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Eckersley J, O'Donnell AJ, Pettit NE, Grierson PF. Developing plant functional groups to identify changes in functional composition and diversity in a dryland river experiencing artificially sustained flows. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2024; 934:173198. [PMID: 38750740 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.173198] [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: 01/29/2024] [Revised: 05/08/2024] [Accepted: 05/11/2024] [Indexed: 05/20/2024]
Abstract
Land use and climate changes are driving significant shifts in the magnitude and persistence of dryland stream surface flows. The impact of these shifts on ecological functioning is largely unknown, particularly where streams have become wetter rather than drier. This study investigated relationships between hydrologic regime (including surface water persistence, differences in groundwater depth and altered flooding dynamics) with plant traits and riverine vegetation functional composition. Our study system was a previously ephemeral creek in semi-arid northwest Australia that has received groundwater discharge from nearby mining operations for >15 years; surface flows are now persistent for ∼27 km downstream of the discharge point. We aimed to (i) identify plant functional groups (FGs) associated with the creek and adjacent floodplain; and (ii) assess their distribution across hydrological gradients to predict shifts in ecological functioning in response to changing flow regimes. Seven FGs were identified using hierarchical clustering of 40 woody perennial plant species based on morphometric, phenological and physiologic traits. We then investigated how FG abundance (projective foliar cover), functional composition, and functional and taxonomic richness varied along a 14 km gradient from persistent to ephemeral flows, varying groundwater depths, and distances from the stream channel. Dominant FGs were (i) drought avoidant mesic trees that are fluvial stress tolerant, or (ii) drought tolerant xeric tall shrubs that are fluvial stress intolerant. The drought avoidant mesic tree FG was associated with shallow groundwater but exhibited lower cover in riparian areas closer to the discharge (persistent surface flows). However, there were more FGs and higher species richness closer to the discharge point, particularly on the floodplain. Our findings demonstrate that quantifying FG distribution and diversity is a significant step in both assessing the impacts of mine water discharge on riverine ecosystems and for planning for post-mining restoration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jake Eckersley
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Hwy, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia.
| | - Alison J O'Donnell
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Hwy, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia
| | - Neil E Pettit
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Hwy, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia
| | - Pauline F Grierson
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Hwy, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia
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Khairoun A, Mouillot F, Chen W, Ciais P, Chuvieco E. Coarse-resolution burned area datasets severely underestimate fire-related forest loss. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2024; 920:170599. [PMID: 38309343 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.170599] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2023] [Revised: 01/28/2024] [Accepted: 01/29/2024] [Indexed: 02/05/2024]
Abstract
Global coarse-resolution (≥250 m) burned area (BA) products have been used to estimate fire related forest loss, but we hypothesised that a significant part of fire impacts might be undetected because of the underestimation of small fires (<100 ha), especially in the tropics. In this paper, we analysed fire-related forest cover loss in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) for 2016 and 2019 based on a BA product generated from Sentinel-2 data (20 m), which was observed to have significantly lower omission errors than the coarse-resolution BA products. Using these higher resolution BA datasets, we found that fires contribute to >46 % of total forest losses over SSA, more than twice the estimates from coarse-resolution BA products. In addition, burned forest areas showed more than twofold likelihood of subsequent loss compared to unburned ones. In moist tropical forests, the most fire-vulnerable biome, burning had even six times more chance to precede forest loss than unburned areas. We also found that fire-related characteristics, such as fire size and season, and forest fragmentation play a major role in the determination of tree cover fate. Our results reveal that medium-resolution BA detects more fires in late fire season, which tend to have higher impact on forests than early season ones. On the other hand, small fires represented the major driver of forest loss after fires and the vast majority of these losses occur in fragmented landscapes near forest edge (<260 m). Therefore medium-resolution BA products are required to obtain a more accurate evaluation of fire impacts in tropical ecosystems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amin Khairoun
- Universidad de Alcalá, Environmental Remote Sensing Research Group, Department of Geology, Geography and the Environment, Colegios 2, 28801 Alcalá de Henares, Spain
| | - Florent Mouillot
- Centre d'Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive CEFE, UMR 5175, CNRS, Université de Montpellier, Université Paul-Valéry Montpellier, EPHE, IRD, 1919 Route de Mende, 34293 Montpellier Cedex 5, France
| | - Wentao Chen
- Centre d'Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive CEFE, UMR 5175, CNRS, Université de Montpellier, Université Paul-Valéry Montpellier, EPHE, IRD, 1919 Route de Mende, 34293 Montpellier Cedex 5, France
| | - Philippe Ciais
- Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement, LSCE/IPSL, CEA-CNRS-UVSQ, Université Paris-Saclay, Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - Emilio Chuvieco
- Universidad de Alcalá, Environmental Remote Sensing Research Group, Department of Geology, Geography and the Environment, Colegios 2, 28801 Alcalá de Henares, Spain.
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Singh RD, Gumber S, Singh SP, Singh P. Bark thickness and related parameters of tree species along an elevation transect leading to treeline in Central Himalaya. ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING AND ASSESSMENT 2024; 196:441. [PMID: 38598137 DOI: 10.1007/s10661-024-12590-6] [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: 11/23/2023] [Accepted: 03/26/2024] [Indexed: 04/11/2024]
Abstract
Since treelines are generally fire-free, the trees growing there are expected to have thin bark, unless adaptation to other factors than fire results in the selection of a thick bark. Related to this is also higher proportional investment in inner bark in such an environment of infrequent fire. This study has considered stem bark thickness both in absolute and relative terms and also in the frame of the composition of outer and inner bark components of 20 tree species along an elevation transect (2100-3300 m) in high ranges of the Central Himalaya leading to treelines. The study species varied from 2.1 to 16.2 mm for total bark thickness and from 1.2 to 18.85% for relative bark thickness. The average absolute total bark thickness across the tree species decreased with elevation from forest to treeline, both when trees of all diameters (10.2 ± 0.84 mm for forest and 6.9 ± 1.79 mm for treeline) and those of the same stem diameter range (18-20 m) were compared (9.10 ± 1.30 mm for forest species and 6.38 ± 1.31 mm for treeline species). Nevertheless, the treeline bark thickness was similar to those of several forest communities considered to have comparatively thick bark. Like many other biological structures, bark carries out multiple functions; therefore, its thickness could be affected by more than one environmental factor. We suggest that the requirement of mechanical resistance to the snowfall, rainstorms, wind and adaptation to a high sunlight and UV radiations or storage of water, and non-structural carbohydrates could affect total, outer and inner bark thickness. Studies on these aspects in similar ecosystems may help understand the multi-functional attributes of the bark. For trees of comparable sizes (trees with 18-20 cm diameter at breast height) treeline species also had lower relative bark thickness (< 6%) than trees of forest below it (> 7%). The median proportion of inner bark of the total bark (70.5%) for our 20 species was more than that for savannas (~ 50%), exposed to frequent fire regime and similar to those of in cool sclerophyllous forests and temperate rain forests where fire return time is > 100 years. However, it was lower than the inner bark proportion reported for tropical rain forests. To conclude, in spite of a fire-free environment, the Himalayan treeline and adjoining forest species show mixed bark characters.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ripu Daman Singh
- Appropriate Technology India (AT India), Dehradun, 248007, Uttarakhand, India
| | - Surabhi Gumber
- Appropriate Technology India (AT India), Dehradun, 248007, Uttarakhand, India.
| | - Surendra Pratap Singh
- Central Himalayan Environment Association (CHEA)/ Graphic Era Deemed to be University (GEU), Dehradun, 248007, Uttarakhand, India
| | - Pradeep Singh
- G.B. Pant National Institute of Himalayan Environment (GBPNIHE), Kosi-Katarmal, Almora, 263643, Uttarakhand, India
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Morar IM, Stefan R, Dan C, Sestras RE, Truta P, Medeleanu M, Ranga F, Sestras P, Truta AM, Sestras AF. FT-IR and HPLC analysis of silver fir ( Abies alba Mill.) bark compounds from different geographical provenances. Heliyon 2024; 10:e26820. [PMID: 38463881 PMCID: PMC10920173 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e26820] [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: 08/02/2023] [Revised: 01/24/2024] [Accepted: 02/20/2024] [Indexed: 03/12/2024] Open
Abstract
Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR) and High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) could be applied to study the provenance of wood, specifically the differentiation of wood resources, as well as the identification of chemical compounds that are connected to the changes that occur in wood as a result of drying treatments. To test this hypothesis, the bark of silver fir (Abies alba Mill.) from trees belonging to seven different geographical provenances was studied, using samples dried at three different temperatures (60, 80, and 100 °C). FT-IR spectroscopy revealed different band assignments in the mid-infrared region depending on fir provenances, whereas the vibrational bands of the biomass functional groups tended to shift to lower wavenumbers. Significant differences were identified between the chemical compounds in the bark depending on the provenances. The largest proportion of the total phenolics was represented by the epicatechin gallate, epicatechin, catechin, and procyanidin dimer B1. Exploratory data analysis was performed using principal component analysis (PCA), hierarchical clustering, and Pearson correlations. This allowed a comparative evaluation of the samples and interpret the findings according to the geographical provenances, respectively ecological conditions in the areas of origin, but also the influence of the drying temperatures of the samples on chemical compounds. The precipitation in the areas of origin decreased total phenolics in silver fir bark samples, and total phenolics differed not only due to the geographic provenance, but also due to drying temperature.
