot designs did not lead to increased representation of damage for 3 out of the 4 tested typhoons and they did not suggest higher representativeness of rectangular vs. square plots. Based on the comparison of mean Euclidian distances, two rectangular plots had smaller distances than four square or four rectangular plots of the same area. Therefore, this study suggests that the current FFDP provides a better representation of its landscape disturbances than alternatives, which contained wider topographical variation and would be more difficult to conduct ground surveys. However, upscaling needs to be done with caution as, in the case of the FEF, plot representativeness varied among typhoons.
Collapse
|
19
|
Tree height explains mortality risk during an intense drought. Nat Commun 2019; 10:4385. [PMID: 31558795 PMCID: PMC6763443 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-12380-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 79] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2019] [Accepted: 09/06/2019] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Forest mortality is accelerating due to climate change and the largest trees may be at the greatest risk, threatening critical ecological, economic, and social benefits. Here, we combine high-resolution airborne LiDAR and optical data to track tree-level mortality rates for ~2 million trees in California over 8 years, showing that tree height is the strongest predictor of mortality during extreme drought. Large trees die at twice the rate of small trees and environmental gradients of temperature, water, and competition control the intensity of the height-mortality relationship. These findings suggest that future persistent drought may cause widespread mortality of the largest trees on Earth.
Collapse
|
20
|
Büntgen U, Krusic PJ, Piermattei A, Coomes DA, Esper J, Myglan VS, Kirdyanov AV, Camarero JJ, Crivellaro A, Körner C. Limited capacity of tree growth to mitigate the global greenhouse effect under predicted warming. Nat Commun 2019; 10:2171. [PMID: 31092831 PMCID: PMC6520339 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-10174-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2018] [Accepted: 04/25/2019] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
It is generally accepted that animal heartbeat and lifespan are often inversely correlated, however, the relationship between productivity and longevity has not yet been described for trees growing under industrial and pre-industrial climates. Using 1768 annually resolved and absolutely dated ring width measurement series from living and dead conifers that grew in undisturbed, high-elevation sites in the Spanish Pyrenees and the Russian Altai over the past 2000 years, we test the hypothesis of grow fast-die young. We find maximum tree ages are significantly correlated with slow juvenile growth rates. We conclude, the interdependence between higher stem productivity, faster tree turnover, and shorter carbon residence time, reduces the capacity of forest ecosystems to store carbon under a climate warming-induced stimulation of tree growth at policy-relevant timescales.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ulf Büntgen
- Department of Geography, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 3EN, UK.
- Swiss Federal Research Institute (WSL), 8903, Birmensdorf, Switzerland.
- Global Change Research Centre and Masaryk University, 613 00, Brno, Czech Republic.
| | - Paul J Krusic
- Department of Geography, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 3EN, UK
- Department of Physical Geography, Stockholm University, 10691, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Alma Piermattei
- Department of Geography, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 3EN, UK
| | - David A Coomes
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 3EA, UK
| | - Jan Esper
- Departmemt of Geography, Johannes Gutenberg University, 55099, Mainz, Germany
| | - Vladimir S Myglan
- Institute of Humanities, Siberian Federal University, 660041, Krasnoyarsk, Russia
| | - Alexander V Kirdyanov
- Department of Geography, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 3EN, UK
- Sukachev Institute of Forest SB RAS, 660036, Krasnoyarsk, Russia
- Institute of Ecology and Geography, Siberian Federal University, 660041, Krasnoyarsk, Russia
| | - J Julio Camarero
- Instituto Pirenaico de Ecología (IPE-CSIC), 50059, Zaragoza, Spain
| | - Alan Crivellaro
- Department of Geography, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 3EN, UK
| | - Christian Körner
- Institute of Botany, University of Basel, 4056, Basel, Switzerland
| |
Collapse
|