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Chiappero MF, Rossetti MR, Moreno ML, Pérez-Harguindeguy N. A global meta-analysis reveals a consistent reduction of soil fauna abundance and richness as a consequence of land use conversion. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2024; 946:173822. [PMID: 38906293 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.173822] [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: 03/08/2024] [Revised: 06/04/2024] [Accepted: 06/05/2024] [Indexed: 06/23/2024]
Abstract
Land use conversion of natural to production systems is one of the most important threats to belowground communities and to the key ecosystem processes in which they are involved. Available literature shows positive, negative, and neutral effects of land use changes on soil fauna communities; and these varying effects may be due to different characteristics of natural and production systems and soil organisms. We hypothesize that land conversion from high to low plant biomass, diversity, and structural complexity systems may have the most negative impacts on soil fauna. Here, we performed the first meta-analysis evaluating the overall effects of land use conversion on soil invertebrate communities and the influence of factors related to characteristics of natural and production systems, of soil fauna communities and methods. We compiled a dataset of 260 publications that yielded 1732 observations for soil fauna abundance and 459 for richness. Both abundance and richness showed a global decline as a consequence of natural land conversion to production systems. These negative effects were stronger, in general, when the conversion occurred in tropical and subtropical sites, and when natural systems were replaced by croplands, pastures and grazing systems. The effects of land use conversion also depended on soil property changes. In addition, the abundance of most taxa and richness of Acari and Collembola were strongly reduced by land use changes while Annelida were not affected. The highest reduction in abundance was recorded in omnivores and predators, whereas detritivores showed a reduction in richness. Our meta-analysis shows consistent evidence of soil biodiversity decline due to different land use changes and the partial dependence of those effects on the magnitude of changes in vegetation. These findings stress the need to continue developing production modes that effectively preserve soil biodiversity and ecosystem processes, without hampering food production.
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Affiliation(s)
- María Fernanda Chiappero
- Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal (IMBIV), CONICET-Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Argentina
| | - María Rosa Rossetti
- Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal (IMBIV), CONICET-Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Argentina.
| | - María Laura Moreno
- Instituto de Ecorregiones Andinas (INECOA), CONICET - Universidad Nacional de Jujuy, Argentina
| | - Natalia Pérez-Harguindeguy
- Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal (IMBIV), CONICET-Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Argentina; Departamento de Diversidad Biológica y Ecología, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Argentina
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2
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Song M, Dodson J, Lu F, Yan H. Central China as LGM plant refugia: Insights from biome reconstruction for palaeoclimate information. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2024; 942:173783. [PMID: 38851335 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.173783] [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: 02/03/2024] [Revised: 05/24/2024] [Accepted: 06/03/2024] [Indexed: 06/10/2024]
Abstract
The demonstration of survival of forest stands in relatively stable refugia during cold glacial stages has offered an increased understanding of the response of vegetation to climate change, but also provides insight into considerations for the conversation of biodiversity hotspots. However, refugia studies in China remain in question due to the lack of plant macrofossils, especially those of endemic and relict species. Palynology, while more broad brush, provides a method for exploring whether refugia occur, and can provide some details of palaeovegetation composition and temporal dynamics. Here, three pollen records derived from subalpine wetlands in central China, spanning the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), have been coupled with biome and mean annual precipitation (MAP) reconstructions to identify the presence of trees that endured cold climate. The results indicated that some forest, including temperate deciduous broadleaf forest and cool mixed forest, survived the LGM at the three locations, and was thus at odds with the hypothesis that forests were replaced by herbs and grasses in central China at that time. Refugia favored by protection from cold air drainage and the availability of adequate water can explain the survival of the trees during otherwise harsh episodes. Our findings are consistent with other records from central China that argue for tree dominated refugia during the LGM.
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Affiliation(s)
- Menglin Song
- State Key Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi'an 710061, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China; School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
| | - John Dodson
- State Key Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi'an 710061, China; School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
| | - Fengyan Lu
- State Key Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi'an 710061, China
| | - Hong Yan
- State Key Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi'an 710061, China
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3
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Lenk A, Richter R, Kretz L, Wirth C. Effects of canopy gaps on microclimate, soil biological activity and their relationship in a European mixed floodplain forest. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2024; 941:173572. [PMID: 38823707 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.173572] [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: 02/09/2024] [Revised: 05/25/2024] [Accepted: 05/25/2024] [Indexed: 06/03/2024]
Abstract
Forest canopy gaps can influence understorey microclimate and ecosystem functions such as decomposition. Gaps can arise from silviculture or tree mortality, increasingly influenced by climate change. However, to what degree canopy gaps affect the buffered microclimate in the understorey under macroclimatic changes is unclear. We, therefore, investigated the effect of forest gaps differing in structure and size (25 gaps: single tree gaps up to 0.67 ha cuttings) on microclimate and soil biological activity compared to closed forest in a European mixed floodplain forest. During the investigation period in the drought year 2022 between May and October, mean soil moisture and temperature as well as soil and air temperature fluctuations increased with increasing openness. In summer, the highest difference of monthly means between cuttings and closed forest in the topsoil was 3.98 ± 9.43 % volumetric moisture and 2.05 ± 0.89 °C temperature, and in the air at 30 cm height 0.61 ± 0.35 °C temperature. For buffering, both the over- and understorey tree layers appeared as relevant with a particularly strong influence of understorey density on soil temperature. Three experiments, investigating soil biological activity by quantifying decomposition rates of tea and wooden spatulas as well as mesofauna feeding activity with bait-lamina stripes, revealed no significant differences between gaps and closed forest. However, we found a positive significant effect of mean soil temperature on feeding activity throughout the season. Although soil moisture decreased during this period, it showed no counteracting effect on feeding activity. Generally, very few significant relationships were observed between microclimate and soil biological activity in single experiments. Despite the dry growing season, decomposition rates remained high, suggesting temperature had a stronger influence than soil moisture. We conclude that the microclimatic differences within the gap gradient of our experiment were not strong enough to affect soil biological activity considerably.
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Affiliation(s)
- Annalena Lenk
- Systematic Botany and Functional Biodiversity, Leipzig University, Johannisallee 21, 04103 Leipzig, Germany.
| | - Ronny Richter
- Systematic Botany and Functional Biodiversity, Leipzig University, Johannisallee 21, 04103 Leipzig, Germany; German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Puschstraße 4, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Lena Kretz
- Systematic Botany and Functional Biodiversity, Leipzig University, Johannisallee 21, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Christian Wirth
- Systematic Botany and Functional Biodiversity, Leipzig University, Johannisallee 21, 04103 Leipzig, Germany; German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Puschstraße 4, 04103 Leipzig, Germany; Max-Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, Hans-Knöll-Straße 10, 07745 Jena, Germany
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4
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Qiu L, Xue Q, Wu Y, Zhang X, Alexandrov G, Wang Y, Yang K, Zhao F, Yin X. Responses of precipitation and water vapor budget on the Chinese Loess Plateau to global land cover change forcing. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT 2024; 365:121588. [PMID: 38941851 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2024.121588] [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: 05/03/2024] [Revised: 06/15/2024] [Accepted: 06/23/2024] [Indexed: 06/30/2024]
Abstract
There have been notable changes in precipitation patterns on the Loess Plateau (LP) of China in recent decades, and numerous attribution studies have focused on sea surface temperature anomalies and atmospheric circulation changes induced by aerosols and greenhouse gases emission. However, the influences of global land use and land cover change (LULCC) as an important forcing factor in the climate system on regional precipitation remains poorly understood. In this study, we quantified the impacts of LULCC on precipitation and the water vapor budget in the LP region, utilizing data from LULCC forcing experiments conducted by the sixth phase of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP6). Although global LULCC forcing exerted a negative effect on long-term mean precipitation on the LP region from 1850 to 2014, the different response characteristics were detected during different time periods. The global LULCC caused a decrease of 14 mm in annual precipitation during the period of 1850-1960. Conversely, from 1961 to 2014, it led to an increase of 6.4 mm, which is largely attributed to the enhanced water vapor transport along the southern boundary and westerly belt of the LP region. Moreover, from the perspective of the net water vapor balance of the entire LP, although LULCC caused net water vapor export during both periods 1850-1960 and 1961-2014, the export during the latter period (0.20 × 104 kg s-1) was smaller than that during the former period (0.28 × 104 kg s-1), indicating that the global expansion of grassland and cropland, along with the continuous rise in the leaf area index from 1961 to 2014, contributed to retaining more water vapor within the LP, which in turn was more favorable for precipitation. These findings provide valuable insights into the reasons behind precipitation variations in the LP region, emphasizing that global vegetation restoration and greening play a significant role in improving precipitation in ecologically fragile areas.
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Affiliation(s)
- Linjing Qiu
- Institute of Global Environmental Change, Department of Earth and Environmental Science, School of Human Settlements and Civil Engineering, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710049, China
| | - Qingyue Xue
- Institute of Global Environmental Change, Department of Earth and Environmental Science, School of Human Settlements and Civil Engineering, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710049, China
| | - Yiping Wu
- Institute of Global Environmental Change, Department of Earth and Environmental Science, School of Human Settlements and Civil Engineering, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710049, China.
| | - Xuesong Zhang
- Joint Global Change Research Institute, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, 20740, USA
| | - Georgii Alexandrov
- A. M. Obukhov Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, 119017, Russia
| | - Yunqiang Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710061, China
| | - Ke Yang
- Institute of Global Environmental Change, Department of Earth and Environmental Science, School of Human Settlements and Civil Engineering, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710049, China
| | - Fubo Zhao
- Institute of Global Environmental Change, Department of Earth and Environmental Science, School of Human Settlements and Civil Engineering, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710049, China
| | - Xiaowei Yin
- Institute of Global Environmental Change, Department of Earth and Environmental Science, School of Human Settlements and Civil Engineering, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710049, China
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5
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Short Gianotti DJ, McColl KA, Feldman AF, Xu X, Entekhabi D. Two sub-annual timescales and coupling modes for terrestrial water and carbon cycles. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2024; 30:e17463. [PMID: 39120552 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.17463] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2024] [Revised: 07/25/2024] [Accepted: 07/30/2024] [Indexed: 08/10/2024]
Abstract
To bridge the knowledge gap between (a) our (instantaneous-to-seasonal-scale) process understanding of plants and water and (b) our projections of long-term coupled feedbacks between the terrestrial water and carbon cycles, we must uncover what the dominant dynamics are linking fluxes of water and carbon. This study uses the simplest empirical dynamical systems models-two-dimensional linear models-and observation-based data from satellites, eddy covariance towers, weather stations, and machine-learning-derived products to determine the dominant sub-annual timescales coupling carbon uptake and (normalized) evaporation fluxes. We find two dominant modes across the Contiguous United States: (1) a negative correlation timescale on the order of a few days during which landscapes dry after precipitation and plants increase their carbon uptake through photosynthetic upregulation. (2) A slow, seasonal-scale positive covariation through which landscape drying leads to decreased growth and carbon uptake. The slow (positively correlated) process dominates the joint distribution of local water and carbon variables, leading to similar behaviors across space, biomes, and climate regions. We propose that vegetation cover/leaf area variables link this behavior across space, leading to strong emergent spatial patterns of water/carbon coupling in the mean. The spatial pattern of local temporal dynamics-positively sloped tangent lines to a convex long-term mean-state curve-is surprisingly strong, and can serve as a benchmark for coupled Earth System Models. We show that many such models do not represent this emergent mean-state pattern, and hypothesize that this may be due to lack of water-carbon feedbacks at daily scales.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel J Short Gianotti
- Ralph M. Parsons Laboratory for Environmental Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Kaighin A McColl
- Department of Earth & Planetary Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
- John A Paulson School of Engineering & Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Andrew F Feldman
- Biospheric Sciences Laboratory, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland, USA
- Earth System Science Interdisciplinary Center, University of Maryland, Greenbelt, Maryland, USA
| | - Xiangtao Xu
- Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA
| | - Dara Entekhabi
- Ralph M. Parsons Laboratory for Environmental Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
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6
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Ahmed R, Chen XH, Hoang YH, Do-Linh C. Climate change effects and their implications for the financial markets: Evidence from the United Kingdom. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT 2024; 366:121782. [PMID: 39002461 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2024.121782] [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: 04/27/2024] [Revised: 06/30/2024] [Accepted: 07/05/2024] [Indexed: 07/15/2024]
Abstract
This study aims to examine how the climate affects the behaviour of the stock market. To achieve this, we have drawn on daily data from Jan 2005 to Jan 31, 2023 and several environmental factors (e.g., temperature, humidity, cloud cover and visibility) to account for extreme weather conditions using the 21-day moving average and its standard deviation. The empirical analysis has revealed three key findings regarding the impact of weather on the stock market's behaviour. First, various forms of extreme weather conditions consistently lead to influence stock behaviour. Second, results provide valuable insights into market behaviour and help investors to make more informed investment decisions. Third, the weather conditions have new information about the climate risk and investors should react to it swiftly in light of our findings. The saliency theory can help reconcile the theoretical conflicts between the real options and risk-shifting theories when it comes to investing in uncertain and extreme climate conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rizwan Ahmed
- Kent Business School, University of Kent, United Kingdom.
| | - Xihui Haviour Chen
- Keele Business School, Keele University, United Kingdom; Women Researchers Council (WRC), Azerbaijan State University of Economics (UNEC), Istiglaliyyat 6, AZ1001, Baku, Azerbaijan; School of Banking, University of Economics HCM City, Viet Nam; Western Caspian University, Baku, Azerbaijan.
| | - Yen Hai Hoang
- School of Banking, University of Economics HCM City, Viet Nam.
| | - Chi Do-Linh
- School of Economics, University of East Anglia, United Kingdom.