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Affiliation(s)
- Irina M. Morar
- Department of Forestry, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, 400372, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
| | - Razvan Stefan
- Preclinic Department, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, 400372, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
| | - Catalina Dan
- Department of Horticulture and Landscape, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, 400372, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
| | - Radu E. Sestras
- Department of Horticulture and Landscape, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, 400372, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
| | - Petru Truta
- Department of Forestry, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, 400372, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
| | - Mădălina Medeleanu
- Department of Food Science and Technology, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, 400372, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
| | - Florica Ranga
- Department of Food Science and Technology, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, 400372, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
| | - Paul Sestras
- Faculty of Civil Engineering, Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, 400020, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
- Academy of Romanian Scientists, Ilfov 3, 050044, Bucharest, Romania
| | - Alina M. Truta
- Department of Forestry, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, 400372, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
| | - Adriana F. Sestras
- Department of Forestry, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, 400372, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
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Nie W, Dong Y, Liu Y, Tan C, Wang Y, Yuan Y, Ma J, An S, Liu J, Xiao W, Jiang Z, Jia Z, Wang J. Climatic responses and variability in bark anatomical traits of 23 Picea species. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2023; 14:1201553. [PMID: 37528988 PMCID: PMC10388546 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2023.1201553] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2023] [Accepted: 06/26/2023] [Indexed: 08/03/2023]
Abstract
In woody plants, bark is an important protective tissue which can participate in photosynthesis, manage water loss, and transport assimilates. Studying the bark anatomical traits can provide insight into plant environmental adaptation strategies. However, a systematic understanding of the variability in bark anatomical traits and their drivers is lacking in woody plants. In this study, the bark anatomical traits of 23 Picea species were determined in a common garden experiment. We analyzed interspecific differences and interpreted the patterns in bark anatomical traits in relation to phylogenetic relationships and climatic factors of each species according to its global distribution. The results showed that there were interspecific differences in bark anatomical traits of Picea species. Phloem thickness was positively correlated with parenchyma cell size, possibly related to the roles of parenchyma cells in the radial transport of assimilates. Sieve cell size was negatively correlated with the radial diameter of resin ducts, and differences in sieve cells were possibly related to the formation and expansion of resin ducts. There were no significant phylogenetic signals for any bark anatomical trait, except the tangential diameter of resin ducts. Phloem thickness and parenchyma cell size were affected by temperature-related factors of their native range, while sieve cell size was influenced by precipitation-related factors. Bark anatomical traits were not significantly different under wet and dry climates. This study makes an important contribution to our understanding of variability in bark anatomical traits among Picea species and their ecological adaptations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wen Nie
- Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Environment of National Forestry and Grassland Administration, Ecology and Nature Conservation Institute, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing, China
| | - Yao Dong
- Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Environment of National Forestry and Grassland Administration, Ecology and Nature Conservation Institute, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing, China
| | - Yifu Liu
- Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Environment of National Forestry and Grassland Administration, Ecology and Nature Conservation Institute, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing, China
| | - Cancan Tan
- Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Environment of National Forestry and Grassland Administration, Ecology and Nature Conservation Institute, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing, China
| | - Ya Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Tree Genetics and Breeding, Research Institute of Forestry, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing, China
| | - Yanchao Yuan
- Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Environment of National Forestry and Grassland Administration, Ecology and Nature Conservation Institute, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing, China
| | - Jianwei Ma
- Research Institute of Forestry of Xiaolong Mountain, Gansu Provincial Key Laboratory of Secondary Forest Cultivation, Tianshui, China
| | - Sanping An
- Research Institute of Forestry of Xiaolong Mountain, Gansu Provincial Key Laboratory of Secondary Forest Cultivation, Tianshui, China
| | - Jianfeng Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Tree Genetics and Breeding, Research Institute of Forestry, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing, China
| | - Wenfa Xiao
- Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Environment of National Forestry and Grassland Administration, Ecology and Nature Conservation Institute, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing, China
| | - Zeping Jiang
- Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Environment of National Forestry and Grassland Administration, Ecology and Nature Conservation Institute, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing, China
| | - Zirui Jia
- State Key Laboratory of Tree Genetics and Breeding, Research Institute of Forestry, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing, China
| | - Junhui Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Tree Genetics and Breeding, Research Institute of Forestry, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing, China
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Shtein I, Gričar J, Lev-Yadun S, Oskolski A, Pace MR, Rosell JA, Crivellaro A. Priorities for Bark Anatomical Research: Study Venues and Open Questions. PLANTS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2023; 12:1985. [PMID: 37653902 PMCID: PMC10221070 DOI: 10.3390/plants12101985] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2023] [Revised: 04/16/2023] [Accepted: 04/20/2023] [Indexed: 09/02/2023]
Abstract
The bark fulfils several essential functions in vascular plants and yields a wealth of raw materials, but the understanding of bark structure and function strongly lags behind our knowledge with respect to other plant tissues. The recent technological advances in sampling and preparation of barks for anatomical studies, along with the establishment of an agreed bark terminology, paved the way for more bark anatomical research. Whilst datasets reveal bark's taxonomic and functional diversity in various ecosystems, a better understanding of the bark can advance the understanding of plants' physiological and environmental challenges and solutions. We propose a set of priorities for understanding and further developing bark anatomical studies, including periderm structure in woody plants, phloem phenology, methods in bark anatomy research, bark functional ecology, relationships between bark macroscopic appearance, and its microscopic structure and discuss how to achieve these ambitious goals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ilana Shtein
- Department of Molecular Biology, Milken Campus, Ariel University, Ariel 40700, Israel
- Eastern R&D Center, Milken Campus, Ariel 40700, Israel
| | - Jožica Gričar
- Department of Forest Physiology and Genetics, Slovenian Forestry Institute, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Simcha Lev-Yadun
- Department of Biology & Environment, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Haifa-Oranim, Tivon 36006, Israel
| | - Alexei Oskolski
- Department of Botany and Plant Biotechnology, University of Johannesburg, Auckland Park, Johannesburg 2006, South Africa
- Komarov Botanical Institute, Russian Academy of Science, Prof. Popov Str. 2, 197376 St. Petersburg, Russia
| | - Marcelo R. Pace
- Instituto de Biología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad de México 04510, Mexico
| | - Julieta A. Rosell
- Laboratorio Nacional de Ciencias de la Sostenibilidad, Instituto de Ecología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad de México 04510, Mexico
| | - Alan Crivellaro
- Forest Biometrics Laboratory, Faculty of Forestry, “Stefan cel Mare” University of Suceava, Str. Universitatii 13, 720229 Suceava, Romania
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Functional Diversity in Woody Organs of Tropical Dry Forests and Implications for Restoration. SUSTAINABILITY 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/su14148362] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
Tropical dry forests (TDFs) represent one of the most diverse and, at the same time, most threatened ecosystems on earth. Restoration of TDFs is thus crucial but is hindered by a limited understanding of the functional diversity (FD) of original communities. We examine the FD of TDFs based on wood (vessel diameter and wood density) and bark traits (total, inner, and outer bark thicknesses) measured on ~500 species from 24 plant communities and compare this diversity with that of seven other major vegetation types. Along with other seasonally dry sites, TDFs had the highest FD, as indicated by the widest ranges, highest variances, and largest trait hypervolumes. Warm temperatures and seasonal drought seem to drive diverse ecological strategies in these ecosystems, which include a continuum from deciduous species with low-density wood, thick bark, and wide vessels to evergreen species with high-density wood, thin bark, and narrow vessels. The very high FD of TDFs represents a challenge to restoring the likely widest trait ranges of any habitat on earth. Understanding this diversity is essential for monitoring successional changes in minimal intervention restoration and guiding species selection for resilient restoration plantings in the context of climate change.
