Plasticity and implications of water-use traits in contrasting tropical tree species under climate change

Plants face a trade-off between hydraulic safety and growth, leading to a range of water-use strategies in different species. However, little is known about such strategies in tropical trees and whether different water-use traits can acclimate to warming. We studied five water-use traits in 20 tropical tree species grown at three different altitudes in Rwanda (RwandaTREE): stomatal conductance (gs), leaf minimum conductance (gmin), plant hydraulic conductance (Kplant), leaf osmotic potential (ψo) and net defoliation during drought. We also explored the links between these traits and growth and mortality data. Late successional (LS) species had low Kplant, gs and gmin and, thus, low water loss, while low ψo helped improve leaf water status during drought. Early successional (ES) species, on the contrary, used more water during both moist and dry conditions and exhibited pronounced drought defoliation. The ES strategy was associated with lower mortality and more pronounced growth enhancement at the warmer sites compared to LS species. While Kplant and gmin showed downward acclimation in warmer climates, ψo did not acclimate and gs measured at prevailing temperature did not change. Due to distinctly different water use strategies between successional groups, ES species may be better equipped for a warmer climate as long as defoliation can bridge drought periods.

Survival, growth, and functional traits of tropical wet forest tree seedlings across an experimental soil moisture gradient in Puerto Rico

Droughts are predicted to become more frequent and intense in many tropical regions, which may cause shifts in plant community composition. Especially in diverse tropical communities, understanding how traits mediate demographic responses to drought can help provide insight into the effects of climate change on these ecosystems. To understand tropical tree responses to reduced soil moisture, we grew seedlings of eight species across an experimental soil moisture gradient at the Luquillo Experimental Forest, Puerto Rico. We quantified survival and growth over an 8-month period and characterized demographic responses in terms of tolerance to low soil moisture-defined as survival and growth rates under low soil moisture conditions-and sensitivity to variation in soil moisture-defined as more pronounced changes in demographic rates across the observed range of soil moisture. We then compared demographic responses with interspecific variation in a suite of 11 (root, stem, and leaf) functional traits, measured on individuals that survived the experiment. Lower soil moisture was associated with reduced survival and growth but traits mediated species-specific responses. Species with relatively conservative traits (e.g., high leaf mass per area), had higher survival at low soil moisture whereas species with more extensive root systems were more sensitive to soil moisture, in that they exhibited more pronounced changes in growth across the experimental soil moisture gradient. Our results suggest that increasing drought will favor species with more conservative traits that confer greater survival in low soil moisture conditions.

Global patterns of tree wood density

Wood density is a fundamental property related to tree biomechanics and hydraulic function while playing a crucial role in assessing vegetation carbon stocks by linking volumetric retrieval and a mass estimate. This study provides a high-resolution map of the global distribution of tree wood density at the 0.01° (~1 km) spatial resolution, derived from four decision trees machine learning models using a global database of 28,822 tree-level wood density measurements. An ensemble of four top-performing models combined with eight cross-validation strategies shows great consistency, providing wood density patterns with pronounced spatial heterogeneity. The global pattern shows lower wood density values in northern and northwestern Europe, Canadian forest regions and slightly higher values in Siberia forests, western United States, and southern China. In contrast, tropical regions, especially wet tropical areas, exhibit high wood density. Climatic predictors explain 49%-63% of spatial variations, followed by vegetation characteristics (25%-31%) and edaphic properties (11%-16%). Notably, leaf type (evergreen vs. deciduous) and leaf habit type (broadleaved vs. needleleaved) are the most dominant individual features among all selected predictive covariates. Wood density tends to be higher for angiosperm broadleaf trees compared to gymnosperm needleleaf trees, particularly for evergreen species. The distributions of wood density categorized by leaf types and leaf habit types have good agreement with the features observed in wood density measurements. This global map quantifying wood density distribution can help improve accurate predictions of forest carbon stocks, providing deeper insights into ecosystem functioning and carbon cycling such as forest vulnerability to hydraulic and thermal stresses in the context of future climate change.

Upscaling the effect of traits in response to drought: The relative importance of safety-efficiency and acquisitive-conservation functional axes

We tested the idea that functional trade-offs that underlie species tolerance to drought-driven shifts in community composition via their effects on demographic processes and subsequently on shifts in species' abundance. Using data from 298 tree species from tropical dry forests during the extreme ENSO-2015, we scaled-up the effects of trait trade-offs from individuals to communities. Conservative wood and leaf traits favoured slow tree growth, increased tree survival and positively impacted species abundance and dominance at the community-level. Safe hydraulic traits, on the other hand, were related to demography but did not affect species abundance and communities. The persistent effects of the conservative-acquisitive trade-off across organizational levels is promising for generalization and predictability of tree communities. However, the safety-efficient trade-off showed more intricate effects on performance. Our results demonstrated the complex pathways in which traits scale up to communities, highlighting the importance of considering a wide range of traits and performance processes.

The interplay of drought and hurricanes on tree recovery: insights from dynamic and weak functional responses

Identifying the functional traits that enable recovery after extreme events is necessary for assessing forest persistence and functioning. However, the variability of traits mediating responses to disturbances presents a significant limitation, as these relationships may be contingent on the type of disturbance and change over time. This study investigates the effects of traits on tree growth-for short and longer terms-in response to two vastly different extreme climatic events (droughts and hurricanes) in a Puerto Rican forest. I found that trees display a dynamic functional response to extreme climatic events. Leaf traits associated with efficient photosynthesis mediated faster tree growth after hurricanes, while trees with low wood density and high water use efficiency displayed faster growth after drought. In the longer term, over both drought and hurricanes, tree size was the only significant predictor of growth, with faster growth for smaller trees. However, despite finding significant trait-growth relationships, the predictive power of traits was overall low. As the frequency of extreme events increases due to climate change, understanding the dynamic relationships between traits and tree growth is necessary for identifying strategies for recovery.