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7
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Schebeck M, Lehmann P, Laparie M, Bentz BJ, Ragland GJ, Battisti A, Hahn DA. Seasonality of forest insects: why diapause matters. Trends Ecol Evol 2024; 39:757-770. [PMID: 38777634 DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2024.04.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2024] [Revised: 04/27/2024] [Accepted: 04/29/2024] [Indexed: 05/25/2024]
Abstract
Insects have major impacts on forest ecosystems, from herbivory and soil-nutrient cycling to killing trees at a large scale. Forest insects from temperate, tropical, and subtropical regions have evolved strategies to respond to seasonality; for example, by entering diapause, to mitigate adversity and to synchronize lifecycles with favorable periods. Here, we show that distinct functional groups of forest insects; that is, canopy dwellers, trunk-associated species, and soil/litter-inhabiting insects, express a variety of diapause strategies, but do not show systematic differences in diapause strategy depending on functional group. Due to the overall similarities in diapause strategies, we can better estimate the impacts of anthropogenic change on forest insect populations and, consequently, on key ecosystems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin Schebeck
- Institute of Forest Entomology, Forest Pathology and Forest Protection, Department of Forest and Soil Sciences, BOKU University, A-1190 Vienna, Austria.
| | - Philipp Lehmann
- Department of Animal Physiology, Zoological Institute and Museum, University of Greifswald, D-17489 Greifswald, Germany; Department of Zoology, Stockholm University, SE-10691 Stockholm, Sweden; Bolin Centre for Climate Research, SE-10691 Stockholm, Sweden
| | | | - Barbara J Bentz
- US Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Logan, UT 84321, USA
| | - Gregory J Ragland
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Colorado-Denver, Denver, CO 80204, USA
| | - Andrea Battisti
- Department of Agronomy, Food, Natural Resources, Animals and Environment (DAFNAE), University of Padova, I-35020 Legnaro, Italy
| | - Daniel A Hahn
- Department of Entomology and Nematology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611-0620, USA
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8
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Scrosati RA, Ellrich JA. Changes in the composition of invertebrate assemblages from wave-exposed intertidal mussel stands along the Nova Scotia coast, Canada. PeerJ 2024; 12:e17697. [PMID: 38993978 PMCID: PMC11238722 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.17697] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2024] [Accepted: 06/14/2024] [Indexed: 07/13/2024] Open
Abstract
Rocky intertidal habitats occur worldwide and are mainly characterized by primary space holders such as seaweeds and sessile invertebrates. Some of these organisms are foundation species, as they can form structurally complex stands that host many small invertebrates. The abundance of primary space holders is known to vary along coastlines driven directly or indirectly by environmental variation. However, it is less clear if the invertebrate assemblages associated to a foundation species may remain relatively unchanged along coastlines, as similar stands of a foundation species can generate similar microclimates. We examined this question using abundance data for invertebrate species found in mussel stands of a similar structure in wave-exposed rocky habitats at mid-intertidal elevations along the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia (Canada). While the most abundant invertebrate species were found at three locations spanning 315 km of coastline, species composition (a combined measure of species identity and their relative abundance) differed significantly among the locations. One of the species explaining the highest amount of variation among locations (a barnacle) exhibited potential signs of bottom-up regulation involving pelagic food supply, suggesting benthic-pelagic coupling. The abundance of the species that explained the highest amount of variation (an oligochaete) was positively related to the abundance of their predators (mites), further suggesting bottom-up forcing in these communities. Overall, we conclude that species assemblages associated to structurally similar stands of a foundation species can show clear changes in species composition at a regional scale.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ricardo A. Scrosati
- Department of Biology, St. Francis Xavier University, Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Canada
| | - Julius A. Ellrich
- Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, Helgoland, Germany
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Lorer E, Landuyt D, Blondeel H, De Frenne P, Verheyen K. Forest floor environment overrules global change treatment effects on understorey communities in a mesocosm experiment. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2024; 30:e17443. [PMID: 39054811 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.17443] [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: 03/26/2024] [Revised: 06/14/2024] [Accepted: 07/03/2024] [Indexed: 07/27/2024]
Abstract
Light availability profoundly influences plant communities, especially below dense tree canopies in forests. Canopy disturbances, altering forest floor light conditions, together with other environmental changes such as climate change, nitrogen deposition and legacy effects from previous land-use will simultaneously impact forest understorey communities. Yet, knowledge on the individual effects of these drivers and their potential interactions remains scarce. Here we performed a forest mesocosm experiment to assess the influence of warming, illumination (simulating canopy opening), nitrogen deposition and soil land-use history (comparing ancient and post-agricultural forest soil) on understorey community composition trajectories over a 7-year period. Strikingly, understorey communities primarily evolved in response to the deeply shaded ambient forest conditions, with experimental treatments exerting only secondary influences. The overruling trajectory steered all mesocosms towards slow-colonizing forest specialist communities dominated by spring geophytes with lower nutrient-demand. The illumination treatment and, to a lesser extent, warming and agricultural land-use legacy slowed down this trend by advancing fast-growing resource-acquisitive generalist species. Warm ambient temperatures induced thermophilization of plant communities in all treatments, including control plots, towards higher dominance of warm-adapted species. Nitrogen addition accelerated this thermophilization process and increased the community light-demand signature. Land-use legacy effects were limited in our study. Our findings underscore the essential role of limited light availability in preserving forest specialists in understorey communities and highlight the importance of maintaining a dense canopy cover to attenuate global change impacts. It is crucial to integrate this knowledge in forest management adaptation to global change, particularly in the face of increasing demands for wood and wood products and intensified natural canopy disturbances.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eline Lorer
- Forest & Nature Lab, Department of Environment, Ghent University, Melle-Gontrode, Belgium
| | - Dries Landuyt
- Forest & Nature Lab, Department of Environment, Ghent University, Melle-Gontrode, Belgium
| | - Haben Blondeel
- Forest & Nature Lab, Department of Environment, Ghent University, Melle-Gontrode, Belgium
| | - Pieter De Frenne
- Forest & Nature Lab, Department of Environment, Ghent University, Melle-Gontrode, Belgium
| | - Kris Verheyen
- Forest & Nature Lab, Department of Environment, Ghent University, Melle-Gontrode, Belgium
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Koelemeijer IA, Severholt I, Ehrlén J, De Frenne P, Jönsson M, Hylander K. Canopy cover and soil moisture influence forest understory plant responses to experimental summer drought. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2024; 30:e17424. [PMID: 39044435 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.17424] [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: 03/11/2024] [Revised: 05/28/2024] [Accepted: 06/09/2024] [Indexed: 07/25/2024]
Abstract
Extreme droughts are globally increasing in frequency and severity. Most research on drought in forests focuses on the response of trees, while less is known about the impacts of drought on forest understory species and how these effects are moderated by the local environment. We assessed the impacts of a 45-day experimental summer drought on the performance of six boreal forest understory plants, using a transplant experiment with rainout shelters replicated across 25 sites. We recorded growth, vitality and reproduction immediately, 2 months, and 1 year after the simulated drought, and examined how differences in ambient soil moisture and canopy cover among sites influenced the effects of drought on the performance of each species. Drought negatively affected the growth and/or vitality of all species, but the effects were stronger and more persistent in the bryophytes than in the vascular plants. The two species associated with older forests, the moss Hylocomiastrum umbratum and the orchid Goodyera repens, suffered larger effects than the more generalist species included in the experiment. The drought reduced reproductive output in the moss Hylocomium splendens in the next growing season, but increased reproduction in the graminoid Luzula pilosa. Higher ambient soil moisture reduced some negative effects of drought on vascular plants. Both denser canopy cover and higher soil moisture alleviated drought effects on bryophytes, likely through alleviating cellular damage. Our experiment shows that boreal understory species can be adversely affected by drought and that effects might be stronger for bryophytes and species associated with older forests. Our results indicate that the effects of drought can vary over small spatial scales and that forest landscapes can be actively managed to alleviate drought effects on boreal forest biodiversity. For example, by managing the tree canopy and protecting hydrological networks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Irena A Koelemeijer
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
- Bolin Centre for Climate Research, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Isabelle Severholt
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Johan Ehrlén
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
- Bolin Centre for Climate Research, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Pieter De Frenne
- Forest & Nature Lab, Department of Environment, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Melle-Gontrode, Belgium
| | - Mari Jönsson
- Swedish Species Information Centre, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Kristoffer Hylander
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
- Bolin Centre for Climate Research, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
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De Meester J, Willems P. Analysing spatial variability in drought sensitivity of rivers using explainable artificial intelligence. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2024; 931:172685. [PMID: 38670356 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.172685] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2023] [Revised: 03/19/2024] [Accepted: 04/20/2024] [Indexed: 04/28/2024]
Abstract
Hydrological drought can have a severe negative impact on aquatic ecosystems and human living standards. Therefore, being able to predict and gain more insights in the spatial variability in drought sensitivity of rivers is of relevance for water managers. The drought sensitivity of a river is in this study represented by four drought metrics, of which three are relative towards the ecological minimal flow. Statistical and machine learning methods were evaluated to predict these metrics for rivers in the Flanders region of Belgium based on catchment characteristics and data on human interferences. XGBoost had the best performance, with an explained variance of 80 % to 90 %. After applying explaining AI on these models, insights were obtained in the spatial variability of the drought metrics. Irrigation is the most important variable, a high percentage of irrigation leads to a higher drought sensitivity. If there are a lot of human interferences, there is a higher drought sensitivity. Many of the observed dependencies can be explained by the differences in soil infiltration capacity and transferability of water for sandy versus clay soils. No clear dependence with the amount of forest or agriculture was observed, implying that the impact of forest and agriculture on the drought sensitivity of a river is complex.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joke De Meester
- Hydraulics and Geotechnics Section, KU Leuven, Kasteelpark Arenberg 40, BE-3001 Leuven, Belgium.
| | - Patrick Willems
- Hydraulics and Geotechnics Section, KU Leuven, Kasteelpark Arenberg 40, BE-3001 Leuven, Belgium.