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Newbery DM, Lingenfelder M. Stem girth changes in response to soil water potential in lowland dipterocarp forest in Borneo: An individualistic time-series analysis. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0270140. [PMID: 35771743 PMCID: PMC9246238 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0270140] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2022] [Accepted: 06/03/2022] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Time-series data offer a way of investigating the causes driving ecological processes as phenomena. To test for possible differences in water relations between species of different forest structural guilds at Danum (Sabah, NE Borneo), daily stem girth increments (gthi), of 18 trees across six species were regressed individually on soil moisture potential (SMP) and temperature (TEMP), accounting for temporal autocorrelation (in GLS-arima models), and compared between a wet and a dry period. The best-fitting significant variables were SMP the day before and TEMP the same day. The first resulted in a mix of positive and negative coefficients, the second largely positive ones. An adjustment for dry-period showers was applied. Interactions were stronger in dry than wet period. Negative relationships for overstorey trees can be interpreted in a reversed causal sense: fast transporting stems depleted soil water and lowered SMP. Positive relationships for understorey trees meant they took up most water at high SMP. The unexpected negative relationships for these small trees may have been due to their roots accessing deeper water supplies (if SMP was inversely related to that of the surface layer), and this was influenced by competition with larger neighbour trees. A tree-soil flux dynamics manifold may have been operating. Patterns of mean diurnal girth variation were more consistent among species, and time-series coefficients were negatively related to their maxima. Expected differences in response to SMP in the wet and dry periods did not clearly support a previous hypothesis differentiating drought and non-drought tolerant understorey guilds. Trees within species showed highly individual responses when tree size was standardized. Data on individual root systems and SMP at several depths are needed to get closer to the mechanisms that underlie the tree-soil water phenomena in these tropical forests. Neighborhood stochasticity importantly creates varying local environments experienced by individual trees.
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Affiliation(s)
- David M. Newbery
- Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
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Sierra-de-Grado R, Pando V, Voltas J, Zas R, Majada J, Climent J. Straightening the crooked: intraspecific divergence of stem posture control and associated trade-offs in a model conifer. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BOTANY 2022; 73:1222-1235. [PMID: 34865003 PMCID: PMC8866635 DOI: 10.1093/jxb/erab535] [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: 08/02/2021] [Accepted: 12/03/2021] [Indexed: 05/13/2023]
Abstract
Although the straightening capacity of the stem is key for light capture and mechanical stability in forest trees, little is known about its adaptive implications. Assuming that stem straightening is costly, trade-offs are expected with competing processes such as growth, maintenance, and defence. We established a manipulative experiment in a common garden of Pinus pinaster including provenances typically showing either straight-stemmed or crooked-stemmed phenotypes. We imposed a bending up to 35º on plants aged 9 years of both provenance groups and followed the straightening kinetics and shoot elongation after releasing. Eight months later, we destructively assessed biomass partitioning, reaction wood, wood microdensity, xylem reserve carbohydrates, and phloem secondary metabolites. The experimental bending and release caused significant, complex changes with a marked difference between straight- and crooked-type plants. The straight-type recovered verticality faster and to a higher degree and developed more compression wood, while displaying a transitory delay in shoot elongation, reducing resource allocation to defence and maintaining the levels of non-structural carbohydrates compared with the crooked type. This combination of responses indicates the existence of intraspecific divergence in the reaction to mechanical stresses that may be related to different adaptive phenotypic plasticity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rosario Sierra-de-Grado
- ETSIA, Universidad de Valladolid, Avda de Madrid 44, 34004 Palencia, Spain
- iuFOR, University Institute for Research in Sustainable Forest Management, Avda de Madrid 44, 34004 Palencia, Spain
- Correspondence:
| | - Valentin Pando
- ETSIA, Universidad de Valladolid, Avda de Madrid 44, 34004 Palencia, Spain
- iuFOR, University Institute for Research in Sustainable Forest Management, Avda de Madrid 44, 34004 Palencia, Spain
| | - Jordi Voltas
- Department of Crop and Forest Sciences, University of Lleida, Av. Alcalde Rovira Roure 191, E-25198 Lleida, Spain
- Joint Research Unit CTFC–AGROTECNIO–CERCA, Av. Alcalde Rovira Roure 191, E-25198 Lleida, Spain
| | - Rafael Zas
- Misión Biológica de Galicia (MBG-CSIC), Apdo 28, 36143 Pontevedra, Spain
| | - Juan Majada
- CETEMAS, Pumarabule s/n, Carbayín, 33936 Asturias, Spain
| | - Jose Climent
- iuFOR, University Institute for Research in Sustainable Forest Management, Avda de Madrid 44, 34004 Palencia, Spain
- Centro de Investigaciones Forestales (INIA-CSIC), Ctra. A Coruña km 7.5, 28040 Madrid, Spain
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10
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Yang S, Sterck FJ, Sass-Klaassen U, Cornelissen JHC, van Logtestijn RSP, Hefting M, Goudzwaard L, Zuo J, Poorter L. Stem Trait Spectra Underpin Multiple Functions of Temperate Tree Species. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2022; 13:769551. [PMID: 35310622 PMCID: PMC8930200 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2022.769551] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2021] [Accepted: 01/13/2022] [Indexed: 05/17/2023]
Abstract
A central paradigm in comparative ecology is that species sort out along a slow-fast resource economy spectrum of plant strategies, but this has been rarely tested for a comprehensive set of stem traits and compartments. We tested how stem traits vary across wood and bark of temperate tree species, whether a slow-fast strategy spectrum exists, and what traits make up this plant strategy spectrum. For 14 temperate tree species, 20 anatomical, chemical, and morphological traits belonging to six key stem functions were measured for three stem compartments (inner wood, outer wood, and bark). The trait variation was explained by major taxa (38%), stem compartments (24%), and species within major taxa (19%). A continuous plant strategy gradient was found across and within taxa, running from hydraulic safe gymnosperms to conductive angiosperms. Both groups showed a second strategy gradient related to chemical defense. Gymnosperms strongly converged in their trait strategies because of their uniform tracheids. Angiosperms strongly diverged because of their different vessel arrangement and tissue types. The bark had higher concentrations of nutrients and phenolics whereas the wood had stronger physical defense. The gymnosperms have a conservative strategy associated with strong hydraulic safety and physical defense, and a narrow, specialized range of trait values, which allow them to grow well in drier and unproductive habitats. The angiosperm species show a wider trait variation in all stem compartments, which makes them successful in marginal- and in mesic, productive habitats. The associations between multiple wood and bark traits collectively define a slow-fast stem strategy spectrum as is seen also for each stem compartment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shanshan Yang
- Forest Ecology and Forest Management Group, Wageningen University and Research, Wageningen, Netherlands
- *Correspondence: Shanshan Yang, ;
| | - Frank J. Sterck
- Forest Ecology and Forest Management Group, Wageningen University and Research, Wageningen, Netherlands
| | - Ute Sass-Klaassen
- Forest Ecology and Forest Management Group, Wageningen University and Research, Wageningen, Netherlands
| | - J. Hans C. Cornelissen
- Department of Ecological Science, Systems Ecology, VU University (Vrije Universiteit) Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Richard S. P. van Logtestijn
- Department of Ecological Science, Systems Ecology, VU University (Vrije Universiteit) Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Mariet Hefting
- Landscape Ecology, Institute of Environmental Biology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, Netherlands
| | - Leo Goudzwaard
- Forest Ecology and Forest Management Group, Wageningen University and Research, Wageningen, Netherlands
| | - Juan Zuo
- Key Laboratory of Aquatic Botany and Watershed Ecology, Wuhan Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, China
| | - Lourens Poorter
- Forest Ecology and Forest Management Group, Wageningen University and Research, Wageningen, Netherlands
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11
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Scalon MC, Rossatto DR, Oliveras I, Miatto RC, Gray EF, Domingos FMCB, Brum FT, Carlucci MB, Hoffmann WA, Marimon-Júnior BH, Marimon BS, Franco AC. Fire and drought: Shifts in bark investment across a broad geographical scale for Neotropical savanna trees. Basic Appl Ecol 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.baae.2021.06.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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12
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Tuo B, Yan ER, Guo C, Ci H, Berg MP, Cornelissen JHC. Influences of the bark economics spectrum and positive termite feedback on bark and xylem decomposition. Ecology 2021; 102:e03480. [PMID: 34270798 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.3480] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2020] [Revised: 03/25/2021] [Accepted: 05/13/2021] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
Abstract