The role of height-driven constraints and compensations on tree vulnerability to drought

Frequent observations of higher mortality in larger trees than in smaller ones during droughts have sparked an increasing interest in size-dependent drought-induced mortality. However, the underlying physiological mechanisms are not well understood, with height-associated hydraulic constraints often being implied as the potential mechanism driving increased drought vulnerability. We performed a quantitative synthesis on how key traits that drive plant water and carbon economy change with tree height within species and assessed the implications that the different constraints and compensations may have on the interacting mechanisms (hydraulic failure, carbon starvation and/or biotic-agent attacks) affecting tree vulnerability to drought. While xylem tension increases with tree height, taller trees present a range of structural and functional adjustments, including more efficient water use and transport and greater water uptake and storage capacity, that mitigate the path-length-associated drop in water potential. These adaptations allow taller trees to withstand episodic water stress. Conclusive evidence for height-dependent increased vulnerability to hydraulic failure and carbon starvation, and their coupling to defence mechanisms and pest and pathogen dynamics, is still lacking. Further research is needed, particularly at the intraspecific level, to ascertain the specific conditions and thresholds above which height hinders tree survival under drought.

Anatomical traits related to leaf and branch hydraulic functioning on Amazonian savanna plants

Amazonian savannas are isolated patches of open habitats found within the extensive matrix of Amazonian tropical forests. There remains limited evidence on how Amazonian plants from savannas differ in the traits related to drought resistance and water loss control. Previous studies have reported several xeromorphic characteristics of Amazonian savanna plants at the leaf and branch levels that are linked to soil, solar radiation, rainfall and seasonality. How anatomical features relate to plant hydraulic functioning in this ecosystem is less known and instrumental if we want to accurately model transitions in trait states between alternative vegetation in Amazonia. In this context, we combined studies of anatomical and hydraulic traits to understand the structure-function relationships of leaf and wood xylem in plants of Amazonian savannas. We measured 22 leaf, wood and hydraulic traits, including embolism resistance (as P₅₀), Hydraulic Safety Margin (HSM) and isotope-based water use efficiency (WUE), for the seven woody species that account for 75% of the biomass of a typical Amazonian savanna on rocky outcrops in the state of Mato Grosso, Brazil. Few anatomical traits are related to hydraulic traits. Our findings showed wide variation exists among the seven species studied here in resistance to embolism, water use efficiency and structural anatomy, suggesting no unique dominant functional plant strategy to occupy an Amazonian savanna. We found wide variation in resistance to embolism (-1.6 ± 0.1 MPa and -5.0 ± 0.5 MPa) with species that are less efficient in water use (e.g. Kielmeyera rubriflora, Macairea radula, Simarouba versicolor, Parkia cachimboensis and Maprounea guianensis) showing higher stomatal conductance potential, supporting xylem functioning with leaf succulence and/or safer wood anatomical structures and that species that are more efficient in water use (e.g. Norantea guianensis and Alchornea discolor) can exhibit riskier hydraulic strategies. Our results provide a deeper understanding of how branch and leaf structural traits combine to allow for different hydraulic strategies among coexisting plants. In Amazonian savannas, this may mean investing in buffering water loss (e.g. succulence) at leaf level or safer structures (e.g. thicker pit membranes) and architectures (e.g. vessel grouping) in their branch xylem.

Species mixing enhances the resistance of Robinia pseudoacacia L. to drought events in semi-arid regions: Evidence from China's Loess Plateau

As a potential planting strategy, species mixing increases biomass production, improves ecosystem service functions, and mitigates climate change. However, the effect of species mixing on tree growth and drought resilience in semi-arid areas remains unclear. Hence, we established tree-ring chronologies of Robinia pseudoacacia L. in pure Robinia pseudoacacia L. plantation (RP) and mixed plantations with Hippophae rhamnoides L. and Populus simonii Carr. at different proportions of 8:2 and 5:5 (RH 8:2, RH 5:5, RC 8:2, RC 5:5) in the typical semi-arid region of the Loess Plateau (LP), China. The mean annual growth, climate-growth relationships, and tree resilience (Rs) to drought, including resistance (Rt) and recovery (Rc), were analyzed using dendrochronological methods. The results showed that the growth of R. pseudoacacia L. in mixed plantations was lower when Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI) >0, but much higher than that in monoculture under drought stress (PDSI <0 or after drought event). Meanwhile, the relationship between PDSI and tree growth was significantly positive in the pure plantation, but weakened in the mixed plantations, indicating that species mixing alleviated drought stress to some extent. The resilience results showed that, although the Rc was higher in monoculture after drought events, species mixing could enhance Rt and mitigate the growth decline of R. pseudoacacia L. during drought events. Moreover, the Rt varied significantly among mixing species and proportions and was also affected by the magnitude and timing of drought. The RC 5:5 and RH 8:2 had higher resistance to moderate and severe drought stress. However, RC 8:2 and RH 5:5 could cope better with mild drought stress. These results indicate that species mixing can alleviate drought stress and improve the drought resistance. Therefore, it is necessary to expand species mixing to maximize plantation functions and minimize the potential impacts of warming and drought in semi-arid regions.

Drought then wildfire reveals a compound disturbance in a resprouting forest

The frequency and intensity of forest disturbances, such as drought and fire, are increasing globally, with an increased likelihood of multiple disturbance events occurring in short succession. Disturbances layered over one another may influence the likelihood or intensity of subsequent events (a linked disturbance) or impact response and recovery trajectories (a compound disturbance), with substantial implications for ecological spatiotemporal vulnerability. This study evaluates evidence for disturbance interactions of drought followed by wildfire in a resprouting eucalypt-dominated forest (the Northern Jarrah Forest) in southwestern Australia. Sites were stratified by drought (high, low), from previous modeling and ground validation, and fire severity (high, moderate, unburnt), via remote sensing using the relative difference normalized burn ratio (RdNBR). Evidence of a linked disturbance was assessed via fine fuel consumption and fire severity. Compound disturbance effects were quantified at stand scale (canopy height, quadratic mean diameter, stem density) and stem scale (mortality). There was no evidence of prior drought influencing fine fuel consumption or fire severity and, hence, no evidence of a linked disturbance. However, compound disturbance effects were evident; stands previously affected by drought experienced smaller shifts in canopy height, quadratic mean diameter, and stem density than stands without prior drought impact. At the stem scale, size and fire severity were the strongest determinants of stem survival. Proportional resprouting height was greater in high drought sites than in low drought sites (p < 0.01), meaning, structurally, the low drought stands decreased in height more than the high drought stands. Thus, a legacy of the drought was evident after the wildfire. Although these resprouting eucalypt forests have been regarded as particularly resilient, this study illustrates how multiple disturbances can overwhelm the larger tree component and promote an abundance of smaller stems. We suggest that this is early evidence of a structural destabilization of these forests under a more fire-prone, hotter, and drier future climate.