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Ogée J, Walbott M, Barbeta A, Corcket E, Brunet Y. Decametric-scale buffering of climate extremes in forest understory within a riparian microrefugia: the key role of microtopography. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BIOMETEOROLOGY 2024:10.1007/s00484-024-02702-9. [PMID: 38850441 DOI: 10.1007/s00484-024-02702-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2024] [Revised: 04/09/2024] [Accepted: 05/07/2024] [Indexed: 06/10/2024]
Abstract
Riparian corridors often act as low-land climate refugia for temperate tree species in their southern distribution range. A plausible mechanism is the buffering of regional climate extremes by local physiographic and biotic factors. We tested this idea using a 3-year-long microclimate dataset collected along the Ciron river, a refugia for European beech (Fagus sylvatica) in southwestern France. Across the whole network, canopy gap fraction was the main predictor for spatial microclimatic variations, together with two other landscape features (elevation above the river and woodland fraction within a 300m radius). However, within the riparian forest only (canopy gap fraction < 25%, distance to the river < 150m), variations of up to -4°C and + 15% in summertime daily maximum air temperature and minimum relative humidity, respectively, were still found from the plateau to the cooler, moister river banks, only ~ 5-10m below. Elevation above the river was then identified as the main predictor, and explained the marked variations from the plateau to the banks much better than canopy gap fraction. The microclimate measured near the river is as cool but moister than the macroclimate encountered at 700-1000m asl further east in F. sylvatica's main distribution range. Indeed, at all locations, we found that air relative humidity was higher than expected from a temperature-only effect, suggesting that extra moisture is brought by the river. Our results explain well why beech trees in this climate refugium are restricted to the river gorges where microtopographic variations are the strongest and canopy gaps are rare.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jérôme Ogée
- ISPA, INRAE, Bordeaux Sciences Agro, 33140, Villenave d'Ornon, France.
| | - Marion Walbott
- BIOGECO, Université de Bordeaux, INRAE, 33615, Pessac, France
| | - Adrià Barbeta
- BEECA, Universitat de Barcelona, 08028, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
| | - Emmanuel Corcket
- BIOGECO, Université de Bordeaux, INRAE, 33615, Pessac, France
- IMBE, Aix Marseille Université, Avignon Université, CNRS, IRD, Marseille, 13397, France
| | - Yves Brunet
- ISPA, INRAE, Bordeaux Sciences Agro, 33140, Villenave d'Ornon, France
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13
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Seidl R, Senf C. Changes in planned and unplanned canopy openings are linked in Europe's forests. Nat Commun 2024; 15:4741. [PMID: 38834542 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-49116-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2023] [Accepted: 05/23/2024] [Indexed: 06/06/2024] Open
Abstract
Canopy openings are increasing in Europe's forests, yet the contributions of anthropogenic and ecological agents of disturbance to this increase remain debated. Here we attribute the root cause of all stand-replacing canopy disturbances identified for Europe in the period 1986-2020 from Landsat data (417,000 km²), distinguishing between planned and unplanned canopy openings (i.e., disturbance by human land use versus by wind, bark beetles, and wildfire). We show that canopy openings by humans dominate the European forest disturbance regime, accounting for 82% of the area disturbed. Both planned and unplanned canopy openings increased in the early 21st century (+24% and +30% relative to the late 20th century). Their changes are linked, with simultaneous increases in planned and unplanned canopy openings on 68% of Europe's forest area. We conclude that an important direction for tackling disturbance change in policy and management is to break the link between planned and unplanned canopy openings in Europe's forests.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rupert Seidl
- Technical University of Munich, TUM School of Life Sciences, Ecosystem Dynamics and Forest Management, Freising, Germany.
- Berchtesgaden National Park, Berchtesgaden, Germany.
| | - Cornelius Senf
- Technical University of Munich, TUM School of Life Sciences, Ecosystem Dynamics and Forest Management, Freising, Germany
- Technical University of Munich, TUM School of Life Sciences, Earth Observation for Ecosystem Management, Freising, Germany
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14
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McNichol BH, Wang R, Hefner A, Helzer C, McMahon SM, Russo SE. Topography-driven microclimate gradients shape forest structure, diversity, and composition in a temperate refugial forest. PLANT-ENVIRONMENT INTERACTIONS (HOBOKEN, N.J.) 2024; 5:e10153. [PMID: 38863691 PMCID: PMC11166229 DOI: 10.1002/pei3.10153] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2024] [Revised: 05/15/2024] [Accepted: 05/21/2024] [Indexed: 06/13/2024]
Abstract
Macroclimate drives vegetation distributions, but fine-scale topographic variation can generate microclimate refugia for plant persistence in unsuitable areas. However, we lack quantitative descriptions of topography-driven microclimatic variation and how it shapes forest structure, diversity, and composition. We hypothesized that topographic variation and the presence of the forest overstory cause spatiotemporal microclimate variation affecting tree performance, causing forest structure, diversity, and composition to vary with topography and microclimate, and topography and the overstory to buffer microclimate. In a 20.2-ha inventory plot in the North American Great Plains, we censused woody stems ≥1 cm in diameter and collected detailed topographic and microclimatic data. Across 59-m of elevation, microclimate covaried with topography to create a sharp desiccation gradient, and topography and the overstory buffered understory microclimate. The magnitude of microclimatic variation mirrored that of regional-scale variation: with increasing elevation, there was a decrease in soil moisture corresponding to the difference across ~2.1° of longitude along the east-to-west aridity gradient and an increase in air temperature corresponding to the difference across ~2.7° of latitude along the north-to-south gradient. More complex forest structure and higher diversity occurred in moister, less-exposed habitats, and species occupied distinct topographic niches. Our study demonstrates how topographic and microclimatic gradients structure forests in putative climate-change refugia, by revealing ecological processes enabling populations to be maintained during periods of unfavorable macroclimate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bailey H. McNichol
- School of Biological SciencesUniversity of Nebraska–LincolnLincolnNebraskaUSA
| | - Ran Wang
- School of Natural ResourcesUniversity of Nebraska–LincolnLincolnNebraskaUSA
| | | | | | - Sean M. McMahon
- Smithsonian Institution Forest Global Earth ObservatorySmithsonian Environmental Research CenterEdgewaterMarylandUSA
| | - Sabrina E. Russo
- School of Biological SciencesUniversity of Nebraska–LincolnLincolnNebraskaUSA
- Center for Plant Science InnovationUniversity of Nebraska–LincolnLincolnNebraskaUSA
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15
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Terschanski J, Nunes MH, Aalto I, Pellikka P, Wekesa C, Maeda EE. The role of vegetation structural diversity in regulating the microclimate of human-modified tropical ecosystems. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT 2024; 360:121128. [PMID: 38776661 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2024.121128] [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: 01/26/2024] [Revised: 04/20/2024] [Accepted: 05/08/2024] [Indexed: 05/25/2024]
Abstract
Vegetation regulates microclimate stability through biophysical mechanisms such as evaporation, transpiration and shading. Therefore, thermal conditions in tree-dominated habitats will frequently differ significantly from standardized free-air temperature measurements. The ability of forests to buffer temperatures nominates them as potential sanctuaries for tree species intolerant to the increasingly challenging thermal conditions established by climate change. Although many factors influencing thermal conditions beneath the vegetation cover have been ascertained, the role of three-dimensional vegetation structure in regulating the understory microclimate remains understudied. Recent advances in remote sensing technologies, such as terrestrial laser scanning, have allowed scientists to capture the three-dimensional structural heterogeneity of vegetation with a high level of accuracy. Here, we examined the relationships between vegetation structure parametrized from voxelized laser scanning point clouds, air and soil temperature ranges, as well as offsets between field-measured temperatures and gridded free-air temperature estimates in 17 sites in a tropical mountain ecosystem in Southeast Kenya. Structural diversity generally exerted a cooling effect on understory temperatures, but vertical diversity and stratification explained more variation in the understory air and soil temperature ranges (30%-40%) than canopy cover (27%), plant area index (24%) and average stand height (23%). We also observed that the combined effects of stratification, canopy cover and elevation explained more than half of the variation (53%) in understory air temperature ranges. Stratification's attenuating effect was consistent across different levels of elevation. Temperature offsets between field measurements and free-air estimates were predominantly controlled by elevation, but stratification and structural diversity were influential predictors of maximum and median temperature offsets. Moreover, stable understory temperatures were strongly associated with a large offset in daytime maximum temperatures, suggesting that structural diversity primarily contributes to thermal stability by cooling daytime maximum temperatures. Our findings shed light on the thermal influence of vertical vegetation structure and, in the context of tropical land-use change, suggest that decision-makers aiming to mitigate the thermal impacts of land conversion should prioritize management practices that preserve structural diversity by retaining uneven-aged trees and mixing plant species of varying sizes, e.g., silvopastoral, or agroforestry systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan Terschanski
- Department of Geography, University of Bonn, Regina-Pacis-Weg 3, 53113, Bonn, Germany; Department of Geosciences and Geography, University of Helsinki, Yliopistonkatu 4, 00100, Helsinki, Finland.
| | - Matheus Henrique Nunes
- Department of Geosciences and Geography, University of Helsinki, Yliopistonkatu 4, 00100, Helsinki, Finland; Department of Geographical Sciences, University of Maryland, College Park, 20742, Maryland, United States.
| | - Iris Aalto
- Department of Geosciences and Geography, University of Helsinki, Yliopistonkatu 4, 00100, Helsinki, Finland; School of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH8 9XP, United Kingdom.
| | - Petri Pellikka
- Department of Geosciences and Geography, University of Helsinki, Yliopistonkatu 4, 00100, Helsinki, Finland; State Key Laboratory of Information Engineering in Surveying, Mapping and Remote Sensing, Wuhan University, PR China; Wangari Maathai Institute for Environmental and Peace Studies, University of Nairobi, P.O. Box 29053, 00625, Kangemi, Kenya.
| | - Chemuku Wekesa
- Taita Taveta Research Centre, Kenya Forestry Research Institute - KEFRI, P.O. Box 1206-70304, Wundanyi, Kenya.
| | - Eduardo Eiji Maeda
- Department of Geosciences and Geography, University of Helsinki, Yliopistonkatu 4, 00100, Helsinki, Finland; Finnish Meteorological Institute - FMI, Erik Palménin Aukio 1, 00101, Helsinki, Finland.