The plant economics spectrum integrates trade-offs and covariation in resource economic traits of different plant organs and their consequences for pivotal ecosystem processes, such as decomposition. However, in this concept stems are often considered as one unit ignoring the important functional differences between wood (xylem) and bark. These differences may not only affect the performance of woody plants during their lifetime, but may also have important "afterlife effects." Specifically, bark quality may strongly affect deadwood decomposition of different woody species. We hypothesized that (1) bark quality strongly influences bark decomposability to microbial decomposers, and possibly amplifies the interspecific variation in decomposition by invertebrate consumption, especially termites; and (2) bark decomposition has secondary effects on xylem mass loss by providing access to decomposers including invertebrates such as termites. We tested these hypotheses across 34 subtropical woody species representing five common plant functional types, by conducting an in situ deadwood decomposition experiment over 12-month in two sites in subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forest in China. We employed visual examination and surface density measurement to quantify termite consumption to both bark and the underlying xylem, respectively. Using principal component analysis, we synthesized seven bark traits to provide the first empirical evidence for a bark economics spectrum (BES), with high BES values (i.e., bark thickness, nitrogen, phosphorus, and cellulose contents) indicating a resource acquisitive strategy and low BES values (i.e., carbon, lignin, and dry matter contents) indicating a resource conservative strategy. The BES affected interspecific variation in bark mass loss and this relationship was strongly amplified by termites. The BES also explained nearly half of the interspecific variation in termite consumption to xylem, making it an important contributor to deadwood decomposition overall. Moreover, the above across-species relationships manifested also within plant functional types, highlighting the value of using continuous variation in bark traits rather than categorical plant functional types in carbon cycle modeling. Our findings demonstrate the potent role of the BES in influencing deadwood decomposition including positive invertebrate feedback thereon in warm-climate forests, with implications for the role of bark quality in carbon cycling in other woody biomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bin Tuo
- Putuo Island Ecosystem Research Station, Zhejiang Tiantong Forest Ecosystem National Observation and Research Station, and Shanghai Key Lab for Urban Ecological Processes and Eco-Restoration, School of Ecological and Environmental Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai, 200241, China.,Department of Ecological Science, Faculty of Science, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1085, Amsterdam, 1081 HV, The Netherlands
| | - En-Rong Yan
- Putuo Island Ecosystem Research Station, Zhejiang Tiantong Forest Ecosystem National Observation and Research Station, and Shanghai Key Lab for Urban Ecological Processes and Eco-Restoration, School of Ecological and Environmental Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai, 200241, China
| | - Chao Guo
- Putuo Island Ecosystem Research Station, Zhejiang Tiantong Forest Ecosystem National Observation and Research Station, and Shanghai Key Lab for Urban Ecological Processes and Eco-Restoration, School of Ecological and Environmental Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai, 200241, China
| | - Hang Ci
- Putuo Island Ecosystem Research Station, Zhejiang Tiantong Forest Ecosystem National Observation and Research Station, and Shanghai Key Lab for Urban Ecological Processes and Eco-Restoration, School of Ecological and Environmental Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai, 200241, China
| | - Matty P Berg
- Department of Ecological Science, Faculty of Science, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1085, Amsterdam, 1081 HV, The Netherlands.,Community and Conservation Ecology Group, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Post Box 11103, Groningen, 9700 CC, The Netherlands
| | - Johannes H C Cornelissen
- Department of Ecological Science, Faculty of Science, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1085, Amsterdam, 1081 HV, The Netherlands
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13
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Rosell JA, Piper FI, Jiménez-Vera C, Vergílio PCB, Marcati CR, Castorena M, Olson ME. Inner bark as a crucial tissue for non-structural carbohydrate storage across three tropical woody plant communities. PLANT, CELL & ENVIRONMENT 2021; 44:156-170. [PMID: 33034374 DOI: 10.1111/pce.13903] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2020] [Revised: 09/29/2020] [Accepted: 10/01/2020] [Indexed: 05/29/2023]
Abstract
Non-structural carbohydrates (NSC) are crucial for forest resilience, but little is known regarding the role of bark in NSC storage. However, bark's abundance in woody stems and its large living fraction make it potentially key for NSC storage. We quantified total NSC, soluble sugar (SS) and starch concentrations in the most living region of bark (inner bark, IB), and sapwood of twigs, trunks and roots of 45 woody species from three contrasting tropical climates spanning global extremes of bark diversity and wide phylogenetic diversity. NSC concentrations were similar (total NSC, starch) or higher (SS) in IB than wood, with concentrations co-varying strongly. NSC concentrations varied widely across organs and species within communities and were not significantly affected by climate, leaf habit or the presence of photosynthetic bark. Starch concentration tended to increase with density, but only in wood. IB contributed substantially to NSC storage, accounting for 17-36% of total NSC, 23-47% of SS and 15-33% of starch pools. Further examination of the drivers of variation in IB NSC concentration, and taking into account the substantial contribution of IB to NSC pools, will be crucial to understand the role of storage in plant environmental adaptation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julieta A Rosell
- Laboratorio Nacional de Ciencias de la Sostenibilidad, Instituto de Ecología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad de México, Mexico
| | - Frida I Piper
- Centro de Investigación en Ecosistemas de la Patagonia (CIEP), Coyhaique, Chile
| | - Cipatli Jiménez-Vera
- Laboratorio Nacional de Ciencias de la Sostenibilidad, Instituto de Ecología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad de México, Mexico
- Departamento de Biología de la Conservación, Centro de Investigación Científica y de Educación Superior de Ensenada, Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico
| | - Paula C B Vergílio
- Colegiado de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Estadual do Paraná (UNESPAR), Paranaguá, Brazil
- Laboratório de Anatomia da Madeira, Departamento de Ciência Florestal, Faculdade de Ciências Agronômicas, Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP), São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Carmen R Marcati
- Laboratório de Anatomia da Madeira, Departamento de Ciência Florestal, Faculdade de Ciências Agronômicas, Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP), São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Matiss Castorena
- Departamento de Botánica, Instituto de Biología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad de México, Mexico
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, USA
| | - Mark E Olson
- Departamento de Botánica, Instituto de Biología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad de México, Mexico
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Lehnebach R, Alméras T, Clair B. How does bark contribution to postural control change during tree ontogeny? A study of six Amazonian tree species. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BOTANY 2020; 71:2641-2649. [PMID: 32052058 PMCID: PMC7210755 DOI: 10.1093/jxb/eraa070] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2019] [Accepted: 02/11/2020] [Indexed: 05/26/2023]
Abstract
Recent works revealed that bark is able to produce mechanical stress to control the orientation of young tilted stems. Here we report how the potential performance of this function changes with stem size in six Amazonian species with contrasted bark anatomy. The potential performance of the mechanism depends both on the magnitude of bark stress and the relative thickness of the bark. We measured bark longitudinal residual strain and density, and the allometric relationship between bark thickness and stem radius over a gradient of tree sizes. Constant tensile stress was found in species that rely on bark for the control of stem orientation in young stages. Other species had increasing compressive stress, associated with increasing density attributed to the development of sclereids. Compressive stress was also associated with low relative bark thickness. The relative thickness of bark decreased with size in all species, suggesting that a reorientation mechanism based on bark progressively performs less well as the tree grows. However, greater relative thickness was observed in species with more tensile stress, thereby evidencing that this reduction in performance is mitigated in species that rely on bark for reorientation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Romain Lehnebach
- LMGC, Université de Montpellier, CNRS, Montpellier, France
- UGent-Woodlab, Laboratory of Wood Technology, Department of Environment, Gent University, Gent, Belgium
| | | | - Bruno Clair
- LMGC, Université de Montpellier, CNRS, Montpellier, France
- CNRS, UMR Ecologie des Forêts de Guyane (EcoFoG), AgroParisTech, CIRAD, INRA, Université des Antilles, Université de Guyane, Campus agronomique, Kourou cedex, France
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15
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Fan XY, Liu WY, Song L, Liu S, Shi XM, Yuan GD. A combination of morphological and photosynthetic functional traits maintains the vertical distribution of bryophytes in a subtropical cloud forest. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BOTANY 2020; 107:761-772. [PMID: 32452016 DOI: 10.1002/ajb2.1474] [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: 10/22/2019] [Accepted: 02/25/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
PREMISE The distribution and performance of bryophyte species vary with vertical gradients, as a result of changes in environmental factors, especially light. However, the morphological and physiological drivers of bryophyte distribution along forest vertical gradients are poorly understood. METHODS For 18 species of mosses and liverworts distributed among three vertical microhabitats (ground, tree trunk, and branch, variance in 28 morphological and photosynthetic functional traits was comparatively analyzed among the microhabitats and bryophyte life-forms in a subtropical cloud forest in Ailao Mountain, Yunnan, southwestern China. Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to summarize trait differences among bryophyte species. RESULTS In contrast to trunk and ground dwellers, branch dwellers tended to reduce light interception (smaller leaf and cell sizes, lower chlorophyll content), protect against damage from intense irradiation (higher ratios of carotenoids to chlorophyll), raise light energy use (higher photosynthetic capacity), and cope with lower environmental moisture (pendant life-forms, thicker cell walls). The PCA showed that ecological strategies of bryophytes in response to levels of irradiation were specialized in branch dwellers, although those of ground and trunk dwellers were less distinct. CONCLUSIONS Environmental filtering shaped the combination of functional traits and the spatial distribution of bryophytes along the vertical gradients. Bryophyte species from the upper canopy of cloud forests show narrow variation in functional traits in high-light intensity, whereas species in the lower vertical strata associated with low-light intensity used contrasting, but more diverse ecological strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiao-Yang Fan
- CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, Yunnan Province, 650223, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Wen-Yao Liu
- CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, Yunnan Province, 650223, China
- Center of Plant Ecology, Core Botanical Gardens, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xishuangbanna, China
| | - Liang Song
- CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, Yunnan Province, 650223, China
- Center of Plant Ecology, Core Botanical Gardens, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xishuangbanna, China
| | - Shuai Liu
- College of Life Science, Anhui Normal University, Wuhu, Anhui Province, 241000, China
| | - Xian-Meng Shi
- College of Biology and Food, Shangqiu Normal University, Shangqiu, Henan Province, 476000, China
| | - Guo-Di Yuan
- Institute of Medical Biology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Kunming, Yunnan Province, 650031, China
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16
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Rosell JA. Bark in Woody Plants: Understanding the Diversity of a Multifunctional Structure. Integr Comp Biol 2020; 59:535-547. [PMID: 31120526 DOI: 10.1093/icb/icz057] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Most biological structures carry out multiple functions. Focusing on only one function to make adaptive inferences overlooks that manifold selection pressures and tradeoffs shape the characteristics of a multifunctional structure. Focusing on single functions can only lead to a partial picture of the causes underlying diversity and the evolutionary origin of the structure in question. I illustrate this discussion using bark as a study case. Bark comprises all the tissues surrounding the xylem in woody plants. Broadly, bark includes an inner and mostly living region and an outer, dead one. Of all plant structures, bark has the most complex anatomical structure and ontogenetic origin involving two (and often three) different meristems. Traditionally, the wide diversity in bark traits, mainly bark thickness, has been interpreted as the result of the selective pressures imposed by fire regime. However, recent research has shown that explanations based on fire regime cannot account for salient patterns of bark variation globally including the very strong inner bark thickness-stem diameter scaling, which is likely due to metabolic needs, and the very high intracommunity variation in total, inner, and outer bark thickness, and in inner:outer proportions. Moreover, explanations based on fire disregard that in addition to fire protection, bark carries out several other crucial functions for plants including translocation of photosynthates; storage of starch, soluble sugars, water, and other compounds; protection from herbivores, pathogens, and high temperatures; wound closure, as well as mechanical support, photosynthesis, and likely being involved in xylem embolism repair. All these functions are crucial for plant performance and are involved in synergistic (e.g., storage of water and insulation) and trade-off relationships (e.g., protection from fire vs photosynthetic activity). Focusing on only one of these functions, protection from fire has provided an incomplete picture of the selective forces shaping bark diversity and has severely hindered our incipient understanding of the functional ecology of this crucial region of woody stems. Applying a multifunctional perspective to the study of bark will allow us to address why we observe such high intracommunity variation in bark traits, why some bark trait combinations are ontogenetically impossible or penalized by selection, how bark is coordinated functionally with other plant parts, and as a result, to understand how bark contributes to the vast diversity of plant ecological strategies across the globe.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julieta A Rosell
- Laboratorio Nacional de Ciencias de la Sostenibilidad, Instituto de Ecología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Apartado Postal 70-275, Ciudad de México 04510, Mexico
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Loram-Lourenço L, Farnese FDS, de Sousa LF, Alves RDFB, de Andrade MCP, Almeida SEDS, Moura LMDF, Costa AC, Silva FG, Galmés J, Cochard H, Franco AC, Menezes-Silva PE. A Structure Shaped by Fire, but Also Water: Ecological Consequences of the Variability in Bark Properties Across 31 Species From the Brazilian Cerrado. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2020; 10:1718. [PMID: 32038687 PMCID: PMC6987451 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2019.01718] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2019] [Accepted: 12/06/2019] [Indexed: 05/26/2023]
Abstract
Bark is a structure involved in multiple physiological functions, but which has been traditionally associated with protection against fire. Thus, little is known about how the morpho-anatomical variations of this structure are related to different ecological pressures, especially in tropical savanna species, which are commonly subjected to frequent fire and drought events. Here we evaluated how the structural and functional variations of bark are related to the processes of resilience and resistance to fire, as well as transport and storage of water in 31 native species from the Brazilian Cerrado. Because of their thick bark, none of the trees analyzed were top-killed after a severe fire event. The structural and functional variations of the bark were also associated with water storage and transport, functions related to properties of the inner bark. In fact, species with a thicker and less dense inner bark were the ones that had the highest water contents in the wood, bark, and leaves. Lower bark density was also related to higher stem hydraulic conductivity, carbon assimilation, and growth. Overall, we provide strong evidence that in addition to protection from fire, the relative investment in bark also reflects different strategies of water use and conservation among many Cerrado tree species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucas Loram-Lourenço
- Departamento de Biologia, Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia Goiano, Campus Rio Verde, Rio Verde, Brazil
| | - Fernanda dos Santos Farnese
- Departamento de Biologia, Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia Goiano, Campus Rio Verde, Rio Verde, Brazil
| | - Letícia Ferreira de Sousa
- Departamento de Biologia, Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia Goiano, Campus Rio Verde, Rio Verde, Brazil
| | | | - Maria Clara Pereira de Andrade
- Departamento de Biologia, Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia Goiano, Campus Rio Verde, Rio Verde, Brazil
| | | | | | - Alan Carlos Costa
- Departamento de Biologia, Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia Goiano, Campus Rio Verde, Rio Verde, Brazil
| | - Fabiano Guimarães Silva
- Departamento de Biologia, Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia Goiano, Campus Rio Verde, Rio Verde, Brazil
| | - Jeroni Galmés
- Research Group on Plant Biology Under Mediterranean Conditions, Department of Biology, Universitat de les Illes Balears, Palma, Spain
| | - Hervé Cochard
- Université Clermont-Auvergne, INRA, PIAF, Clermont-Ferrand, France
| | - Augusto Cesar Franco
- Departamento de Botânica, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade de Brasília, Brasília, Brazil
| | - Paulo Eduardo Menezes-Silva
- Departamento de Biologia, Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia Goiano, Campus Rio Verde, Rio Verde, Brazil
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Li X, Rossi S, Liang E. The onset of xylogenesis in Smith fir is not related to outer bark thickness. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BOTANY 2019; 106:1386-1391. [PMID: 31529807 DOI: 10.1002/ajb2.1360] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2019] [Accepted: 08/13/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
PREMISE The resumption of stem growth varies across the ontogenetic development of trees. Compared with younger trees, older ones have thicker outer bark with a temperature-insulating effect that could potentially prevent the stem from warming in the spring. However, the question of whether xylogenesis in old trees is influenced by the thick bark still remains unresolved. METHODS We investigated the onset of xylogenesis across the ontogenetic development of Smith fir (Abies georgei var. smithii) trees in the Sygera Mountains, southeastern Tibetan Plateau. The outer bark of older trees was also removed. Xylogenesis was monitored in microcores we collected every 3 days during May and June in 2017. RESULTS Xylogenesis began in late May in young (<50 yr) and mature (50-100 yr) trees, 1 week earlier than in adult (>100-150 yr) and old (>150-200 yr) trees. Older (>200 yr) trees had the latest onset of xylogenesis, 2 weeks after young trees. The resumption of xylogenesis was similar between the control and bark-removed trees. CONCLUSIONS Growth resumption was delayed in older and bigger trees. Outer bark did not affect the onset of xylogenesis, which indicated that the delayed resumption of growth during the lifespan of trees could be more related to endogenous factors than to an insulating effect of the thick bark of older individuals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoxia Li
- Key Laboratory of Alpine Ecology, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China
| | - Sergio Rossi
- Département des Sciences Fondamentales, Laboratoire d'Écologie Végétale, University of Quebec in Chicoutimi, 555, Boulevard de l'Université, Chicoutimi, (QC), G7H2B1, Canada
- Key Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of Degraded Ecosystems, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Botany, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, 510650, China
| | - Eryuan Liang
- Key Laboratory of Alpine Ecology, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China
- CAS Center for Excellence in Tibetan Plateau Earth Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China
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Wigley BJ, Coetsee C, Kruger LM, Ratnam J, Sankaran M. Ants, fire, and bark traits affect how African savanna trees recover following damage. Biotropica 2019. [DOI: 10.1111/btp.12683] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin J. Wigley
- National Centre for Biological Sciences Tata Institute of Fundamental Research Bangalore India
- School of Natural Resource Management Nelson Mandela University George South Africa
| | - Corli Coetsee
- School of Natural Resource Management Nelson Mandela University George South Africa