Plant sizes and shapes above and belowground and their interactions with climate

Although the above and belowground sizes and shapes of plants strongly influence plant competition, community structure, and plant-environment interactions, plant sizes and shapes remain poorly characterized across climate regimes. We investigated relationships among shoot and root system size and climate. We assembled and analyzed, to our knowledge, the largest global database describing the maximum rooting depth, lateral spread, and shoot size of terrestrial plants - more than doubling the Root Systems of Individual Plants database to 5647 observations. Water availability and growth form greatly influence shoot size, and rooting depth is primarily influenced by temperature seasonality. Shoot size is the strongest predictor of lateral spread, with root system diameter being two times wider than shoot width on average for woody plants. Shoot size covaries strongly with rooting system size; however, the geometries of plants differ considerably across climates, with woody plants in more arid climates having shorter shoots, but deeper, narrower root systems. Additionally, estimates of the depth and lateral spread of plant root systems are likely underestimated at the global scale.

Tree height effects on vascular anatomy of upper-canopy twigs across a wide range of tropical rainforest species

Vessel diameter variation along the hydraulic pathway determines how much water can be moved against the force of gravity from roots to leaves. While it is well-documented that tree size scales with vessel diameter variation at the stem base due to the effect of basipetal vessel widening, much less is known whether this likewise applies to terminal sun-exposed twigs. To analyze the effect of tree height on twig xylem anatomy, we compiled data for 279 tropical rainforest tree species belonging to 56 families in the lowlands of Jambi Province, Indonesia. Terminal upper-canopy twigs of fully grown individuals were collected and used for wood anatomical analysis.

We show that hydraulically weighted vessel diameter (Dh) and potential hydraulic conductivity (Kp) of upper canopy twigs increase with tree height across species although the relationship was weak. When averaged across given tree height classes irrespectively of species identity, however, a strong dependency of tree height on Dh and Kp was observed, but not on the lumen-to-sapwood area ratio (Al:Ax) or vessel density (VD).

According to the comparison between actual tree height and the maximum tree height reported for a given species in the stand, we show that the vascular xylem anatomy of their terminal twigs reflects their canopy position and thus ecological niche (understory versus overstory) at maturity. We conclude that the capacity to move large quantities of water during the diurnal peak in evaporative demand is a prerequisite for growing tall in a humid tropical environment.

The Historical Complexity of Tree Height Growth Dynamic Associated with Climate Change in Western North America

The effect of climate on tree growth has received increased interest in the context of climate change. However, most studies have been limited geographically and with respect to species. Here, sixteen tree species of western North America were used to investigate the response of trees to climate change. Forest inventory data from 36,944 stands established between 1600 and 1968 throughout western North America were summarized. The height growth (top height at a breast-height age of 50 years) of healthy dominant and co-dominant trees was related to annual and summer temperatures, the annual and summer Palmer Drought Severity Indexes (PDSIs), and the tree establishment date (ED). Climate-induced height growth patterns were then tested to determine links to the spatial environment (geographic locations and soil properties), the species’ range (coastal, interior, or both), and traits (shade tolerance and leaf form). Analysis was performed using a linear mixed model (total species) and a general linear model (species scale). Climate change was globally beneficial, except for Alaska yellow-cedar (Chamaecyparis nootkatensis (D. Don) Spach), and growth patterns were magnified for coastal-ranged, high-shade-tolerant, and broadleaf species, and mostly at the northernmost extents of these species’ ranges. Nevertheless, growth patterns were more complex with respect to soil properties. A growth decline for some species was observed at higher latitudes and elevations and was possibly related to increased cloudiness, precipitation, or drought (in interior areas). These results highlight the spatio-temporal complexity of the growth response to recent global climate change.

Mutually inclusive mechanisms of drought-induced tree mortality

Unprecedented tree dieback across Central Europe caused by recent global change-type drought events highlights the need for a better mechanistic understanding of drought-induced tree mortality. Although numerous physiological risk factors have been identified, the importance of two principal mechanisms, hydraulic failure and carbon starvation, is still debated. It further remains largely unresolved how the local neighborhood composition affects individual mortality risk. We studied 9435 young trees of 12 temperate species planted in a diversity experiment in 2013 to assess how hydraulic traits, carbon dynamics, pest infestation, tree height and neighborhood competition influence individual mortality risk. Following the most extreme global change-type drought since record in 2018, one third of these trees died. Across species, hydraulic safety margins (HSMs) were negatively and a shift towards a higher sugar fraction in the non-structural carbohydrate (NSC) pool positively associated with mortality risk. Moreover, trees infested by bark beetles had a higher mortality risk, and taller trees a lower mortality risk. Most neighborhood interactions were beneficial, although neighborhood effects were highly species-specific. Species that suffered more from drought, especially Larix spp. and Betula spp., tended to increase the survival probability of their neighbors and vice versa. While severe tissue dehydration marks the final stage of drought-induced tree mortality, we show that hydraulic failure is interrelated with a series of other, mutually inclusive processes. These include shifts in NSC pools driven by osmotic adjustment and/or starch depletion as well as pest infestation and are modulated by the size and species identity of a tree and its neighbors. A more holistic view that accounts for multiple causes of drought-induced tree mortality is required to improve predictions of trends in global forest dynamics and to identify mutually beneficial species combinations.

Mutually inclusive mechanisms of drought-induced tree mortality

Unprecedented tree dieback across Central Europe caused by recent global change-type drought events highlights the need for a better mechanistic understanding of drought-induced tree mortality. Although numerous physiological risk factors have been identified, the importance of two principal mechanisms, hydraulic failure and carbon starvation, is still debated. It further remains largely unresolved how the local neighborhood composition affects individual mortality risk. We studied 9435 young trees of 12 temperate species planted in a diversity experiment in 2013 to assess how hydraulic traits, carbon dynamics, pest infestation, tree height and neighborhood competition influence individual mortality risk. Following the most extreme global change-type drought since record in 2018, one third of these trees died. Across species, hydraulic safety margins (HSMs) were negatively and a shift towards a higher sugar fraction in the non-structural carbohydrate (NSC) pool positively associated with mortality risk. Moreover, trees infested by bark beetles had a higher mortality risk, and taller trees a lower mortality risk. Most neighborhood interactions were beneficial, although neighborhood effects were highly species-specific. Species that suffered more from drought, especially Larix spp. and Betula spp., tended to increase the survival probability of their neighbors and vice versa. While severe tissue dehydration marks the final stage of drought-induced tree mortality, we show that hydraulic failure is interrelated with a series of other, mutually inclusive processes. These include shifts in NSC pools driven by osmotic adjustment and/or starch depletion as well as pest infestation and are modulated by the size and species identity of a tree and its neighbors. A more holistic view that accounts for multiple causes of drought-induced tree mortality is required to improve predictions of trends in global forest dynamics and to identify mutually beneficial species combinations.