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16
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Eisenring M, Gessler A, Frei ER, Glauser G, Kammerer B, Moor M, Perret-Gentil A, Wohlgemuth T, Gossner MM. Legacy effects of premature defoliation in response to an extreme drought event modulate phytochemical profiles with subtle consequences for leaf herbivory in European beech. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2024; 242:2495-2509. [PMID: 38641748 DOI: 10.1111/nph.19721] [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: 10/17/2023] [Accepted: 03/13/2024] [Indexed: 04/21/2024]
Abstract
Extreme droughts can have long-lasting effects on forest community dynamics and species interactions. Yet, our understanding of how drought legacy modulates ecological relationships is just unfolding. We tested the hypothesis that leaf chemistry and herbivory show long-term responses to premature defoliation caused by an extreme drought event in European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.). For two consecutive years after the extreme European summer drought in 2018, we collected leaves from the upper and lower canopy of adjacently growing drought-stressed and unstressed trees. Leaf chemistry was analyzed and leaf damage by different herbivore-feeding guilds was quantified. We found that drought had lasting impacts on leaf nutrients and on specialized metabolomic profiles. However, drought did not affect the primary metabolome. Drought-related phytochemical changes affected damage of leaf-chewing herbivores whereas damage caused by other herbivore-feeding guilds was largely unaffected. Drought legacy effects on phytochemistry and herbivory were often weaker than between-year or between-canopy strata variability. Our findings suggest that a single extreme drought event bears the potential to long-lastingly affect tree-herbivore interactions. Drought legacy effects likely become more important in modulating tree-herbivore interactions since drought frequency and severity are projected to globally increase in the coming decades.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Eisenring
- Forest Health & Biotic Interactions, Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL, Birmensdorf, 8903, Switzerland
| | - Arthur Gessler
- Department of Environmental Systems Science, Institute of Terrestrial Ecosystems, ETH Zurich, Zürich, 8092, Switzerland
- Forest Dynamics, Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL, Birmensdorf, 8903, Switzerland
| | - Esther R Frei
- Forest Dynamics, Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL, Birmensdorf, 8903, Switzerland
- WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF, Flüelastrasse 11, Davos, 7260, Switzerland
- Climate Change and Extremes in Alpine Regions Research Centre CERC, Davos, 7260, Switzerland
| | - Gaétan Glauser
- Neuchâtel Platform of Analytical Chemistry, University of Neuchâtel, Neuchâtel, 2000, Switzerland
| | - Bernd Kammerer
- Core Facility Metabolomics, Albert-Ludwigs-University Freiburg, Freiburg, 79014, Germany
| | - Maurice Moor
- Forest Health & Biotic Interactions, Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL, Birmensdorf, 8903, Switzerland
| | - Anouchka Perret-Gentil
- Forest Health & Biotic Interactions, Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL, Birmensdorf, 8903, Switzerland
| | - Thomas Wohlgemuth
- Forest Dynamics, Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL, Birmensdorf, 8903, Switzerland
| | - Martin M Gossner
- Forest Health & Biotic Interactions, Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL, Birmensdorf, 8903, Switzerland
- Department of Environmental Systems Science, Institute of Terrestrial Ecosystems, ETH Zurich, Zürich, 8092, Switzerland
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17
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Zhang Y, Gou X, Wang T, Zhang F, Wang K, Yang H, Yang K. Response of tree growth to drought variability in arid areas: Local hydroclimate and large-scale precipitation. ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 2024; 249:118417. [PMID: 38316385 DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2024.118417] [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: 10/06/2023] [Revised: 01/21/2024] [Accepted: 02/02/2024] [Indexed: 02/07/2024]
Abstract
The impact of drought on terrestrial ecosystems is increasing, and the spatiotemporal heterogeneity of drought changes exacerbates the difficulty of determining ecosystem responses, especially in arid regions far from oceans. Tree rings have been widely used to understand how forest ecosystems respond to drought. However, the link between local hydroclimate variations related to tree rings and large-scale climate changes is not clear in the Qilian Mountains. Here, we used the tree ring width index to analyze the trend of Picea crassifolia growth and its relationship with climate in the middle Qilian Mountains. The results showed that the radial growth trend of Picea crassifolia is synchronized in the middle Qilian Mountains by calculating the Gleichläufigkeit index (GLK). Our analyses indicated that tree radial growth is positively correlated with drought during the growing season. Tree growth responds stably to drought (scPDSI and SPEI) and precipitation but unstably to temperature during 1950-2019. We further traced the meteorological factors that cause regional drought changes associated with radial growth. An increased total precipitation and decreased evaporation contribute to drought alleviation, favoring an increased tree radial growth. The increased total precipitation is mainly due to increased large-scale precipitation, which is related to water vapor transport changes. This study attempts to explore the influence of large-scale meteorology on regional drought change and its related tree radial growth response, which helps us to better understand the changes in forest ecosystems under climate change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yiran Zhang
- MOE Key Laboratory of Western China's Environmental Systems, College of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China; Gansu Liancheng Forest Ecosystem Field Observation and Research Station, Lanzhou, China
| | - Xiaohua Gou
- MOE Key Laboratory of Western China's Environmental Systems, College of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China; Gansu Liancheng Forest Ecosystem Field Observation and Research Station, Lanzhou, China.
| | - Tao Wang
- MOE Key Laboratory of Western China's Environmental Systems, College of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China; Gansu Liancheng Forest Ecosystem Field Observation and Research Station, Lanzhou, China
| | - Fen Zhang
- MOE Key Laboratory of Western China's Environmental Systems, College of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China; Gansu Liancheng Forest Ecosystem Field Observation and Research Station, Lanzhou, China
| | - Kai Wang
- MOE Key Laboratory of Western China's Environmental Systems, College of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China; Gansu Liancheng Forest Ecosystem Field Observation and Research Station, Lanzhou, China
| | - Haijiang Yang
- MOE Key Laboratory of Western China's Environmental Systems, College of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China; Gansu Liancheng Forest Ecosystem Field Observation and Research Station, Lanzhou, China
| | - Kaixuan Yang
- College of Geographic Sciences, Qinghai Normal University, Xining, 810016, China; Key Laboratory of Tibetan Plateau Land Surface Processes and Ecological Conservation (Ministry of Education), Xining, 810016, China
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18
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Finocchiaro M, Médail F, Saatkamp A, Diadema K, Pavon D, Brousset L, Meineri E. Microrefugia and microclimate: Unraveling decoupling potential and resistance to heatwaves. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2024; 924:171696. [PMID: 38485012 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.171696] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2023] [Revised: 03/11/2024] [Accepted: 03/11/2024] [Indexed: 03/19/2024]
Abstract
Microrefugia, defined as small areas maintaining populations of species outside their range margins during environmental extremes, are increasingly recognized for their role in conserving species in the face of climate change. Understanding their microclimatic dynamics becomes crucial with global warming leading to severe temperature and precipitation changes. This study investigates the phenomenon of short-term climatic decoupling within microrefugia and its implications for plant persistence in the Mediterranean region of southeastern France. We focus on microrefugia's ability to climatically disconnect from macroclimatic trends, examining temperature and Vapor Pressure Deficit (VPD) dynamics in microrefugia, adjacent control plots, and weather stations. Our study encompasses both "normal" conditions and heatwave episodes to explore the role of microrefugia as thermal and moisture insulators during extreme events. Landscape attributes such as relative elevation, solar radiation, distance to streams, and vegetation height are investigated for their contribution to short-term decoupling. Our results demonstrate that microrefugia exhibit notable decoupling from macroclimatic trends. This effect is maintained during heatwaves, underscoring microrefugia's vital role in responding to climatic extremes. Importantly, microrefugia maintain lower VPD levels than their surroundings outside and during heatwaves, potentially mitigating water stress for plants. This study advances our understanding of microclimate dynamics within microrefugia and underscores their ecological importance for plant persistence in a changing climate. As heatwaves become more frequent and severe, our findings provide insights into the role of microrefugia in buffering but also decoupling against extreme climatic events and, more generally, against climate warming. This knowledge emphasizes the need to detect and protect existing microrefugia, as they can be integrated into conservation strategies and climate change adaptation plans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marie Finocchiaro
- Aix Marseille Université, Université Avignon, CNRS, IRD, UMR IMBE, Marseille, France.
| | - Frédéric Médail
- Aix Marseille Université, Université Avignon, CNRS, IRD, UMR IMBE, Marseille, France
| | - Arne Saatkamp
- Aix Marseille Université, Université Avignon, CNRS, IRD, UMR IMBE, Marseille, France
| | - Katia Diadema
- Conservatoire botanique national méditerranéen, 34 avenue Gambetta, F-83400 Hyères, France
| | - Daniel Pavon
- Aix Marseille Université, Université Avignon, CNRS, IRD, UMR IMBE, Marseille, France
| | - Lenka Brousset
- Aix Marseille Université, Université Avignon, CNRS, IRD, UMR IMBE, Marseille, France
| | - Eric Meineri
- Aix Marseille Université, Université Avignon, CNRS, IRD, UMR IMBE, Marseille, France
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19
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Guo Y, Song J, Feng J, Wang H, Zhang J, Ru J, Wang X, Han X, Ma H, Lyu Y, Ma W, Wang C, Qiu X, Wan S. Nighttime warming and nitrogen addition effects on the microclimate of a freshwater wetland dominated by Phragmites australis. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2024; 924:171573. [PMID: 38462005 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.171573] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2023] [Revised: 03/06/2024] [Accepted: 03/06/2024] [Indexed: 03/12/2024]
Abstract
The critical impacts of microclimate on carbon (C) cycling have been widely reported. However, the potential effects of global change on wetland microclimate remain unclear, primarily because of the absence of field manipulative experiment in inundated wetland. This study was designed to examine the effects of nighttime warming and nitrogen (N) addition on air, water, and sediment temperature and also reveal the controlling factors in a Phragmites australis dominated freshwater wetland on the North China Plain. Nighttime warming increased daily air, water, and sediment temperature by 0.24 °C, 0.27 °C, and 0.36 °C, respectively. The diurnal temperature range of water was decreased by 0.44 °C under nighttime warming, whereas warming had no effect on diurnal temperature range of air and sediment. In addition, N addition caused a reduction of 0.20 °C and 0.14 °C in daily water and sediment temperature by increasing vegetation coverage. There was a significant interaction between nighttime warming and N addition on water temperature. Furthermore, the vapor pressure deficit is the main factor affecting the extent of the warming-induced increases in air temperature. The changes of height and leaf area index of Phragmites australis are responsible for the cooling effects in the N addition plots. This study provides empirical evidence for the positive climate warming - microclimate feedback in freshwater wetland. However, N deposition leads to decreased water and sediment temperature. Our findings highlight the importance of incorporating the differential impacts of nighttime warming and N addition on air, water, and sediment temperature into the predictions of wetland C cycling responses to climate change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yunpeng Guo
- School of Life Sciences/Hebei Basic Science Center for Biotic Interaction, Institute of Life Science and Green Development, Hebei University, Baoding 071002, PR China
| | - Jian Song
- School of Life Sciences/Hebei Basic Science Center for Biotic Interaction, Institute of Life Science and Green Development, Hebei University, Baoding 071002, PR China
| | - Jiayin Feng
- School of Life Sciences/Hebei Basic Science Center for Biotic Interaction, Institute of Life Science and Green Development, Hebei University, Baoding 071002, PR China
| | - Hongpeng Wang
- School of Life Sciences/Hebei Basic Science Center for Biotic Interaction, Institute of Life Science and Green Development, Hebei University, Baoding 071002, PR China
| | - Jinhua Zhang
- School of Life Sciences/Hebei Basic Science Center for Biotic Interaction, Institute of Life Science and Green Development, Hebei University, Baoding 071002, PR China
| | - Jingyi Ru
- School of Life Sciences/Hebei Basic Science Center for Biotic Interaction, Institute of Life Science and Green Development, Hebei University, Baoding 071002, PR China
| | - Xiaopan Wang
- School of Life Sciences/Hebei Basic Science Center for Biotic Interaction, Institute of Life Science and Green Development, Hebei University, Baoding 071002, PR China
| | - Xu Han
- School of Life Sciences/Hebei Basic Science Center for Biotic Interaction, Institute of Life Science and Green Development, Hebei University, Baoding 071002, PR China
| | - Huixia Ma
- School of Life Sciences/Hebei Basic Science Center for Biotic Interaction, Institute of Life Science and Green Development, Hebei University, Baoding 071002, PR China
| | - Yaru Lyu
- School of Life Sciences/Hebei Basic Science Center for Biotic Interaction, Institute of Life Science and Green Development, Hebei University, Baoding 071002, PR China
| | - Wenjing Ma
- School of Life Sciences/Hebei Basic Science Center for Biotic Interaction, Institute of Life Science and Green Development, Hebei University, Baoding 071002, PR China
| | - Chao Wang
- School of Life Sciences/Hebei Basic Science Center for Biotic Interaction, Institute of Life Science and Green Development, Hebei University, Baoding 071002, PR China
| | - Xueli Qiu
- School of Life Sciences/Hebei Basic Science Center for Biotic Interaction, Institute of Life Science and Green Development, Hebei University, Baoding 071002, PR China
| | - Shiqiang Wan
- School of Life Sciences/Hebei Basic Science Center for Biotic Interaction, Institute of Life Science and Green Development, Hebei University, Baoding 071002, PR China.