- Scientific Services Kruger National Park Skukuza South Africa
| | - Laurence M. Kruger
- Organisation for Tropical Studies Skukuza South Africa
- Biology Department University of Cape Town Rondebosch South Africa
| | - Jayashree Ratnam
- National Centre for Biological Sciences Tata Institute of Fundamental Research Bangalore India
| | - Mahesh Sankaran
- National Centre for Biological Sciences Tata Institute of Fundamental Research Bangalore India
- School of Biology Faculty of Biological Sciences University of Leeds Leeds UK
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20
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Martín-Sanz RC, San-Martín R, Poorter H, Vázquez A, Climent J. How Does Water Availability Affect the Allocation to Bark in a Mediterranean Conifer? FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2019; 10:607. [PMID: 31164894 PMCID: PMC6536605 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2019.00607] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2019] [Accepted: 04/25/2019] [Indexed: 05/31/2023]
Abstract
Bark thickness is a key structural feature in woody plants in the protection against fire. We used 19 provenances of Pinus halepensis, an obligate-seeder species, in a replicated common garden at two environments contrasting in water availability to assess the interacting effects of site environment and population in the relative allocation to bark, expecting lower allocation at the drier site. Secondly, given the average fire frequency, we analyzed whether trees reached the critical absolute thickness soon enough for population persistence via aerial seed bank. Our analyses indicated that trees at the moister site allocated a rather fixed quantity of resources independent of tree size, and almost all populations reached critical absolute bark thickness to eventually survive fire. In contrast, at the drier site allocation to bark reduced with tree size, and most populations did not reach the critical bark thickness. Populations from areas with higher fire frequency had thicker basal bark, while those from areas with severe droughts and short vegetative periods, had thinner bark. In conclusion, drought-stressed trees have a higher risk to die from fires before achieving reproduction and building a sufficient aerial seed bank.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruth C. Martín-Sanz
- Sustainable Forest Management Research Institute (UVa-INIA), Palencia, Spain
- Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenierías Agrarias, Universidad de Valladolid, Palencia, Spain
| | - Roberto San-Martín
- Sustainable Forest Management Research Institute (UVa-INIA), Palencia, Spain
- Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenierías Agrarias, Universidad de Valladolid, Palencia, Spain
| | - Hendrik Poorter
- Plant Sciences (IBG-2), Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, Jülich, Germany
- Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, North Ryde, NSW, Australia
| | - Antonio Vázquez
- Department of Forest Ecology and Genetics, Forest Research Centre (INIA-CIFOR), Madrid, Spain
| | - José Climent
- Sustainable Forest Management Research Institute (UVa-INIA), Palencia, Spain
- Department of Forest Ecology and Genetics, Forest Research Centre (INIA-CIFOR), Madrid, Spain
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21
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van der Sande MT, Gosling W, Correa-Metrio A, Prado-Junior J, Poorter L, Oliveira RS, Mazzei L, Bush MB. A 7000-year history of changing plant trait composition in an Amazonian landscape; the role of humans and climate. Ecol Lett 2019; 22:925-935. [PMID: 30883016 PMCID: PMC6850629 DOI: 10.1111/ele.13251] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2018] [Revised: 11/28/2018] [Accepted: 02/17/2019] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
Abstract
Tropical forests are shifting in species and trait composition, but the main underlying causes remain unclear because of the short temporal scales of most studies. Here, we develop a novel approach by linking functional trait data with 7000 years of forest dynamics from a fossil pollen record of Lake Sauce in the Peruvian Amazon. We evaluate how climate and human disturbances affect community trait composition. We found weak relationships between environmental conditions and traits at the taxon level, but strong effects for community‐mean traits. Overall, community‐mean traits were more responsive to human disturbances than to climate change; human‐induced erosion increased the dominance of dense‐wooded, non‐zoochorous species with compound leaves, and human‐induced fire increased the dominance of tall, zoochorous taxa with large seeds and simple leaves. This information can help to enhance our understanding of forest responses to past environmental changes, and improve predictions of future changes in tropical forest composition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Masha T van der Sande
- Institute for Global Ecology, Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne, FL, USA.,Institute for Biodiversity & Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.,Forest Ecology and Forest Management Group, Wageningen University and Research, P.O. Box 47, 6700 AA, Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - William Gosling
- Institute for Biodiversity & Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Alexander Correa-Metrio
- Instituto de Geología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Coyoacán, Ciudad de México, CP 04510, Mexico
| | | | - Lourens Poorter
- Forest Ecology and Forest Management Group, Wageningen University and Research, P.O. Box 47, 6700 AA, Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Rafael S Oliveira
- Department of Plant Biology, Institute of Biology, CP 6109, University of Campinas- UNICAMP, 13083-970, Campinas, SP, Brazil
| | - Lucas Mazzei
- Embrapa Amazônia Oriental, Travessa Enéas Pinheiro, S/N° 100 Belém, CEP 66095, Pará, Brazil
| | - Mark B Bush
- Institute for Global Ecology, Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne, FL, USA
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Ratnam J, Chengappa SK, Machado SJ, Nataraj N, Osuri AM, Sankaran M. Functional Traits of Trees From Dry Deciduous “Forests” of Southern India Suggest Seasonal Drought and Fire Are Important Drivers. Front Ecol Evol 2019. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2019.00008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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23
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Olson ME, Rosell JA, Zamora Muñoz S, Castorena M. Carbon limitation, stem growth rate and the biomechanical cause of Corner's rules. ANNALS OF BOTANY 2018; 122:583-592. [PMID: 29889257 PMCID: PMC6153482 DOI: 10.1093/aob/mcy089] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2018] [Accepted: 05/06/2018] [Indexed: 05/29/2023]
Abstract
Background and aims Corner's rules describe a global spectrum from large-leaved plants with thick, sparingly branched twigs with low-density stem tissues and thick piths to plants with thin, highly branched stems with high-density stem tissues and thin piths. The hypothesis was tested that, if similar crown areas fix similar amounts of carbon regardless of leaf size, then large-leaved species, with their distantly spaced leaves, require higher stem growth rates, lower stem tissue densities and stiffnesses, and therefore thicker twigs. Methods Structural equation models were used to test the compatibility of this hypothesis with a dataset on leaf size, shoot tip spacing, stem growth rate and dimensions, and tissue density and mechanics, sampling 55 species drawn from across the angiosperm phylogeny from a morphologically diverse dry tropical community. Key results Very good fit of structural equation models showed that the causal model is highly congruent with the data. Conclusions Given similar amounts of carbon to allocate to stem growth, larger-leaved species require greater leaf spacing and therefore greater stem extension rates and longer stems, in turn requiring lower-density, more flexible, stem tissues than small-leaved species. A given stem can have high resistance to bending because it is thick (has high second moment of area I) or because its tissues are stiff (high Young's modulus E), the so-called E-I trade-off. Because of the E-I trade-off, large-leaved species have fast stem growth rates, low stem tissue density and tissue stiffness, and thick twigs with wide piths and thick bark. The agreement between hypothesis and data in structural equation analyses strongly suggests that Corner's rules emerge as the result of selection favouring the avoidance of self-shading in the context of broadly similar rates of carbon fixation per unit crown area across species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark E Olson
- Instituto de Biología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Tercer Circuito s/n de Ciudad Universitaria, México, Mexico
| | - Julieta A Rosell
- Laboratorio Nacional de Ciencias de la Sostenibilidad, Instituto de Ecología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Tercer Circuito s/n de Ciudad Universitaria, México, Mexico
| | - Salvador Zamora Muñoz
- Instituto de Investigaciones en Matemáticas Aplicadas y en Sistemas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Circuito Escolar s/n de Ciudad Universitaria, México, Mexico
| | - Matiss Castorena
- Instituto de Biología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Tercer Circuito s/n de Ciudad Universitaria, México, Mexico
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Variation in Carbon Fraction, Density, and Carbon Density in Conifer Tree Tissues. FORESTS 2018. [DOI: 10.3390/f9070430] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
We analyzed variations in three tree properties: tissue density, carbon fraction, and carbon density within bole tissues of nine Californian conifer species. Model performance for all three tree properties was significantly improved with the addition of covariates related to crown characteristics and position within the tree. This suggests that biomass and carbon mass estimates that rely on fixed wood density and carbon fraction may be inaccurate across tree sizes. We found a significant negative relationship between tissue density and carbon fraction within tree bole tissues, indicating that multiplying biomass by an average carbon fraction to obtain carbon mass is likely to lead to inaccurate estimates. Measured carbon fractions in tree tissues deviated from the widely used 0.5 value from a low of 1.4% to a high of 17.6%. Carbon fraction model parameters indicate the potential for an additional deviation from this 0.5 value of up to 2.7% due to the interaction between relative height and wood density. Applying measured carbon fractions to whole bole biomasses resulted in carbon mass estimates as much as 10.6% greater than estimates derived using the 0.5 value. We also found a significant, though modest, improvement in carbon fraction model estimates by assigning trees to groups based on tree bark characteristics.