Turgor loss point predicts survival responses to experimental and natural drought in tropical tree seedlings

Identifying key traits that can serve as proxies for species drought resistance is crucial for predicting and mitigating effects of climate change in diverse plant communities. Turgor loss point (π_tlp ) is a recently emerged trait that has been linked to species distributions across gradients of water availability. However, a direct relationship between π_tlp and species ability to survive drought has yet to be established for woody species. Using a manipulative field experiment to quantify species drought resistance (i.e. their survival response to drought), combined with measurements of π_tlp for 16 tree species, we show a negative relationship between π_tlp and seedling drought resistance. Using long-term forest plot data, we also show that π_tlp predicts seedling survival responses to a severe El Niño-related drought, although additional factors are clearly also important. Our study demonstrates that species with lower π_tlp exhibit higher survival under both experimental and natural drought. These results provide a missing cornerstone in the assessment of the traits underlying drought resistance in woody species and strengthen π_tlp as a proxy for evaluating which species will lose or win under projections of exacerbating drought regimes.

Addressing Gender Inequities in Forest Science and Research

Forest research and professional workforces continue to be dominated by men, particularly at senior and management levels. In this review, we identify some of the historical and ongoing barriers to improved gender inclusion and suggest some solutions. We showcase a selection of women in forestry from different disciplines and parts of the globe to highlight a range of research being conducted by women in forests. Boosting gender equity in forest disciplines requires a variety of approaches across local, regional and global scales. It is also important to include intersectional analyses when identifying barriers for women in forestry, but enhanced equity, diversity and inclusion will improve outcomes for forest ecosystems and social values of forests, with potential additional economic benefits.

Empirically validated drought vulnerability mapping in the mixed conifer forests of the Sierra Nevada

Severe droughts are predicted to become more frequent in the future, and the consequences of such droughts on forests can be dramatic, resulting in massive tree mortality, rapid change in forest structure and composition, and substantially increased risk of catastrophic fire. Forest managers have tools at their disposal to try to mitigate these effects but are often faced with limited resources, forcing them to make choices about which parts of the landscape to target for treatment. Such planning can greatly benefit from landscape vulnerability assessments, but many existing vulnerability analyses are unvalidated and not grounded in robust empirical datasets. We combined robust sets of ground-based plot and remote sensing data, collected during the 2012-2016 California drought, to develop rigorously validated tools for assessing forest vulnerability to drought-related canopy tree mortality for the mixed conifer forests of the Sequoia and Kings Canyon national parks and potentially for mixed conifer forests in the Sierra Nevada as a whole. Validation was carried out using a large external dataset. The best models included normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), elevation, and species identity. Models indicated that tree survival probability decreased with greenness (as measured by NDVI) and elevation, particularly if trees were growing slowly. Overall, models showed good calibration and validation, especially for Abies concolor, which comprise a large majority of the trees in many mixed conifer forests in the Sierra Nevada. Our models tended to overestimate mortality risk for Calocedrus decurrens and underestimate risk for pine species, in the latter case probably due to pine bark beetle outbreak dynamics. Validation results indicated dangers of overfitting, as well as showing that the inclusion of trees already under attack by bark beetles at the time of sampling can give false confidence in model strength, while also biasing predictions. These vulnerability tools should be useful to forest managers trying to assess which parts of their landscape were vulnerable during the 2012-2016 drought, and, with additional validation, may prove useful for ongoing assessments and predictions of future forest vulnerability.

Soil water availability and branch age explain variability in xylem safety of European beech in Central Europe

Xylem embolism resistance has been identified as a key trait with a causal relation to drought-induced tree mortality, but not much is known about its intra-specific trait variability (ITV) in dependence on environmental variation. We measured xylem safety and efficiency in 300 European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) trees across 30 sites in Central Europe, covering a precipitation reduction from 886 to 522 mm year⁻¹. A broad range of variables that might affect embolism resistance in mature trees, including climatic and soil water availability, competition, and branch age, were examined. The average P₅₀ value varied by up to 1 MPa between sites. Neither climatic aridity nor structural variables had a significant influence on P₅₀. However, P₅₀ was less negative for trees with a higher soil water storage capacity, and positively related to branch age, while specific conductivity (K_s) was not significantly associated with either of these variables. The greatest part of the ITV for xylem safety and efficiency was attributed to random variability within populations. We conclude that the influence of site water availability on P₅₀ and K_s is low in European beech, and that the high degree of within-population variability for P₅₀, partly due to variation in branch age, hampers the identification of a clear environmental signal.

Functional diversity effects on productivity increase with age in a forest biodiversity experiment

Forest restoration increases global forest area and ecosystem services such as primary productivity and carbon storage. How tree species functional composition impacts the provisioning of these services as forests develop is sparsely studied. We used 10-year data from 478 plots with 191,200 trees in a forest biodiversity experiment in subtropical China to assess the relationship between community productivity and community-weighted mean (CWM) or functional diversity (FD) values of 38 functional traits. We found that effects of FD values on productivity became larger than effects of CWM values after 7 years of forest development and that the FD values also became more reliable predictors of productivity than the CWM values. In contrast to CWM, FD values consistently increased productivity across ten different species-pool subsets. Our results imply that to promote productivity in the long term it is imperative for forest restoration projects to plant multispecies communities with large functional diversity.

Cambial Activity of Moringa peregrina (Forssk.) Fiori in Arid Environments

Moringa peregrina (Forssk.) Fiori, one of 13 species of the Moringaceae family widely distributed throughout the dry tropics, has the potential to become one of the most economically important medicinal plants in Egypt. However, despite its tolerance for drought and heat, it is also threatened by increasing temperatures and decreasing precipitation. Although the phenophase of this species is well documented, almost nothing is known about its period of cambial activity in desert regions. Ring formation and the general environmental adaptability of trees are affected by the timing of cambial activation. In our study site, we observe a distinct coupling of the development of new green leaves at the onset of vegetative growth in October and the phase of cambial activity (November-January). The onset of cambial activity seems to be related to a drop in temperature in October and the onset of torrential rains in the region. There might even be a short phase between the end of cambial activity and the onset of bud formation without xylem formation, but with photosynthetic activity. If so, we assume that all assimilates are stored as non-structural carbohydrates (NSC) in the parenchyma of the new ring. This potential gap opens new questions regarding the correlation between NSC storage capacity and the timing of remobilization for subsequent ring formation.