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20
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Weir JC, Phillimore AB. Buffering and phenological mismatch: A change of perspective. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2024; 30:e17294. [PMID: 38738554 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.17294] [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: 11/07/2023] [Revised: 03/26/2024] [Accepted: 04/03/2024] [Indexed: 05/14/2024]
Abstract
The potential for climate change to disrupt phenology-mediated interactions in interaction networks has attracted considerable attention in recent decades. Frequently, studies emphasize the fragility of ephemeral seasonal interactions, and the risks posed by phenological asynchrony. Here, we argue that the fitness consequences of asynchrony in phenological interactions may often be more buffered than is typically acknowledged. We identify three main forms that buffering may take: (i) mechanisms that reduce asynchrony between consumer and resource; (ii) mechanisms that reduce the costs of being asynchronous; and (iii) mechanisms that dampen interannual variance in performance across higher organizational units. Using synchrony between the hatching of winter moth caterpillars and the leafing of their host-plants as a case study, we identify a wide variety of buffers that reduce the detrimental consequences of phenological asynchrony on caterpillar individuals, populations, and meta-populations. We follow this by drawing on examples across a breadth of taxa, and demonstrate that these buffering mechanisms may be quite general. We conclude by identifying key gaps in our knowledge of the fitness and demographic consequences of buffering, in the context of phenological mismatch. Buffering has the potential to substantially alter our understanding of the biotic impacts of future climate change-a greater recognition of the contribution of these mechanisms may reveal that many trophic interactions are surprisingly resilient, and also serve to shift research emphasis to those systems with fewer buffers and towards identifying the limits of those buffers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jamie C Weir
- Institute for Ecology and Evolution, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
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21
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Yancy AJ, Lee BR, Kuebbing SE, Neufeld HS, Spicer ME, Heberling JM. Evaluating the definition and distribution of spring ephemeral wildflowers in eastern North America. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BOTANY 2024; 111:e16323. [PMID: 38659163 DOI: 10.1002/ajb2.16323] [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: 10/18/2023] [Revised: 02/24/2024] [Accepted: 02/26/2024] [Indexed: 04/26/2024]
Abstract
PREMISE The herbaceous layer accounts for the majority of plant biodiversity in eastern North American forests, encompassing substantial variation in life history strategy and function. One group of early-season herbaceous understory species, colloquially referred to as spring ephemeral wildflowers, are ecologically and culturally important, but little is known about the prevalence and biogeographic patterns of the spring ephemeral strategy. METHODS We used observations collected by the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) to quantify the ephemerality of 559 understory forb species across eastern North America and classify them according to a continuous ephemerality index (ranging from 0 = never ephemeral to 1 = always ephemeral). We then used this information to model where ephemeral forbs were most common across the landscape with the goal of identifying geographic and environmental drivers important to their distributions and ranges. RESULTS Only 3.4% of all understory wildflower species were spring ephemerals in all parts of their range, and 18.4% (103 species) were ephemeral in at least part of their range. Spring ephemerals peaked in absolute species richness and relative proportion at mid latitudes. CONCLUSIONS Spring ephemeral phenology is an important shade-avoidance strategy for a large segment of the total understory species in temperate deciduous forests. In North America, the strategy is relatively most important for forest understories at mid latitudes. The definitions of spring ephemerality we provide here serve as an important ecological context for conservation priorities and to evaluate responses of this biodiverse group to future environmental change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Abby J Yancy
- Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Section of Botany, 4400 Forbes Ave., Pittsburgh, 15213 USA, PA
- Department of Geology and Environmental Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, 4107 O'Hara Street, Pittsburgh, 15260, PA, USA
| | - Benjamin R Lee
- Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Section of Botany, 4400 Forbes Ave., Pittsburgh, 15213 USA, PA
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, 4249 Fifth Ave, Pittsburgh, 15260, PA, USA
- Holden Arboretum, 9550 Sperry Road, Kirtland, 44094, OH, USA
| | - Sara E Kuebbing
- Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Section of Botany, 4400 Forbes Ave., Pittsburgh, 15213 USA, PA
- The Forest School, Yale School of the Environment, Yale University, New Haven, 06511, CT, USA
| | - Howard S Neufeld
- Appalachian State University Dept. of Biology, 572 Rivers Street, Boone, 28608, NC, USA
| | - Michelle Elise Spicer
- Lehigh University Dept. of Earth and Environmental Science, 1 West Packer Avenue, Bethlehem, 18015, PA, USA
| | - J Mason Heberling
- Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Section of Botany, 4400 Forbes Ave., Pittsburgh, 15213 USA, PA
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, 4249 Fifth Ave, Pittsburgh, 15260, PA, USA
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22
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Hosseini N, Ghorbanpour M, Mostafavi H. The influence of climate change on the future distribution of two Thymus species in Iran: MaxEnt model-based prediction. BMC PLANT BIOLOGY 2024; 24:269. [PMID: 38605338 PMCID: PMC11007882 DOI: 10.1186/s12870-024-04965-1] [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: 12/17/2023] [Accepted: 03/30/2024] [Indexed: 04/13/2024]
Abstract
Within a few decades, the species habitat was reshaped at an alarming rate followed by climate change, leading to mass extinction, especially for sensitive species. Species distribution models (SDMs), which estimate both present and future species distribution, have been extensively developed to investigate the impacts of climate change on species distribution and assess habitat suitability. In the West Asia essential oils of T. daenensis and T. kotschyanus include high amounts of thymol and carvacrol and are commonly used as herbal tea, spice, flavoring agents and medicinal plants. Therefore, this study aimed to model these Thymus species in Iran using the MaxEnt model under two representative concentration pathways (RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5) for the years 2050 and 2070. The findings revealed that the mean temperature of the warmest quarter (bio10) was the most significant variable affecting the distribution of T. daenensis. In the case of T. kotschyanus, slope percentage was the primary influencing factor. The MaxEnt modeling also demonstrated excellent performance, as indicated by all the Area Under the Curve (AUC) values exceeding 0.9. Moreover, based on the projections, the two mentioned species are expected to undergo negative area changes in the coming years. These results can serve as a valuable achievement for developing adaptive management strategies aimed at enhancing protection and sustainable utilization in the context of global climate change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Naser Hosseini
- Department of Medicinal Plants, Faculty of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Arak University, Arak, 38156-8-8349, Iran.
| | - Mansour Ghorbanpour
- Department of Medicinal Plants, Faculty of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Arak University, Arak, 38156-8-8349, Iran.
| | - Hossein Mostafavi
- Department of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Management, Environmental Sciences Research Institute, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran
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23
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Zhao Y, Wang Z, Yan Z, Moon M, Yang D, Meng L, Bucher SF, Wang J, Song G, Guo Z, Su Y, Wu J. Exploring the role of biotic factors in regulating the spatial variability in land surface phenology across four temperate forest sites. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2024. [PMID: 38572888 DOI: 10.1111/nph.19684] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2023] [Accepted: 02/27/2024] [Indexed: 04/05/2024]
Abstract
Land surface phenology (LSP), the characterization of plant phenology with satellite data, is essential for understanding the effects of climate change on ecosystem functions. Considerable LSP variation is observed within local landscapes, and the role of biotic factors in regulating such variation remains underexplored. In this study, we selected four National Ecological Observatory Network terrestrial sites with minor topographic relief to investigate how biotic factors regulate intra-site LSP variability. We utilized plant functional type (PFT) maps, functional traits, and LSP data to assess the explanatory power of biotic factors for the start and end of season (SOS and EOS) variability. Our results indicate that PFTs alone explain only 0.8-23.4% of intra-site SOS and EOS variation, whereas including functional traits significantly improves explanatory power, with cross-validation correlations ranging from 0.50 to 0.85. While functional traits exhibited diverse effects on SOS and EOS across different sites, traits related to competitive ability and productivity were important for explaining both SOS and EOS variation at these sites. These findings reveal that plants exhibit diverse phenological responses to comparable environmental conditions, and functional traits significantly contribute to intra-site LSP variability, highlighting the importance of intrinsic biotic properties in regulating plant phenology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yingyi Zhao
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong, China
| | - Zhihui Wang
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Remote Sensing and Geographical Information System, Guangdong Open Laboratory of Geospatial Information Technology and Application, Guangzhou Institute of Geography, Guangdong Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, 510070, China
| | - Zhengbing Yan
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiangshan, Beijing, 100093, China
| | - Minkyu Moon
- Department of Earth and Environment, Boston University, Boston, MA, 02215, USA
- School of Natural Resources and Environmental Science, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon, 24341, Korea
| | - Dedi Yang
- Environmental Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, 37830, USA
| | - Lin Meng
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, 37240, USA
| | - Solveig Franziska Bucher
- Institute of Ecology and Evolution with Herbarium Haussknecht and Botanical Garden, Department of Plant Biodiversity, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Jena, D-07743, Germany
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, D-04103, Germany
| | - Jing Wang
- School of Ecology, Shenzhen Campus of Sun Yat-sen University, Shenzhen, 510006, Guangdong, China
| | - Guangqin Song
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong, China
| | - Zhengfei Guo
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong, China
| | - Yanjun Su
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiangshan, Beijing, 100093, China
| | - Jin Wu
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong, China
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24
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Simon A, Fierke J, Reiter EJ, Loguercio GA, Heinrichs S, Putzenlechner B, Joelson NZ, Walentowski H. The interior climate and its microclimatic variation of temperate forests in Northern Patagonia, Argentina. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BIOMETEOROLOGY 2024; 68:719-730. [PMID: 38279025 DOI: 10.1007/s00484-024-02617-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/05/2023] [Revised: 12/10/2023] [Accepted: 01/02/2024] [Indexed: 01/28/2024]
Abstract
Knowledge on mesoclimatic zonation and microclimatic variations within mountain forest ecosystems is crucial for understanding regional species turnover and effects of climate change on these systems. The temperate mountain forests in the Andean region of South America are among the largest and contiguous natural deciduous forest areas in the world. Due to their pronounced disturbance regime and different successional stages, a climatic zonation combined with the characterisation of its microclimatic variation is important to identify thresholds of species occurrences.We used micro-loggers to measure air temperature and relative humidity for one year at 40 measurement locations along longitudinal and elevation gradients in mountain forests in Northern Patagonia, Argentina. Our results unveil mesoclimatic patterns within these forests characterised by variations in temperature and vapour pressure deficit along the elevational gradient in general, but also at different times of the year. For example, Austrocedrus chilensis and Nothofagus dombeyi forests differed mainly by temperature and its diurnal range in the warmest months of the year. Also, differences between forest stands and gaps were more pronounced in the warmest months of the year and at lower elevations, with up to 2.5 K higher temperatures in the second half of the day in gaps. We found clear indications that shrubland of Nothofagus antarctica representing a successional stage after disturbances alters the mesoclimatic pattern, favouring forest fire ignition. Such mesoclimatic variations have a major influence on tree species turnover and ecological processes within these forest ecosystems.The findings contribute to our understanding of the complex interplay between topography, climate, and vegetation in shaping the spatial patterns of species occurrences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alois Simon
- Faculty of Resource Management, HAWK University of Applied Sciences and Arts, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Jonas Fierke
- Faculty of Resource Management, HAWK University of Applied Sciences and Arts, Göttingen, Germany
- Department of Cartography, GIS and Remote Sensing, Institute of Geography, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Ernesto J Reiter
- Plant Ecology and Ecosystems Research, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Gabriel A Loguercio
- Andean Patagonian Forest Research and Extension Center (CIEFAP), Esquel, Argentina
- Faculty of Engineering, Department of Forestry, National University of Patagonia San Juan Bosco, Comodoro Rivadavia, Argentina
| | - Steffi Heinrichs
- Faculty of Resource Management, HAWK University of Applied Sciences and Arts, Göttingen, Germany
- Silviculture and Forest Ecology of the Temperate Zones, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Birgitta Putzenlechner
- Department of Cartography, GIS and Remote Sensing, Institute of Geography, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Natalia Z Joelson
- Faculty of Resource Management, HAWK University of Applied Sciences and Arts, Göttingen, Germany
- Faculty of Biology and Psychology, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Helge Walentowski
- Faculty of Resource Management, HAWK University of Applied Sciences and Arts, Göttingen, Germany.