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Poorter L, Castilho CV, Schietti J, Oliveira RS, Costa FRC. Can traits predict individual growth performance? A test in a hyperdiverse tropical forest. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2018; 219:109-121. [PMID: 29774944 PMCID: PMC6001574 DOI: 10.1111/nph.15206] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2017] [Accepted: 03/08/2018] [Indexed: 05/12/2023]
Abstract
The functional trait approach has, as a central tenet, that plant traits are functional and shape individual performance, but this has rarely been tested in the field. Here, we tested the individual-based trait approach in a hyperdiverse Amazonian tropical rainforest and evaluated intraspecific variation in trait values, plant strategies at the individual level, and whether traits are functional and predict individual performance. We evaluated > 1300 tree saplings belonging to > 383 species, measured 25 traits related to growth and defense, and evaluated the effects of environmental conditions, plant size, and traits on stem growth. A total of 44% of the trait variation was observed within species, indicating a strong potential for acclimation. Individuals showed two strategy spectra, related to tissue toughness and organ size vs leaf display. In this nutrient- and light-limited forest, traits measured at the individual level were surprisingly poor predictors of individual growth performance because of convergence of traits and growth rates. Functional trait approaches based on individuals or species are conceptually fundamentally different: the species-based approach focuses on the potential and the individual-based approach on the realized traits and growth rates. Counterintuitively, the individual approach leads to a poor prediction of individual performance, although it provides a more realistic view on community dynamics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lourens Poorter
- Forest Ecology and Forest Management Group, Wageningen University and Research, PO Box 47, AA Wageningen, 6700, Netherlands
- Coordenação de Pesquisa em Biodiversidade, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia (INPA), Caixa Postal 2223, CEP 69008-971, Manaus, Brazil
| | - Carolina V Castilho
- Embrapa Roraima, Rodovia BR 174, Km 8, Distrito Industrial, Caixa Postal 133, CEP 69301-970, Boa Vista, RR, Brazil
| | - Juliana Schietti
- Coordenação de Pesquisa em Biodiversidade, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia (INPA), Caixa Postal 2223, CEP 69008-971, Manaus, Brazil
| | - Rafael S Oliveira
- Depto. de Biologia Vegetal, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Caixa Postal 6109, CEP 13083-970, Campinas, SP, Brazil
| | - Flávia R C Costa
- Coordenação de Pesquisa em Biodiversidade, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia (INPA), Caixa Postal 2223, CEP 69008-971, Manaus, Brazil
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A New Method for Characterizing Bark Microrelief Using 3D Vision Systems. FORESTS 2018. [DOI: 10.3390/f9010030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
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Pellegrini AFA, Anderegg WRL, Paine CET, Hoffmann WA, Kartzinel T, Rabin SS, Sheil D, Franco AC, Pacala SW. Convergence of bark investment according to fire and climate structures ecosystem vulnerability to future change. Ecol Lett 2017; 20:307-316. [DOI: 10.1111/ele.12725] [Citation(s) in RCA: 71] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2016] [Revised: 10/14/2016] [Accepted: 12/01/2016] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Adam F. A. Pellegrini
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Princeton University Princeton NJ USA
| | - William R. L. Anderegg
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Princeton University Princeton NJ USA
- Department of Biology University of Utah Salt Lake City UT USA
| | | | - William A. Hoffmann
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology North Carolina State University Raleigh NC USA
| | - Tyler Kartzinel
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Princeton University Princeton NJ USA
- The Nature Conservancy Arlington VA USA
| | - Sam S. Rabin
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Princeton University Princeton NJ USA
| | - Douglas Sheil
- Department of Ecology and Natural Resource Management Norwegian University of Life Sciences Ås Norway
| | | | - Stephen W. Pacala
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Princeton University Princeton NJ USA
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Bentz BJ, Hood SM, Hansen EM, Vandygriff JC, Mock KE. Defense traits in the long-lived Great Basin bristlecone pine and resistance to the native herbivore mountain pine beetle. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2017; 213:611-624. [PMID: 27612209 PMCID: PMC5213150 DOI: 10.1111/nph.14191] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2016] [Accepted: 08/05/2016] [Indexed: 05/11/2023]
Abstract
Mountain pine beetle (MPB, Dendroctonus ponderosae) is a significant mortality agent of Pinus, and climate-driven range expansion is occurring. Pinus defenses in recently invaded areas, including high elevations, are predicted to be lower than in areas with longer term MPB presence. MPB was recently observed in high-elevation forests of the Great Basin (GB) region, North America. Defense and susceptibility in two long-lived species, GB bristlecone pine (Pinus longaeva) and foxtail pine (P. balfouriana), are unclear, although they are sympatric with a common MPB host, limber pine (P. flexilis). We surveyed stands with sympatric GB bristlecone-limber pine and foxtail-limber pine to determine relative MPB attack susceptibility and constitutive defenses. MPB-caused mortality was extensive in limber, low in foxtail and absent in GB bristlecone pine. Defense traits, including constitutive monoterpenes, resin ducts and wood density, were higher in GB bristlecone and foxtail than in limber pine. GB bristlecone and foxtail pines have relatively high levels of constitutive defenses which make them less vulnerable to climate-driven MPB range expansion relative to other high-elevation pines. Long-term selective herbivore pressure and exaptation of traits for tree longevity are potential explanations, highlighting the complexity of predicting plant-insect interactions under climate change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Barbara J. Bentz
- USDA Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research StationLoganUT84321USA
| | - Sharon M. Hood
- USDA Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research StationMissoulaMT59808USA
| | | | | | - Karen E. Mock
- Department of Wildland Resources and Ecology CenterUtah State UniversityLoganUT84321USA
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Uriarte M, Schwartz N, Powers JS, Marín‐Spiotta E, Liao W, Werden LK. Impacts of climate variability on tree demography in second growth tropical forests: the importance of regional context for predicting successional trajectories. Biotropica 2016. [DOI: 10.1111/btp.12380] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- María Uriarte
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Biology Columbia University 11th floor Schermerhorn Ext., 1200 Amsterdam Ave. New York NY 10027 USA
| | - Naomi Schwartz
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Biology Columbia University 11th floor Schermerhorn Ext., 1200 Amsterdam Ave. New York NY 10027 USA
| | - Jennifer S. Powers
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior University of Minnesota 140 Gortner Laboratory 1479 Gortner Avenue St. Paul MN 55108 USA
- Department of Plant Biology University of Minnesota 140 Gortner Laboratory 1479 Gortner Avenue St. Paul MN 55108 USA
| | - Erika Marín‐Spiotta
- Department of Geography University of Wisconsin – Madison 550 North Park St Madison Wisconsin 53706 USA
| | - Wenying Liao
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Biology Columbia University 11th floor Schermerhorn Ext., 1200 Amsterdam Ave. New York NY 10027 USA
| | - Leland K. Werden
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior University of Minnesota 140 Gortner Laboratory 1479 Gortner Avenue St. Paul MN 55108 USA
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Rosell JA. Bark thickness across the angiosperms: more than just fire. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2016; 211:90-102. [PMID: 26890029 DOI: 10.1111/nph.13889] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2015] [Accepted: 01/06/2016] [Indexed: 05/09/2023]
Abstract
Global variation in total bark thickness (TBT) is traditionally attributed to fire. However, bark is multifunctional, as reflected by its inner living and outer dead regions, meaning that, in addition to fire protection, other factors probably contribute to TBT variation. To address how fire, climate, and plant size contribute to variation in TBT, inner bark thickness (IBT) and outer bark thickness (OBT), I sampled 640 species spanning all major angiosperm clades and 18 sites with contrasting precipitation, temperature, and fire regime. Stem size was by far the main driver of variation in thickness, with environment being less important. IBT was closely correlated with stem diameter, probably for metabolic reasons, and, controlling for size, was thicker in drier and hotter environments, even fire-free ones, probably reflecting its water and photosynthate storage role. OBT was less closely correlated with size, and was thicker in drier, seasonal sites experiencing frequent fires. IBT and OBT covaried loosely and both contributed to overall TBT variation. Thickness variation was higher within than across sites and was evolutionarily labile. Given high within-site diversity and the multiple selective factors acting on TBT, continued study of the different drivers of variation in bark thickness is crucial to understand bark ecology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julieta A Rosell