Increased mortality of tropical tree seedlings during the extreme 2015-16 El Niño

As extreme climate events are predicted to become more frequent because of global climate change, understanding their impacts on natural systems is crucial. Tropical forests are vulnerable to droughts associated with extreme El Niño events. However, little is known about how tropical seedling communities respond to El Niño-related droughts, even though patterns of seedling survival shape future forest structure and diversity. Using long-term data from eight tropical moist forests spanning a rainfall gradient in central Panama, we show that community-wide seedling mortality increased by 11% during the extreme 2015-16 El Niño, with mortality increasing most in drought-sensitive species and in wetter forests. These results indicate that severe El Niño-related droughts influence understory dynamics in tropical forests, with effects varying both within and across sites. Our findings suggest that predicted increases in the frequency of extreme El Niño events will alter tropical plant communities through their effects on early life stages.

Climate and species stress resistance modulate the higher survival of large seedlings in forest restorations worldwide

Seedling planting plays a key role in active forest restoration and regeneration of managed stands. Plant attributes at outplanting can determine tree seedling survival and consequently early success of forest plantations. Although many studies show that large seedlings of the same age within a species have higher survival than small ones, others report the opposite. This may be due to differences in environmental conditions at the planting site and in the inherent functional characteristics of species. Here, we conducted a global-scale meta-analysis to evaluate the effect of seedling size on early outplanting survival. Our meta-analysis covered 86 tree species and 142 planting locations distributed worldwide. We also assessed whether planting site aridity and key plant functional traits related to abiotic and biotic stress resistance and growth capacity, namely specific leaf area and wood density, modulate this effect. Planting large seedlings within a species consistently increases survival in forest plantations worldwide. Species' functional traits modulate the magnitude of the positive seedling size-outplanting survival relationship, showing contrasting effects due to aridity and between angiosperms and gymnosperms. For angiosperms planted in arid/semiarid sites and gymnosperms in subhumid/humid sites the magnitude of the positive effect of seedling size on survival was maximized in species with low specific leaf area and high wood density, characteristics linked to high stress resistance and slow growth. By contrast, high specific leaf area and low wood density maximized the positive effect of seedling size on survival for angiosperms planted in subhumid/humid sites. Results have key implications for implementing forest plantations globally, especially for adjusting nursery cultivation to species' functional characteristics and planting site aridity. Nursery cultivation should promote large seedlings, especially for stress sensitive angiosperms planted in humid sites and for stress-resistant species planted in dry sites.

Rootstock effects on scion gene expression in maritime pine

Pines are the dominant conifers in Mediterranean forests. As long-lived sessile organisms that seasonally have to cope with drought periods, they have developed a variety of adaptive responses. However, during last decades, highly intense and long-lasting drought events could have contributed to decay and mortality of the most susceptible trees. Among conifer species, Pinus pinaster Ait. shows remarkable ability to adapt to different environments. Previous molecular analysis of a full-sib family designed to study drought response led us to find active transcriptional activity of stress-responding genes even without water deprivation in tolerant genotypes. To improve our knowledge about communication between above- and below-ground organs of maritime pine, we have analyzed four graft-type constructions using two siblings as rootstocks and their progenitors, Gal 1056 and Oria 6, as scions. Transcriptomic profiles of needles from both scions were modified by the rootstock they were grafted on. However, the most significant differential gene expression was observed in drought-sensitive Gal 1056, while in drought-tolerant Oria 6, differential gene expression was very much lower. Furthermore, both scions grafted onto drought-tolerant rootstocks showed activation of genes involved in tolerance to abiotic stress, and is most remarkable in Oria 6 grafts where higher accumulation of transcripts involved in phytohormone action, transcriptional regulation, photosynthesis and signaling has been found. Additionally, processes, such as those related to secondary metabolism, were mainly associated with the scion genotype. This study provides pioneering information about rootstock effects on scion gene expression in conifers.

Breeding for Climate Change Resilience: A Case Study of Loblolly Pine (Pinus taeda L.) in North America

Earth's atmosphere is warming and the effects of climate change are becoming evident. A key observation is that both the average levels and the variability of temperature and precipitation are changing. Information and data from new technologies are developing in parallel to provide multidisciplinary opportunities to address and overcome the consequences of these changes in forest ecosystems. Changes in temperature and water availability impose multidimensional environmental constraints that trigger changes from the molecular to the forest stand level. These can represent a threat for the normal development of the tree from early seedling recruitment to adulthood both through direct mortality, and by increasing susceptibility to pathogens, insect attack, and fire damage. This review summarizes the strengths and shortcomings of previous work in the areas of genetic variation related to cold and drought stress in forest species with particular emphasis on loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.), the most-planted tree species in North America. We describe and discuss the implementation of management and breeding strategies to increase resilience and adaptation, and discuss how new technologies in the areas of engineering and genomics are shaping the future of phenotype-genotype studies. Lessons learned from the study of species important in intensively-managed forest ecosystems may also prove to be of value in helping less-intensively managed forest ecosystems adapt to climate change, thereby increasing the sustainability and resilience of forestlands for the future.

Topography and vegetation structure mediate drought impacts on the understory of the South American Atlantic Forest

Droughts have increased in frequency, duration, and severity across most of the tropics but their effect on forest communities remain not fully understood. Here we assessed the effects of a severe El Niño-induced drought event on dominant and low abundance understory plant species and the consequent impacts on ecosystem functions in the South American Atlantic Forest. We established 20 permanent plots with contrasting vegetation structure and topography. In each plot, we measured the stem diameter at breast height (DBH) of every understory woody plant (i.e. 1 to 10 cm stem diameter) before and after a severe 4-year drought event to calculate relative growth and mortality rates after drought. Litter biomass, litter nutrient content and soil nutrients, as well as tree canopy cover, were also quantified. High stem density reduced survival to drought for both dominant and low abundance understory woody species. The growth rate of dominant and low abundance species was lower on steeper slopes during the drought. Dominant species were the main contributor of litter biomass production whereas low abundance species were important drivers of litter quality. Overall, our findings suggest that habitats with low tree density and larger trees on flat areas, such as in valleys, can act as refuges for understory plant species during drought periods. These habitats are resource-rich, providing nutrients and water during unfavorable drought periods and might improve forest resilience to climate change in the long term.