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25
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Heinecke T, De Frenne P, Verheyen K, Nijs I, Matthysen E, Campioli M. Unpunctual in diversity: The effect of stand species richness on spring phenology of deciduous tree stands varies among species and years. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2024; 30:e17266. [PMID: 38533756 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.17266] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2023] [Revised: 03/04/2024] [Accepted: 03/06/2024] [Indexed: 03/28/2024]
Abstract
Climatic drivers alone do not adequately explain the regional variation in budburst timing in deciduous forests across Europe. Stand-level factors, such as tree species richness, might affect budburst timing by creating different microclimates under the same site macroclimate. We assessed different phases of the spring phenology (start, midpoint, end, and overall duration of the budburst period) of four important European tree species (Betula pendula, Fagus sylvatica, Quercus robur and Tilia cordata) in monocultures and four-species mixture stands of a common garden tree biodiversity experiment in Belgium (FORBIO) in 2021 and 2022. Microclimatic differences between the stands in terms of bud chilling, temperature forcing, and soil temperature were considerable, with four-species mixtures being generally colder than monocultures in spring, but not in winter. In the colder spring of 2021, at the stand level, the end of the budburst period was advanced, and its overall duration shortened, in the four-species mixtures. At species level, this response was significant for F. sylvatica. In the warmer spring of 2022, advances in spring phenology in four-species stands were observed again in F. sylvatica and, less markedly, in B. pendula but without a general response at the stand level. Q. robur showed specific patterns with delayed budburst start in 2021 in the four-species mixtures and very short budburst duration for all stands in 2022. Phenological differences between monocultures and four-species mixtures were linked to microclimatic differences in light availability rather than in temperature as even comparatively colder microclimates showed an advanced phenology. Compared to weather conditions, tree species richness had a lower impact on budburst timing, but this impact can be of importance for key species like F. sylvatica and colder springs. These results indicate that forest biodiversity can affect budburst phenology, with wider implications, especially for forest- and land surface models.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thilo Heinecke
- Plants and Ecosystems (PLECO), Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, Wilrijk, Belgium
| | - Pieter De Frenne
- Forest & Naturelab (ForNaLab), Department of Environment, Ghent University, Gontrode, Belgium
| | - Kris Verheyen
- Forest & Naturelab (ForNaLab), Department of Environment, Ghent University, Gontrode, Belgium
| | - Ivan Nijs
- Plants and Ecosystems (PLECO), Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, Wilrijk, Belgium
| | - Erik Matthysen
- Evolutionary Ecology (EVECO), Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, Wilrijk, Belgium
| | - Matteo Campioli
- Plants and Ecosystems (PLECO), Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, Wilrijk, Belgium
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26
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Comte L, Bertrand R, Diamond S, Lancaster LT, Pinsky ML, Scheffers BR, Baecher JA, Bandara RMWJ, Chen IC, Lawlor JA, Moore NA, Oliveira BF, Murienne J, Rolland J, Rubenstein MA, Sunday J, Thompson LM, Villalobos F, Weiskopf SR, Lenoir J. Bringing traits back into the equation: A roadmap to understand species redistribution. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2024; 30:e17271. [PMID: 38613240 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.17271] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/2023] [Revised: 03/06/2024] [Accepted: 03/11/2024] [Indexed: 04/14/2024]
Abstract
Ecological and evolutionary theories have proposed that species traits should be important in mediating species responses to contemporary climate change; yet, empirical evidence has so far provided mixed evidence for the role of behavioral, life history, or ecological characteristics in facilitating or hindering species range shifts. As such, the utility of trait-based approaches to predict species redistribution under climate change has been called into question. We develop the perspective, supported by evidence, that trait variation, if used carefully can have high potential utility, but that past analyses have in many cases failed to identify an explanatory value for traits by not fully embracing the complexity of species range shifts. First, we discuss the relevant theory linking species traits to range shift processes at the leading (expansion) and trailing (contraction) edges of species distributions and highlight the need to clarify the mechanistic basis of trait-based approaches. Second, we provide a brief overview of range shift-trait studies and identify new opportunities for trait integration that consider range-specific processes and intraspecific variability. Third, we explore the circumstances under which environmental and biotic context dependencies are likely to affect our ability to identify the contribution of species traits to range shift processes. Finally, we propose that revealing the role of traits in shaping species redistribution may likely require accounting for methodological variation arising from the range shift estimation process as well as addressing existing functional, geographical, and phylogenetic biases. We provide a series of considerations for more effectively integrating traits as well as extrinsic and methodological factors into species redistribution research. Together, these analytical approaches promise stronger mechanistic and predictive understanding that can help society mitigate and adapt to the effects of climate change on biodiversity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lise Comte
- School of Biological Sciences, Illinois State University, Normal, Illinois, USA
- Conservation Science Partners, Inc., Truckee, California, USA
| | - Romain Bertrand
- Centre de Recherche sur la Biodiversité et l'Environnement (CRBE UMR5300), Université de Toulouse, CNRS, IRD, Toulouse INP, Université Toulouse 3 Paul Sabatier (UT3), Toulouse, France
| | - Sarah Diamond
- Department of Biology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
| | | | - Malin L Pinsky
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Natural Resources, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, California, USA
| | - Brett R Scheffers
- Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA
| | - J Alex Baecher
- School of Natural Resources and Environment, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA
| | - R M W J Bandara
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Natural Resources, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA
| | - I-Ching Chen
- Department of Life Sciences, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan
| | - Jake A Lawlor
- Department of Biology, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Nikki A Moore
- Department of Biology, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Brunno F Oliveira
- Fondation pour la Recherche sur la Biodiversité (FRB), Centre de Synthèse et d'Analyse sur la Biodiversité (CESAB), Montpellier, France
| | - Jerome Murienne
- Centre de Recherche sur la Biodiversité et l'Environnement (CRBE UMR5300), Université de Toulouse, CNRS, IRD, Toulouse INP, Université Toulouse 3 Paul Sabatier (UT3), Toulouse, France
| | - Jonathan Rolland
- Centre de Recherche sur la Biodiversité et l'Environnement (CRBE UMR5300), Université de Toulouse, CNRS, IRD, Toulouse INP, Université Toulouse 3 Paul Sabatier (UT3), Toulouse, France
| | - Madeleine A Rubenstein
- U.S. Geological Survey National Climate Adaptation Science Center, Reston, Virginia, USA
| | - Jennifer Sunday
- Department of Biology, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Laura M Thompson
- U.S. Geological Survey National Climate Adaptation Science Center, Reston, Virginia, USA
- School of Natural Resources, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee, USA
| | - Fabricio Villalobos
- Red de Biología Evolutiva, Instituto de Ecología A.C. - INECOL, Veracruz, Mexico
| | - Sarah R Weiskopf
- U.S. Geological Survey National Climate Adaptation Science Center, Reston, Virginia, USA
| | - Jonathan Lenoir
- UMR CNRS 7058, Ecologie et Dynamique Des Systèmes Anthropisés (EDYSAN), Université de Picardie Jules Verne, Amiens, France
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27
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John A, Olden JD, Oldfather MF, Kling MM, Ackerly DD. Topography influences diurnal and seasonal microclimate fluctuations in hilly terrain environments of coastal California. PLoS One 2024; 19:e0300378. [PMID: 38551923 PMCID: PMC10980203 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0300378] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2023] [Accepted: 02/26/2024] [Indexed: 04/01/2024] Open
Abstract
Understanding the topographic basis for microclimatic variation remains fundamental to predicting the site level effects of warming air temperatures. Quantifying diurnal fluctuation and seasonal extremes in relation to topography offers insight into the potential relationship between site level conditions and changes in regional climate. The present study investigated an annual understory temperature regime for 50 sites distributed across a topographically diverse area (>12 km2) comprised of mixed evergreen-deciduous woodland vegetation typical of California coastal ranges. We investigated the effect of topography and tree cover on site-to-site variation in near-surface temperatures using a combination of multiple linear regression and multivariate techniques. Sites in topographically depressed areas (e.g., valley bottoms) exhibited larger seasonal and diurnal variation. Elevation (at 10 m resolution) was found to be the primary driver of daily and seasonal variations, in addition to hillslope position, canopy cover and northness. The elevation effect on seasonal mean temperatures was inverted, reflecting large-scale cold-air pooling in the study region, with elevated minimum and mean temperature at higher elevations. Additionally, several of our sites showed considerable buffering (dampened diurnal and seasonal temperature fluctuations) compared to average regional conditions measured at an on-site weather station. Results from this study help inform efforts to extrapolate temperature records across large landscapes and have the potential to improve our ecological understanding of fine-scale seasonal climate variation in coastal range environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aji John
- Department of Biology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, United States of America
| | - Julian D. Olden
- School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, United States of America
| | - Meagan F. Oldfather
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, United States of America
| | - Matthew M. Kling
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of California–Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, United States of America
| | - David D. Ackerly
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of California–Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, United States of America
- Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management, University of California–Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, United States of America
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28
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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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29
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Chelli S, Bricca A, Tsakalos JL, Andreetta A, Bonari G, Campetella G, Carnicelli S, Cervellini M, Puletti N, Wellstein C, Canullo R. Multiple drivers of functional diversity in temperate forest understories: Climate, soil, and forest structure effects. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2024; 916:170258. [PMID: 38246378 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.170258] [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: 10/10/2023] [Revised: 01/16/2024] [Accepted: 01/16/2024] [Indexed: 01/23/2024]
Abstract
In macroecology, shifting from coarse- to local-scale explanatory factors is crucial for understanding how global change impacts functional diversity (FD). Plants possess diverse traits allowing them to differentially respond across a spectrum of environmental conditions. We aim to assess how macro- to microclimate, stand-scale measured soil properties, forest structure, and management type, influence forest understorey FD at the macroecological scale. Our study covers Italian forests, using thirteen predictors categorized into climate, soil, forest structure, and management. We analyzed five traits (i.e., specific leaf area, plant size, seed mass, belowground bud bank size, and clonal lateral spread) capturing independent functional dimensions to calculate the standardized effect size of functional diversity (SES-FD) for all traits (multi-trait) and for single traits. Multiple regression models were applied to assess the effect of predictors on SES-FD. We revealed that climate, soil, and forest structure significantly drive SES-FD of specific leaf area, plant size, seed mass, and bud bank. Forest management had a limited effect. However, differences emerged between herbaceous and woody growth forms of the understorey layer, with herbaceous species mainly responding to climate and soil features, while woody species were mainly affected by forest structure. Future warmer and more seasonal climate could reduce the diversity of resource economics, plant size, and persistence strategies of the forest understorey. Soil eutrophication and acidification may impact the diversity of regeneration strategies; canopy closure affects the diversity of above- and belowground traits, with a larger effect on woody species. Multifunctional approaches are vital to disentangle the effect of global changes on functional diversity since independent functional specialization axes are modulated by different drivers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefano Chelli
- School of Biosciences and Veterinary Medicine, Plant Diversity and Ecosystems Management Unit, University of Camerino, Camerino, Italy; Centro Interuniversitario per le Biodiversità Vegetale Big Data - PLANT DATA, Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, Alma Mater Studiorum, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy.
