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Silvestro R, Zeng Q, Buttò V, Sylvain JD, Drolet G, Mencuccini M, Thiffault N, Yuan S, Rossi S. A longer wood growing season does not lead to higher carbon sequestration. Sci Rep 2023; 13:4059. [PMID: 36906726 PMCID: PMC10008533 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-31336-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2022] [Accepted: 03/09/2023] [Indexed: 03/13/2023] Open
Abstract
A reliable assessment of forest carbon sequestration depends on our understanding of wood ecophysiology. Within a forest, trees exhibit different timings and rates of growth during wood formation. However, their relationships with wood anatomical traits remain partially unresolved. This study evaluated the intra-annual individual variability in growth traits in balsam fir [Abies balsamea (L.) Mill.]. We collected wood microcores weekly from April to October 2018 from 27 individuals in Quebec (Canada) and prepared anatomical sections to assess wood formation dynamics and their relationships with the anatomical traits of the wood cells. Xylem developed in a time window ranging from 44 to 118 days, producing between 8 and 79 cells. Trees with larger cell production experienced a longer growing season, with an earlier onset and later ending of wood formation. On average, each additional xylem cell lengthened the growing season by 1 day. Earlywood production explained 95% of the variability in xylem production. More productive individuals generated a higher proportion of earlywood and cells with larger sizes. Trees with a longer growing season produced more cells but not more biomass in the wood. Lengthening the growing season driven by climate change may not lead to enhanced carbon sequestration from wood production.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roberto Silvestro
- Laboratoire sur les écosystemes terrestres boreaux, Département des Sciences Fondamentales, Université du Québec à Chicoutimi, 555 boulevard de l'Université, Chicoutimi, QC, G7H2B1, Canada.
| | - Qiao Zeng
- Guangdong Open Laboratory of Geospatial Information Technology and Application, Guangzhou Institute of Geography, Guangdong Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, 510070, People's Republic of China
| | - Valentina Buttò
- Forest Research Institute, Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue, Rouyn-Noranda, QC, Canada
| | - Jean-Daniel Sylvain
- Direction de la recherche forestiere Ministère des Forêts, de la Faune et des Parcs, Québec, QC, G1P3W8, Canada
| | - Guillaume Drolet
- Direction de la recherche forestiere Ministère des Forêts, de la Faune et des Parcs, Québec, QC, G1P3W8, Canada
| | - Maurizio Mencuccini
- Centre de Recerca Ecològica i Aplicacions Forestals (CREAF), 08193, Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain.,Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ICREA), Passeig de Lluis Companys 23, 08010, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Nelson Thiffault
- Canadian Wood Fibre Centre, Canadian Forest Service, Natural Resources Canada, 1055, du P.E.P.S., Sainte-Foy Stn., P.O. Box 10380, Quebec, QC, G1V 4C7, Canada.,Centre for Forest Research, Faculty of Forestry, Geography and Geomatics, Université Laval, 2405 rue de la Terrasse, Quebec, QC, G1V 0A6, Canada
| | - Shaoxiong Yuan
- Guangdong Open Laboratory of Geospatial Information Technology and Application, Guangzhou Institute of Geography, Guangdong Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, 510070, People's Republic of China
| | - Sergio Rossi
- Laboratoire sur les écosystemes terrestres boreaux, Département des Sciences Fondamentales, Université du Québec à Chicoutimi, 555 boulevard de l'Université, Chicoutimi, QC, G7H2B1, Canada
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