Disentangling the effects of climatic variability and climate extremes on the belowground biomass of C3- and C4-dominated grasslands across five ecoregions

Elucidating the variation in grassland belowground biomass (BGB) and its response to changes in climatic variables are key issues in plant ecology research. In this study, BGB data for five ecoregions (cold steppe, temperate dry steppe, savanna, humid savanna, and humid temperate) were used to examine the effects of climatic variability and extremes on the BGB of C₃- and C₄-dominated grasslands. Results showed that BGB varied significantly across the ecoregions, with the highest levels in cold steppe and the lowest in savanna. The results indicated that growing-season temperature, maximum and minimum temperatures and their interactions had significantly positive effects on the single-harvest BGB of C₃ plants in colder ecoregions (i.e., humid temperate and cold steppe) and of C₄ plants in arid ecoregions (i.e., temperate dry steppe and savanna). The single-harvest BGB of C₃ plants in arid ecoregions and C₄ plants in humid savanna ecoregion declined with increasing temperature during the growing season. Growing-season precipitation exerted significant positive effects on the single-harvest BGB of C₄ plants in arid ecoregions. Annual temperature variables negatively impacted the annual BGB of humid temperate ecoregion, because of the dominance of C₃ plants. Increasing cumulative growing-season precipitation elevated and the mean annual temperature reduced the annual BGB of both categories of plants in arid ecoregions. Compared with normal climates, extreme dry events during the growing season enhanced single-harvest BGB in colder ecoregions. The single-harvest BGB of C₄ plants in savanna tended to increase during extreme wet and decrease during moderate dry events compared to normal climates. This study suggests that the differential effects of climatic variability and extremes on BGB can be explained by differences in plant types, and ecoregions. These findings on the responses of the BGB to climatic variability and extremes constitute important scientific evidence emphasizing the need to maintain ecosystem stability across ecoregions.

Dying by drying: Timing of physiological stress thresholds related to tree death is not significantly altered by highly elevated CO2

Drought-induced tree mortality is expected to occur more frequently under predicted climate change. However, the extent of a possibly mitigating effect of simultaneously rising atmospheric [CO₂ ] on stress thresholds leading to tree death is not fully understood, yet. Here, we studied the drought response, the time until critical stress thresholds were reached and mortality occurrence of Pinus halepensis (Miller). In order to observe a large potential benefit from eCO₂ , the seedlings were grown with ample of water and nutrient supply under either highly elevated [CO₂ ] (eCO₂ , c. 936 ppm) or ambient (aCO₂ , c. 407 ppm) during 2 years. The subsequent exposure to a fast or a slow lethal drought was monitored using whole-tree gas exchange chambers, measured leaf water potential and non-structural carbohydrates. Using logistic regressions to derive probabilities for physiological parameters to reach critical drought stress thresholds, indicated a longer period for halving needle starch storage under eCO₂ than aCO₂ . Stomatal closure, turgor loss, the duration until the daily tree C balance turned negative, leaf water potential at thresholds and time-of-death were unaffected by eCO₂ . Overall, our study provides for the first-time insights into the chronological interplay of physiological drought thresholds under long-term acclimation to elevated [CO₂ ].

Dual Roles of Water Availability in Forest Vigor: A Multiperspective Analysis in China

Water availability is one of the most important resources for forest growth. However, due to its complex spatio-temporal relationship with other climatic factors (e.g., temperature and solar radiation), it paradoxically shows both positive and negative correlations (i.e., dual roles) with forest vigor for unknown reasons. In this study, a multiperspective analysis that combined the deficit of the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (dNDVI) and multitimescale Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI) was conducted for the forests in China, from which their correlation strengths and directions (positive or negative) were linked with spatio-temporal patterns of environmental temperature (T) and water balance (WB) (i.e., precipitation minus potential evapotranspiration). In this way, the reasons for the inconsistent roles of water were revealed. The results showed that the roles of water availability greatly depended on T, WB, and seasonality (i.e., growing or pregrowing season) for both planted and natural forests. Specifically, a negative role of water availability mainly occurred in regions of T below its specific threshold (i.e., T ≤ Tthreshold) during the pregrowing season. In contrast, a positive role was mainly observed in warm environments (T > Tthreshold) during the pregrowing season and in dry environments where WB was below its specific threshold (i.e., WB ≤ WBthreshold) during the growing season. The values of Tthreshold and WBthreshold were related to the vegetation type, with Tthreshold ranging from 1.3 to 4.7 °C and WBthreshold ranging from 129.1 to 238.8 mm/month, respectively. Our study revealed that the values of Tthreshold and WBthreshold for a specific forest were stable, and did not change with the SPEI time-scales. Our results reveal the dual roles of water availability in forest vigor and highlight the importance of environmental climate and seasonality, which jointly affect the roles of water availability in forest vigor. These should be considered when monitoring and/or predicting the impacts of drought on forests in the future.

Assessing adaptive and plastic responses in growth and functional traits in a 10-year-old common garden experiment with pedunculate oak (Quercus robur L.) suggests that directional selection can drive climatic adaptation

Understanding how tree species will respond to a future climate requires reliable and quantitative estimates of intra-specific variation under current climate conditions. We studied three 10-year-old common garden experiments established across a rainfall and drought gradient planted with nearly 10,000 pedunculate oak (Quercus robur L.) trees from ten provenances with known family structure. We aimed at disentangling adaptive and plastic responses for growth (height and diameter at breast height) as well as for leaf and wood functional traits related to adaptation to dry environments. We used restricted maximum likelihood approaches to assess additive genetic variation expressed as narrow-sense heritability (h2), quantitative trait differentiation among provenances (QST), and genotype-by-environment interactions (GxE). We found strong and significant patterns of local adaptation in growth in all three common gardens, suggesting that transfer of seed material should not exceed a climatic distance of approximately 1°C under current climatic conditions, while transfer along precipitation gradients seems to be less stringent. Moreover, heritability reached 0.64 for tree height and 0.67 for dbh at the dry margin of the testing spectrum, suggesting significant additive genetic variation of potential use for future selection and tree breeding. GxE interactions in growth were significant and explained less phenotypic variation than origin of seed source (4% versus 10%). Functional trait variation among provenances was partly related to drought regimes at provenances origins but had moderate explanatory power for growth. We conclude that directional selection, either naturally or through breeding, is the most likely and feasible outcome for pedunculate oak to adapt to warmer and drier climate conditions in the future.