| | - Alessandro Bricca
- Faculty of Agricultural, Environmental and Food Sciences, Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, Bolzano, Italy
| | - James L Tsakalos
- School of Biosciences and Veterinary Medicine, Plant Diversity and Ecosystems Management Unit, University of Camerino, Camerino, Italy; Harry Butler Institute, Murdoch University, Murdoch, Perth, WA, Australia
| | - Anna Andreetta
- Department of Chemical and Geological Sciences, University of Cagliari, Italy
| | | | - Giandiego Campetella
- School of Biosciences and Veterinary Medicine, Plant Diversity and Ecosystems Management Unit, University of Camerino, Camerino, Italy; Centro Interuniversitario per le Biodiversità Vegetale Big Data - PLANT DATA, Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, Alma Mater Studiorum, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | | | - Marco Cervellini
- School of Biosciences and Veterinary Medicine, Plant Diversity and Ecosystems Management Unit, University of Camerino, Camerino, Italy
| | - Nicola Puletti
- CREA, Research Centre for Forestry and Wood, Arezzo, Italy
| | - Camilla Wellstein
- Faculty of Agricultural, Environmental and Food Sciences, Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, Bolzano, Italy
| | - Roberto Canullo
- School of Biosciences and Veterinary Medicine, Plant Diversity and Ecosystems Management Unit, University of Camerino, Camerino, Italy; Centro Interuniversitario per le Biodiversità Vegetale Big Data - PLANT DATA, Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, Alma Mater Studiorum, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
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30
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Bartholomew DC, Hayward R, Burslem DFRP, Bittencourt PRL, Chapman D, Bin Suis MAF, Nilus R, O'Brien MJ, Reynolds G, Rowland L, Banin LF, Dent D. Bornean tropical forests recovering from logging at risk of regeneration failure. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2024; 30:e17209. [PMID: 38469989 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.17209] [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: 06/23/2023] [Revised: 01/08/2024] [Accepted: 01/17/2024] [Indexed: 03/13/2024]
Abstract
Active restoration through silvicultural treatments (enrichment planting, cutting climbers and liberation thinning) is considered an important intervention in logged forests. However, its ability to enhance regeneration is key for long-term recovery of logged forests, which remains poorly understood, particularly for the production and survival of seedlings in subsequent generations. To understand the long-term impacts of logging and restoration we tracked the diversity, survival and traits of seedlings that germinated immediately after a mast fruiting in North Borneo in unlogged and logged forests 30-35 years after logging. We monitored 5119 seedlings from germination for ~1.5 years across a mixed landscape of unlogged forests (ULs), naturally regenerating logged forests (NR) and actively restored logged forests via rehabilitative silvicultural treatments (AR), 15-27 years after restoration. We measured 14 leaf, root and biomass allocation traits on 399 seedlings from 15 species. Soon after fruiting, UL and AR forests had higher seedling densities than NR forest, but survival was the lowest in AR forests in the first 6 months. Community composition differed among forest types; AR and NR forests had lower species richness and lower evenness than UL forests by 5-6 months post-mast but did not differ between them. Differences in community composition altered community-weighted mean trait values across forest types, with higher root biomass allocation in NR relative to UL forest. Traits influenced mortality ~3 months post-mast, with more acquisitive traits and relative aboveground investment favoured in AR forests relative to UL forests. Our findings of reduced seedling survival and diversity suggest long time lags in post-logging recruitment, particularly for some taxa. Active restoration of logged forests recovers initial seedling production, but elevated mortality in AR forests lowers the efficacy of active restoration to enhance recruitment or diversity of seedling communities. This suggests current active restoration practices may fail to overcome barriers to regeneration in logged forests, which may drive long-term changes in future forest plant communities.
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Affiliation(s)
- David C Bartholomew
- School of Geography, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
- Department of Ecology and Environmental Science, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
- Botanic Gardens Conservation International, Richmond, UK
| | - Robin Hayward
- Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Stirling, Stirling, UK
- School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK
| | | | | | - Daniel Chapman
- Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Stirling, Stirling, UK
| | | | - Reuben Nilus
- Forest Research Centre Sepilok, Sandakan, Malaysia
| | - Michael J O'Brien
- Estación Experimental de Zonas Áridas, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Almería, Spain
| | - Glen Reynolds
- SE Asia Rainforest Research Partnership, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia
| | - Lucy Rowland
- School of Geography, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | | | - Daisy Dent
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Balboa, Panama
- Department of Environmental Systems Science, ETH, Zürich, Switzerland
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Beugnon R, Le Guyader N, Milcu A, Lenoir J, Puissant J, Morin X, Hättenschwiler S. Microclimate modulation: An overlooked mechanism influencing the impact of plant diversity on ecosystem functioning. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2024; 30:e17214. [PMID: 38494864 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.17214] [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: 12/04/2023] [Revised: 02/16/2024] [Accepted: 02/18/2024] [Indexed: 03/19/2024]
Abstract
Changes in climate and biodiversity are widely recognized as primary global change drivers of ecosystem structure and functioning, also affecting ecosystem services provided to human populations. Increasing plant diversity not only enhances ecosystem functioning and stability but also mitigates climate change effects and buffers extreme weather conditions, yet the underlying mechanisms remain largely unclear. Recent studies have shown that plant diversity can mitigate climate change (e.g. reduce temperature fluctuations or drought through microclimatic effects) in different compartments of the focal ecosystem, which as such may contribute to the effect of plant diversity on ecosystem properties and functioning. However, these potential plant diversity-induced microclimate effects are not sufficiently understood. Here, we explored the consequences of climate modulation through microclimate modification by plant diversity for ecosystem functioning as a potential mechanism contributing to the widely documented biodiversity-ecosystem functioning (BEF) relationships, using a combination of theoretical and simulation approaches. We focused on a diverse set of response variables at various levels of integration ranging from ecosystem-level carbon exchange to soil enzyme activity, including population dynamics and the activity of specific organisms. Here, we demonstrated that a vegetation layer composed of many plant species has the potential to influence ecosystem functioning and stability through the modification of microclimatic conditions, thus mitigating the negative impacts of climate extremes on ecosystem functioning. Integrating microclimatic processes (e.g. temperature, humidity and light modulation) as a mechanism contributing to the BEF relationships is a promising avenue to improve our understanding of the effects of climate change on ecosystem functioning and to better predict future ecosystem structure, functioning and services. In addition, microclimate management and monitoring should be seen as a potential tool by practitioners to adapt ecosystems to climate change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rémy Beugnon
- German Center for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
- Leipzig Institute for Meteorology, Universität Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
- CEFE, Univ Montpellier, CNRS, EPHE, IRD, Montpellier, France
| | - Nolwenn Le Guyader
- CEFE, Univ Montpellier, CNRS, EPHE, IRD, Montpellier, France
- Master de Biologie, École Normale Supérieure de Lyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Université de Lyon, Lyon, France
| | - Alexandru Milcu
- CEFE, Univ Montpellier, CNRS, EPHE, IRD, Montpellier, France
- Ecotron Européen de Montpellier, Univ Montpellier, CNRS, Montferrier sur Lez, France
| | - Jonathan Lenoir
- UMR CNRS 7058 "Ecologie et Dynamique des Systèmes Anthropisés" (EDYSAN), Université de Picardie Jules Verne, Amiens, France
| | - Jérémy Puissant
- Laboratoire d'Ecologie Alpine, Univ. Grenoble Alpes, Univ. Savoie Mont Blanc, CNRS, LECA, Grenoble, France
| | - Xavier Morin
- CEFE, Univ Montpellier, CNRS, EPHE, IRD, Montpellier, France
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Puglielli G, Bricca A, Chelli S, Petruzzellis F, Acosta ATR, Bacaro G, Beccari E, Bernardo L, Bonari G, Bolpagni R, Boscutti F, Calvia G, Campetella G, Cancellieri L, Canullo R, Carbognani M, Carboni M, Carranza ML, Castellani MB, Ciccarelli D, Coppi A, Cutini M, Dalla Vecchia A, Dalle Fratte M, de Francesco MC, De Frenne P, De Sanctis M, de Simone L, Di Cecco V, Fanelli G, Farris E, Ferrara A, Fenu G, Filibeck G, Gasperini C, Gargano D, Kindermann E, La Bella G, Lastrucci L, Lazzaro L, Maccherini S, Marignani M, Mugnai M, Naselli-Flores L, Passalacqua NG, Pavanetto N, Petraglia A, Rota F, Santoianni LA, Schettino A, Selvi F, Stanisci A, Trotta G, Vangansbeke P, Varricchione M, Vuerich M, Wellstein C, Tordoni E. Intraspecific variability of leaf form and function across habitat types. Ecol Lett 2024; 27:e14396. [PMID: 38456670 DOI: 10.1111/ele.14396] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2023] [Revised: 01/22/2024] [Accepted: 02/19/2024] [Indexed: 03/09/2024]
Abstract
Trait-based ecology has already revealed main independent axes of trait variation defining trait spaces that summarize plant adaptive strategies, but often ignoring intraspecific trait variability (ITV). By using empirical ITV-level data for two independent dimensions of leaf form and function and 167 species across five habitat types (coastal dunes, forests, grasslands, heathlands, wetlands) in the Italian peninsula, we found that ITV: (i) rotated the axes of trait variation that define the trait space; (ii) increased the variance explained by these axes and (iii) affected the functional structure of the target trait space. However, the magnitude of these effects was rather small and depended on the trait and habitat type. Our results reinforce the idea that ITV is context-dependent, calling for careful extrapolations of ITV patterns across traits and spatial scales. Importantly, our study provides a framework that can be used to start integrating ITV into trait space analyses.