- Departamento de Ecología de la Biodiversidad, Instituto de Ecología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, CP 04510, México, DF, Mexico
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Zuo J, Berg MP, Klein R, Nusselder J, Neurink G, Decker O, Hefting MM, Sass‐Klaassen U, Logtestijn RSP, Goudzwaard L, Hal J, Sterck FJ, Poorter L, Cornelissen JHC. Faunal community consequence of interspecific bark trait dissimilarity in early‐stage decomposing logs. Funct Ecol 2016. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.12676] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Juan Zuo
- Systems Ecology Department of Ecological Science Faculty of Earth and Life Sciences Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam De Boelelaan 1085 1081 HV Amsterdam The Netherlands
| | - Matty P. Berg
- Animal Ecology Department of Ecological Science Faculty of Earth and Life Sciences Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam De Boelelaan 1085 1081 HV Amsterdam The Netherlands
- Community and Conservation Ecology Group Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences University of Groningen Nijenborgh 7 9747 AG Groningen The Netherlands
| | - Roy Klein
- Animal Ecology Department of Ecological Science Faculty of Earth and Life Sciences Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam De Boelelaan 1085 1081 HV Amsterdam The Netherlands
| | - Jasper Nusselder
- Applied Biology CAH Vilentum Stadhuisplein 40 1315 HS Almere The Netherlands
| | - Gert Neurink
- Applied Biology CAH Vilentum Stadhuisplein 40 1315 HS Almere The Netherlands
| | - Orsi Decker
- Insect Ecology Group Department of Ecology, Environment and Evolution La Trobe University Melbourne Vic. 3086 Australia
| | - Mariet M. Hefting
- Ecology and Biodiversity Group Institute of Environmental Biology Utrecht University Padualaan 8 3584 CH Utrecht The Netherlands
| | - Ute Sass‐Klaassen
- Forest Ecology and Forest Management Group Wageningen University P.O. Box 47 6700 AA Wageningen The Netherlands
| | - Richard S. P. Logtestijn
- Systems Ecology Department of Ecological Science Faculty of Earth and Life Sciences Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam De Boelelaan 1085 1081 HV Amsterdam The Netherlands
| | - Leo Goudzwaard
- Forest Ecology and Forest Management Group Wageningen University P.O. Box 47 6700 AA Wageningen The Netherlands
| | - Jurgen Hal
- Systems Ecology Department of Ecological Science Faculty of Earth and Life Sciences Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam De Boelelaan 1085 1081 HV Amsterdam The Netherlands
| | - Frank J. Sterck
- Forest Ecology and Forest Management Group Wageningen University P.O. Box 47 6700 AA Wageningen The Netherlands
| | - Lourens Poorter
- Forest Ecology and Forest Management Group Wageningen University P.O. Box 47 6700 AA Wageningen The Netherlands
| | - Johannes H. C. Cornelissen
- Systems Ecology Department of Ecological Science Faculty of Earth and Life Sciences Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam De Boelelaan 1085 1081 HV Amsterdam The Netherlands
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Richardson SJ, Laughlin DC, Lawes MJ, Holdaway RJ, Wilmshurst JM, Wright M, Curran TJ, Bellingham PJ, McGlone MS. Functional and environmental determinants of bark thickness in fire-free temperate rain forest communities. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BOTANY 2015; 102:1590-8. [PMID: 26437886 DOI: 10.3732/ajb.1500157] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2015] [Accepted: 09/08/2015] [Indexed: 05/13/2023]
Abstract
PREMISE OF THE STUDY In fire-prone ecosystems, variation in bark thickness among species and communities has been explained by fire frequency; thick bark is necessary to protect cambium from lethal temperatures. Elsewhere this investment is deemed unnecessary, and thin bark is thought to prevail. However, in rain forest ecosystems where fire is rare, bark thickness varies widely among species and communities, and the causes of this variation remain enigmatic. We tested for functional explanations of bark thickness variation in temperate rain forest species and communities. METHODS We measured bark thickness in 82 tree species throughout New Zealand temperate rain forests that historically have experienced little fire and applied two complementary analyses. First, we examined correlations between bark traits and leaf habit, and leaf and stem traits. Second, we calculated community-weighted mean (CWM) bark thickness for 272 plots distributed throughout New Zealand to identify the environments in which thicker-barked communities occur. KEY RESULTS Conifers had higher size-independent bark thickness than evergreen angiosperms. Species with thicker bark or higher bark allocation coefficients were not associated with "slow economic" plant traits. Across 272 forest plots, communities with thicker bark occurred on infertile soils, and communities with thicker bark and higher bark allocation coefficients occurred in cooler, drier climates. CONCLUSIONS In non-fire-prone temperate rain forest ecosystems, investment in bark is driven by soil resources, cool minimum temperatures, and seasonal moisture stress. The role of these factors in fire-prone ecosystems warrants testing.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Daniel C Laughlin
- Environmental Research Institute, University of Waikato, Private Bag 3105, Hamilton 3240, New Zealand
| | - Michael J Lawes
- Research Institute for the Environment and Livelihoods, Charles Darwin University, Darwin, NT 0909, Australia
| | | | - Janet M Wilmshurst
- Landcare Research, P.O. Box 69040, Lincoln 7640, New Zealand Joint Graduate School in Biodiversity and Biosecurity, School of Environment, The University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland 1142, New Zealand
| | - Monique Wright
- Ecology Department, Lincoln University, PO Box 85084, Lincoln 7647, New Zealand
| | - Timothy J Curran
- Ecology Department, Lincoln University, PO Box 85084, Lincoln 7647, New Zealand
| | | | - Matt S McGlone
- Landcare Research, P.O. Box 69040, Lincoln 7640, New Zealand
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Hammond DH, Varner JM, Kush JS, Fan Z. Contrasting sapling bark allocation of five southeastern USA hardwood tree species in a fire prone ecosystem. Ecosphere 2015. [DOI: 10.1890/es15-00065.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
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Rosell JA, Castorena M, Laws CA, Westoby M. Bark ecology of twigs vs. main stems: functional traits across eighty-five species of angiosperms. Oecologia 2015; 178:1033-43. [PMID: 25842297 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-015-3307-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2014] [Accepted: 03/24/2015] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Although produced by meristems that are continuous along the stem length, marked differences in bark morphology and in microenvironment would suggest that main stem and twig bark might differ ecologically. Here, we examined: (1) how closely associated main stem and twig bark traits were, (2) how these associations varied across sites, and (3) used these associations to infer functional and ecological differences between twig and main stem bark. We measured density, water content, photosynthesis presence/absence, total, outer, inner, and relative thicknesses of main stem and twig bark from 85 species of angiosperms from six sites of contrasting precipitation, temperature, and fire regimes. Density and water content did not differ between main stems and twigs across species and sites. Species with thicker twig bark had disproportionately thicker main stem bark in most sites, but the slope and degree of association varied. Disproportionately thicker main stem bark for a given twig bark thickness in most fire-prone sites suggested stem protection near the ground. The savanna had the opposite trend, suggesting that selection also favors twig protection in these fire-prone habitats. A weak main stem-twig bark thickness association was observed in non fire-prone sites. The near-ubiquity of photosynthesis in twigs highlighted its likely ecological importance; variation in this activity was predicted by outer bark thickness in main stems. It seems that the ecology of twig bark can be generalized to main stem bark, but not for functions depending on the amount of bark, such as protection, storage, or photosynthesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julieta A Rosell
- Departamento de Ecología de la Biodiversidad, Instituto de Ecología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, 04510, México DF, Mexico,
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Affiliation(s)
- Juli G. Pausas
- CIDE‐CSIC Ctra. Nàquera Km. 4.5 (IVIA) Montcada Valencia 46113 Spain
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