Population Divergence along a Genetic Line of Least Resistance in the Tree Species Eucalyptus globulus

The evolutionary response to selection depends on the distribution of genetic variation in traits under selection within populations, as defined by the additive genetic variance-covariance matrix (G). The structure and evolutionary stability of G will thus influence the course of phenotypic evolution. However, there are few studies assessing the stability of G and its relationship with population divergence within foundation tree species. We compared the G-matrices of Mainland and Island population groups of the forest tree Eucalyptus globulus, and determined the extent to which population divergence aligned with within-population genetic (co)variation. Four key wood property traits exhibiting signals of divergent selection were studied—wood density, extractive content, and lignin content and composition. The comparison of G-matrices of the mainland and island populations indicated that the G-eigenstructure was relatively well preserved at an intra-specific level. Population divergence tended to occur along a major direction of genetic variation in G. The observed conservatism of G, the moderate evolutionary timescale, and close relationship between genetic architecture and population trajectories suggest that genetic constraints may have influenced the evolution and diversification of the E. globulus populations for the traits studied. However, alternative scenarios, including selection aligning genetic architecture and population divergence, are discussed.

Effects of disturbance patterns and deadwood on the microclimate in European beech forests

More frequent and severe disturbances increasingly open the forest canopy and initiate tree regeneration. Simultaneously, increasing weather extremes, such as drought and heat, are threatening species adapted to cool and moist climate. The magnitude of the microclimatic buffering capacity of forest canopies to mitigate hot and dry weather conditions and its disturbance-induced reduction remains poorly quantified. Also, the influence of disturbance legacies (e.g., deadwood) on forest microclimate is unresolved. In a unique manipulation experiment we investigated (i) the microclimatic buffering capacity of forest canopies in years with different climatic conditions; (ii) the impacts of spatial disturbance patterns on surface light and microclimate; and (iii) the effect of deadwood presence and type on microclimate. Treatments included two disturbance patterns (i.e., aggregated and distributed), four deadwood types (i.e., standing, downed, standing and downed, removed), and one untreated control (i.e., nine treatments in total), replicated at five sites dominated by European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) in southeastern Germany. We measured forest floor light conditions and derived diurnal extremes and variation in temperature (T) and vapor pressure deficit (VPD) during four consecutive summer seasons (2016 - 2019). The buffering capacity of intact forest canopies was higher in warm and dry years. Surface light was significantly higher in spatially aggregated disturbance gaps compared to distributed disturbances of similar severity. An increase in surface light by 10 % relative to closed canopies elevated T_max and VPD_max by 0.42°C and 0.04 kPa, respectively. Deadwood presence and type did not affect the forest microclimate significantly. Microclimatic buffering under forest canopies can dampen the effects of climate change. However, increasing canopy disturbances result in more light penetrating the canopy, reducing the microclimatic buffering capacity of forests. We conclude that forest management should foster microclimatic buffering in forests as one element of a multi-pronged strategy to counter climate change.

Disentangling the effects of environment and ontogeny on tree functional dimensions for congeneric species in tropical forests

Soil water and nutrient availability are key drivers of tree species distribution and forest ecosystem functioning, with strong species differences in water and nutrient use. Despite growing evidence for intraspecific trait differences, it remains unclear under which circumstances the effects of environmental gradients trump those of ontogeny and taxonomy on important functional dimensions related to resource use, particularly in tropical forests. Here, we explore how physiological, chemical, and morphological traits related to resource use vary between life stages in four species within the genus Micropholis that is widespread in lowland Amazonia. Specifically, we evaluate how environment, developmental stage, and taxonomy contribute to single-trait variation and multidimensional functional strategies. We find that environment, developmental stage, and taxonomy differentially contribute to functional dimensions. Habitats and seasons shape physiological and chemical traits related to water and nutrient use, whereas developmental stage and taxonomic identity impact morphological traits -especially those related to the leaf economics spectrum. Our findings suggest that combining environment, ontogeny, and taxonomy allows for a better understanding of important functional dimensions in tropical trees and highlights the need for integrating tree physiological and chemical traits with classically used morphological traits to improve predictions of tropical forests' responses to environmental change.

Differential drought resistance strategies of co-existing woodland species enduring the long rainless Eastern Mediterranean summer

In anticipation of a drier climate and to project future changes in forest dynamics, it is imperative to understand species-specific differences in drought resistance. The objectives of this study were to form a comprehensive understanding of the drought resistance strategies adopted by Eastern Mediterranean woodland species, and to elaborate specific ecophysiological traits that can explain the observed variation in survival among these species. We examined leaf water potential (𝛹), gas exchange and stem hydraulics during 2-3 years in mature individuals of the key woody species Phillyrea latifolia L., Pistacia lentiscus L. and Quercus calliprinos Webb that co-exist in a dry woodland experiencing ~ 6 rainless summer months. As compared with the other two similarly functioning species, Phillyrea displayed considerably lower 𝛹 (minimum 𝛹 of -8.7 MPa in Phillyrea vs -4.2 MPa in Pistacia and Quercus), lower 𝛹 at stomatal closure and lower leaf turgor loss point (𝛹TLP ), but reduced hydraulic vulnerability and wider safety margins. Notably, Phillyrea allowed 𝛹 to drop below 𝛹TLP under severe drought, whereas the other two species maintained positive turgor. These results indicate that Phillyrea adopted a more anisohydric drought resistance strategy, while Pistacia and Quercus exhibited a more isohydric strategy and probably relied on deeper water reserves. Unlike the two relatively isohydric species, Phillyrea reached complete stomatal closure at the end of the dry summer. Despite assessing a large number of physiological traits, none of them could be directly related to tree mortality. Higher mortality was observed for Quercus than for the other two species, which may result from higher water consumption due to its 2.5-10 times larger crown volume. The observed patterns suggest that similar levels of drought resistance in terms of survival can be achieved via different drought resistance strategies. Conversely, similar resistance strategies in terms of isohydricity can lead to different levels of vulnerability to extreme drought.

Stem length, not climate, controls vessel diameter in two trees species across a sharp precipitation gradient

Variation in xylem conduit diameter traditionally has been explained by climate, whereas other evidence suggests that tree height is the main driver of conduit diameter. The effect of climate versus stem length on vessel diameter was tested in two tree species (Embothrium coccineum, Nothofagus antarctica) that both span an exceptionally wide precipitation gradient (2300-500 mm). To see whether, when taking stem length into account, plants in wetter areas had wider vessels, not only the scaling of vessel diameter at the stem base across individuals of different heights, but also the tip-to-base scaling along individuals of similar heights across sites were examined. Within each species, plants of similar heights had similar mean vessel diameters and similar tip-to-base widening of vessel diameter, regardless of climate, with the slopes and intercepts of the vessel diameter-stem length relationship remaining invariant within species across climates. This study focusing on within-species variation--thus, avoiding noise associated with the great morphological variation across species--showed unequivocally that plant size, not climate, is the main driver of variation in vessel diameter. Therefore, to the extent that climate selects for differing vessel diameters, it will inevitably also affect plant height.

Transpiration and cooling potential of tropical urban trees from different native habitats

Urban trees are widely promoted as a solution to cool the urban environment because of shading and evaporative cooling provided by tree canopies. The extent to which the cooling benefits are realized is dependent not just on the genetically determined traits of trees, but also by their interactions with the atmospheric and edaphic conditions in urban areas, for which there is currently a paucity of information. We conducted a field experiment to compare whole-tree transpiration (E_t) of tropical urban species from seasonally dry forest (SDF) (Tabebuia rosea, Lagerstroemia speciosa, Delonix regia, Caesalpinia ferrea, Dalbergia sissoo, Samanea saman) and aseasonal evergreen forest (AEF) (Peltophorum pterocarpum, Sindora wallichii). We examined the dependence of E_t on atmospheric conditions (solar radiation (R_n) and vapor pressure deficit (VPD)), as well as on soil moisture level (θ_v). Daily E_t differences between species were large but not statistically significant overall: 2000-3200 g m^-2 (leaf area) under sunny conditions and 980-2000 g m^-2 under cloudy conditions. The led to a daily latent heat flux (LE) of 770 W m^-2 between the species with the highest (2136 W m^-2) and lowest (1369 W m^-2) daily E_t. SDF species had higher daily E_t than AEF species, but the difference was only significant under cloudy condition. R_n had a slightly stronger role in influencing transpiration compared to VPD, and species responses to drought stress differed marginally between the two groups. We assessed if two plant functional traits, wood density (ρ_w) and leaf stomatal conductance (g_s), could be used to predict E_t. Only g_s was shown to be moderately correlated with E_t, but more studies are needed to assess this given the limited number of species used in the study.

Inexpensive throughfall exclusion experiment for single large trees

PREMISE

Drought-induced tree mortality is an emergent threat to forests worldwide, particularly to large trees. Drought-manipulation experiments involving throughfall exclusion (TFE) tend to focus on large plots that can be expensive to establish and maintain and may be unsuitable for large trees or indigenous forests. We set out to establish a relatively inexpensive TFE method in a natural forest with large trees.

METHODS

We designed a novel TFE method and installed it in the Waitākere Range of West Auckland, New Zealand, to study the southern conifer kauri (Agathis australis) under long-term simulated drought. We measured fluxes of water (sap flow) and carbon (stem increment and litterfall) as indicators of drought effects.

RESULTS

Throughfall was cut off to a 22.25-m2 area around individual boles, causing reduced soil moisture and reduced sap flow in droughted trees.

DISCUSSION

Our new TFE method centered on individual, large trees in native forest and is highly customizable to fit other forest and species types. It can be used to assess physiological responses to drought of individual trees independent of stem size.

Bayesian calibration of a growth-dependent tree mortality model to simulate the dynamics of European temperate forests

Dynamic vegetation models (DVMs) are important tools to understand and predict the functioning and dynamics of terrestrial ecosystems under changing environmental conditions. In these models, uncertainty in the description of demographic processes, in particular tree mortality, is a persistent problem. Current mortality formulations lack realism and are insufficiently constrained by empirical evidence. It has been suggested that empirically estimated mortality submodels would enhance DVM performance, but due to the many processes and interactions within a DVM, the claim has rarely been tested. Here, we compare the performance of three alternative growth-dependent tree mortality submodels in the DVM ForClim: (1) a mortality function with theoretical foundation (ForClim v3.3); (2) a mortality function with parameters directly estimated based on forest inventory data; and (3) the same function, but with parameters estimated using an inverse approach through Bayesian calibration (BC). Time series of inventory data from 30 ecologically distinct Swiss natural forest reserves collected over 35+ yr, including the main tree species of Central Europe, were used for the calibration and subsequent validation of the mortality functions and the DVM. The recalibration resulted in mortality parameters that differed from the direct empirical estimates, particularly for the relationship between tree size and mortality. The calibrated parameters outperformed the direct estimates, and to a lesser extent the original mortality function, for predicting decadal-scale forest dynamics at both calibration and validation sites. The same pattern was observed regarding the plausibility of their long-term projections under contrasting environmental conditions. Our results demonstrate that inverse calibration may be useful even when direct empirical estimates of DVM parameters are available, as structural model deficiencies or data problems can result in discrepancies between direct and inverse estimates. Thus, we interpret the good performance of the inversely calibrated model for long-term projections (which were not a calibration target) as evidence that the calibration did not compensate for model errors. Rather, we surmise that the discrepancy was mainly caused by a lack of representativeness of the mortality data. Our results underline the potential for learning more about elusive processes, such as tree mortality or recruitment, through data integration in DVMs.

Different ways to die in a changing world: Consequences of climate change for tree species performance and survival through an ecophysiological perspective

Anthropogenic activities such as uncontrolled deforestation and increasing greenhouse gas emissions are responsible for triggering a series of environmental imbalances that affect the Earth's complex climate dynamics. As a consequence of these changes, several climate models forecast an intensification of extreme weather events over the upcoming decades, including heat waves and increasingly severe drought and flood episodes. The occurrence of such extreme weather will prompt profound changes in several plant communities, resulting in massive forest dieback events that can trigger a massive loss of biodiversity in several biomes worldwide. Despite the gravity of the situation, our knowledge regarding how extreme weather events can undermine the performance, survival, and distribution of forest species remains very fragmented. Therefore, the present review aimed to provide a broad and integrated perspective of the main biochemical, physiological, and morpho-anatomical disorders that may compromise the performance and survival of forest species exposed to climate change factors, particularly drought, flooding, and global warming. In addition, we also discuss the controversial effects of high CO2 concentrations in enhancing plant growth and reducing the deleterious effects of some extreme climatic events. We conclude with a discussion about the possible effects that the factors associated with the climate change might have on species distribution and forest composition.