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Grants
- Ente Parco Nazionale del Pollino (Rotonda, Italy) in the frame of the project "Un laboratorio naturale permanente nel Parco Nazionale del Pollino"
- National Biodiversity Future Center NBFC, CUP J33C22001190001
- European Union - NextGenerationEU within the framework of National Biodiversity Future Center (Spoke 4, Activity 4)
- NBFC to the University of Florence, funded by the Italian Ministry of University and Research, PNRR, Missione 4 Componente 2, "Dalla ricerca all'impresa", Investimento 1.4, Project CN00000033
- NBFC to University of Roma Tre/Department of Science, funded by the Italian Ministry of University and Research, PNRR, Missione 4 Componente 2, "Dalla ricerca all'impresa", Investimento 1.4, Project CN00000033. Grant of Excellence Departments 2018- 2022, MIUR Italy
- NBFC to University of Molise/Department of Bioscience and Territory, funded by the Italian Ministry of University and Research, PNRR, Missione 4 Componente 2, "Dalla ricerca all'impresa", Investimento 1.4, Project CN00000033, MIUR Italy
- PID2021-122214NA-I00 MCIN/AEI/ 10.13039/501100011033 and by FEDER "ESF Investing in your future"
- Grant of Excellence Departments 2018- 2022, MIUR Italy
- G.Bo. and SM acknowledge the support of NBFC to University of Siena, funded by the Italian Ministry of University and Research, PNRR, Missione 4 Componente 2, 'Dalla ricerca all', Investimento 1.4, Project CN00000033
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Affiliation(s)
- Giacomo Puglielli
- Departamento de Biología Vegetal y Ecología, Facultad de Biología, Universidad de Sevilla, Sevilla, Spain
| | - Alessandro Bricca
- Faculty of Agricultural, Environmental and Food Sciences, Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, Bolzano, Italy
| | - Stefano Chelli
- School of Biosciences & Veterinary Medicine, University of Camerino, Camerino, Italy
| | | | | | - Giovanni Bacaro
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Trieste, Trieste, Italy
| | - Eleonora Beccari
- Institute of Ecology and Earth Science, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
| | - Liliana Bernardo
- Department of Biology, Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Calabria, Rende, Italy
| | - Gianmaria Bonari
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Siena, Siena, Italy
- NBFC, National Biodiversity Future Center, Palermo, Italy
| | - Rossano Bolpagni
- Department of Chemistry, Life Sciences and Environmental Sustainability, University of Parma, Parma, Italy
| | - Francesco Boscutti
- NBFC, National Biodiversity Future Center, Palermo, Italy
- Department of Agricultural, Food, Environmental and Animal Sciences, University of Udine, Udine, Italy
| | - Giacomo Calvia
- Faculty of Agricultural, Environmental and Food Sciences, Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, Bolzano, Italy
| | - Giandiego Campetella
- School of Biosciences & Veterinary Medicine, University of Camerino, Camerino, Italy
| | - Laura Cancellieri
- Department of Agriculture and Forest Sciences, University of Tuscia, Viterbo, Italy
| | - Roberto Canullo
- School of Biosciences & Veterinary Medicine, University of Camerino, Camerino, Italy
| | | | - Marta Carboni
- Department of Sciences, University of Roma Tre, Rome, Italy
| | - Maria Laura Carranza
- NBFC, National Biodiversity Future Center, Palermo, Italy
- Department of Biosciences and Territory, ENVIXLAB, University of Molise, Pesche, Italy
| | | | | | - Andrea Coppi
- Department of Biology, University of Florence, Florence, Italy
| | | | - Alice Dalla Vecchia
- Department of Chemistry, Life Sciences and Environmental Sustainability, University of Parma, Parma, Italy
| | - Michele Dalle Fratte
- Department of Biotechnology and Life Science, University of Insubria, Varese, Italy
| | - Maria Carla de Francesco
- NBFC, National Biodiversity Future Center, Palermo, Italy
- Department of Biosciences and Territory, ENVIXLAB, University of Molise, Pesche, Italy
| | - Pieter De Frenne
- Forest & Nature Lab, Department of Environment, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Melle, Belgium
| | - Michele De Sanctis
- Department of Environmental Biology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | | | - Valter Di Cecco
- Department of Biosciences and Territory, ENVIXLAB, University of Molise, Pesche, Italy
| | - Giuliano Fanelli
- Department of Environmental Biology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Emmanuele Farris
- Department of Chemical, Physical, Mathematical and Natural Sciences, University of Sassari, Sassari, Italy
| | - Arianna Ferrara
- BIOME Lab, Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Giuseppe Fenu
- Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy
| | - Goffredo Filibeck
- Department of Agriculture and Forest Sciences, University of Tuscia, Viterbo, Italy
| | - Cristina Gasperini
- Department of Agriculture, Food, Environment and Forestry, University of Florence, Florence, Italy
| | - Domenico Gargano
- Department of Biology, Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Calabria, Rende, Italy
| | - Elisabeth Kindermann
- Faculty of Agricultural, Environmental and Food Sciences, Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, Bolzano, Italy
| | - Greta La Bella
- Department of Sciences, University of Roma Tre, Rome, Italy
| | | | - Lorenzo Lazzaro
- Department of Biology, University of Florence, Florence, Italy
| | - Simona Maccherini
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Siena, Siena, Italy
- NBFC, National Biodiversity Future Center, Palermo, Italy
| | - Michela Marignani
- Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy
| | - Michele Mugnai
- NBFC, National Biodiversity Future Center, Palermo, Italy
- Department of Biology, University of Florence, Florence, Italy
| | - Luigi Naselli-Flores
- Department of Biological, Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
| | | | - Nicola Pavanetto
- Institute of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Estonian University of Life Sciences, Tartu, Estonia
| | - Alessandro Petraglia
- Department of Chemistry, Life Sciences and Environmental Sustainability, University of Parma, Parma, Italy
| | - Francesco Rota
- Faculty of Agricultural, Environmental and Food Sciences, Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, Bolzano, Italy
- Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL, Birmensdorf, Switzerland
| | | | | | - Federico Selvi
- Department of Agriculture, Food, Environment and Forestry, University of Florence, Florence, Italy
| | - Angela Stanisci
- NBFC, National Biodiversity Future Center, Palermo, Italy
- Department of Biosciences and Territory, ENVIXLAB, University of Molise, Pesche, Italy
| | - Giacomo Trotta
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Trieste, Trieste, Italy
- Department of Agricultural, Food, Environmental and Animal Sciences, University of Udine, Udine, Italy
| | - Pieter Vangansbeke
- Forest & Nature Lab, Department of Environment, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Melle, Belgium
| | - Marco Varricchione
- NBFC, National Biodiversity Future Center, Palermo, Italy
- Department of Biosciences and Territory, ENVIXLAB, University of Molise, Pesche, Italy
| | - Marco Vuerich
- NBFC, National Biodiversity Future Center, Palermo, Italy
- Department of Agricultural, Food, Environmental and Animal Sciences, University of Udine, Udine, Italy
| | - Camilla Wellstein
- Faculty of Agricultural, Environmental and Food Sciences, Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, Bolzano, Italy
| | - Enrico Tordoni
- Institute of Ecology and Earth Science, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
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33
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Arthur G, Jonathan L, Juliette C, Nicolas L, Christian P, Hugues C. Spatial and remote sensing monitoring shows the end of the bark beetle outbreak on Belgian and north-eastern France Norway spruce (Picea abies) stands. ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING AND ASSESSMENT 2024; 196:226. [PMID: 38302669 DOI: 10.1007/s10661-024-12372-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2023] [Accepted: 01/15/2024] [Indexed: 02/03/2024]
Abstract
In 2022, Europe emerged from eight of the hottest years on record, leading to significant spruce mortality across Europe. The particularly dry weather conditions of 2018 triggered an outbreak of bark beetles (Ips typographus), causing the loss of thousands of hectares of Norway spruce stands, including in Wallonia and North-eastern France. A methodology for detecting the health status of spruce was developed based on a dense time series of satellite imagery (Sentinel-2). The time series of satellite images allowed the modelling of the spectral response of healthy spruce forests over the seasons: a decrease in photosynthetic activity of the forest canopy causes deviations from this normal seasonal vegetation index trajectory. These anomalies are caused by a bark beetle attack and are detected automatically. The method leads in the production of an annual spruce health map of Wallonia and Grand-Est. The goal of this paper is to assess the damage caused by bark beetle using the resulting spruce health maps. A second objective was to compare the influence of basic variables on the mortality of spruce trees in these two regions. Lasted 6 years (2017-2022), bark beetle has destroyed 12.2% (23,674 ha) of the spruce area in Wallonia and Grand-Est of France. This study area is composed of three bioclimatic areas: Plains, Ardennes and Vosges, which have not been equally affected by bark beetle attacks. The plains were the most affected, with 50% of spruce forests destroyed, followed by the Ardennes, which lost 11.3% of its spruce stands. The Vosges was the least affected bioclimatic area, with 5.6% of spruce stands lost. For the most problematic sites, Norway spruce forestry should no longer be considered.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gilles Arthur
- Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech (Uliege), Terra-Forest is life, 5030, Gembloux, Belgium.
| | - Lisein Jonathan
- Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech (Uliege), Terra-Forest is life, 5030, Gembloux, Belgium
| | - Cansell Juliette
- Centre National de la propriété forestière, 54 000, Nancy, France
| | - Latte Nicolas
- Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech (Uliege), Terra-Forest is life, 5030, Gembloux, Belgium
| | | | - Claessens Hugues
- Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech (Uliege), Terra-Forest is life, 5030, Gembloux, Belgium
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34
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Pollock HS, Rutt CL, Cooper WJ, Brawn JD, Cheviron ZA, Luther DA. Equivocal support for the climate variability hypothesis within a Neotropical bird assemblage. Ecology 2024; 105:e4206. [PMID: 37950619 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.4206] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2023] [Revised: 07/03/2023] [Accepted: 10/05/2023] [Indexed: 11/13/2023]
Abstract
The climate variability hypothesis posits that an organism's exposure to temperature variability determines the breadth of its thermal tolerance and has become an important framework for understanding variation in species' susceptibilities to climate change. For example, ectotherms from more thermally stable environments tend to have narrower thermal tolerances and greater sensitivity to projected climate warming. Among endotherms, however, the relationship between climate variability and thermal physiology is less clear, particularly with regard to microclimate variation-small-scale differences within or between habitats. To address this gap, we explored associations between two sources of temperature variation (habitat type and vertical forest stratum) and (1) thermal physiological traits and (2) temperature sensitivity metrics within a diverse assemblage of Neotropical birds (n = 89 species). We used long-term temperature data to establish that daily temperature regimes in open habitats and forest canopy were both hotter and more variable than those in the forest interior and forest understory, respectively. Despite these differences in temperature regime, however, we found little evidence that species' thermal physiological traits or temperature sensitivity varied in association with either habitat type or vertical stratum. Our findings provide two novel and important insights. First, and in contrast to the supporting empirical evidence from ectotherms, the thermal physiology of birds at our study site appears to be largely decoupled from local temperature variation, providing equivocal support for the climate variability hypothesis in endotherms. Second, we found no evidence that the thermal physiology of understory forest birds differed from that of canopy or open-habitat species-an oft-invoked, yet previously untested, mechanism for why these species are so vulnerable to environmental change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Henry S Pollock
- Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, USA
| | - Cameron L Rutt
- Department of Biology, George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia, USA
- American Bird Conservancy, The Plains, Virginia, USA
| | | | - Jeffrey D Brawn
- Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, USA
| | - Zachary A Cheviron
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of Montana, Missoula, Montana, USA
| | - David A Luther
- Department of Biology, George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia, USA
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Shah IH, Manzoor MA, Jinhui W, Li X, Hameed MK, Rehaman A, Li P, Zhang Y, Niu Q, Chang L. Comprehensive review: Effects of climate change and greenhouse gases emission relevance to environmental stress on horticultural crops and management. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT 2024; 351:119978. [PMID: 38169258 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.119978] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2023] [Revised: 11/30/2023] [Accepted: 12/26/2023] [Indexed: 01/05/2024]
Abstract
Global climate change exerts a significant impact on sustainable horticultural crop production and quality. Rising Global temperatures have compelled the agricultural community to adjust planting and harvesting schedules, often necessitating earlier crop cultivation. Notably, climate change introduces a suite of ominous factors, such as greenhouse gas emissions (CGHs), including elevated temperature, increased carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations, nitrous oxide (N2O) and methane (CH4) ozone depletion (O3), and deforestation, all of which intensify environmental stresses on crops. Consequently, climate change stands poised to adversely affect crop yields and livestock production. Therefore, the primary objective of the review article is to furnish a comprehensive overview of the multifaceted factors influencing horticulture production, encompassing fruits, vegetables, and plantation crops with a particular emphasis on greenhouse gas emissions and environmental stressors such as high temperature, drought, salinity, and emission of CO2. Additionally, this review will explore the implementation of novel horticultural crop varieties and greenhouse technology that can contribute to mitigating the adverse impact of climate change on agricultural crops.
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Affiliation(s)
- Iftikhar Hussain Shah
- School of Agriculture and Biology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, PR China
| | - Muhammad Aamir Manzoor
- School of Agriculture and Biology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, PR China
| | - Wu Jinhui
- School of Agriculture and Biology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, PR China
| | - Xuyang Li
- School of Agriculture and Biology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, PR China
| | - Muhammad Khalid Hameed
- School of Agriculture and Biology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, PR China
| | - Asad Rehaman
- School of Agriculture and Biology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, PR China
| | - Pengli Li
- School of Agriculture and Biology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, PR China
| | - Yidong Zhang
- School of Agriculture and Biology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, PR China
| | - Qingliang Niu
- School of Agriculture and Biology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, PR China
| | - Liying Chang
- School of Agriculture and Biology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, PR China.
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36
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Fragnière Y, Champoud L, Küffer N, Braillard L, Jutzi M, Wohlgemuth T, Kozlowski G. Cliff-edge forests: Xerothermic hotspots of local biodiversity and models for future climate change. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2024; 30:e17196. [PMID: 38404209 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.17196] [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: 10/20/2023] [Revised: 01/16/2024] [Accepted: 01/30/2024] [Indexed: 02/27/2024]
Abstract
Cliffs are remarkable environments that enable the existence of microclimates. These small, isolated sites, decoupled from the regional macroclimate, play a significant role in maintaining species biodiversity, particularly in topographically homogeneous landscapes. Our study investigated the microclimate of south-exposed forests situated at the edge of sandstone cliffs in the western part of the North Alpine Foreland Basin in Switzerland and its role in local forest community composition. Using direct measurements from data loggers, as well as vegetation analyses, it was possible to quantify the microclimate of the cliff-edge forests and compare it with that of the surrounding forests. Our results highlighted the significant xerothermic and more variable nature of the cliff-edge forest microclimate, with a mean soil temperature up to 3.72°C warmer in the summer, higher annual (+28%) and daily (+250%) amplitudes of soil temperature, which frequently expose vegetation to extreme temperatures, and an 83% higher soil drying rate. These differences have a distinct influence on forest communities: cliff-edge forests are significantly different from surrounding forests. The site particularities of cliff edges support the presence of locally rare species and forest types, particularly of Scots pine. Cliff edges must therefore be considered microrefugia with a high conservation value for both xerothermic species and flora adapted to more continental climates. Moreover, the microclimate of cliff-edge forests could resemble the future climate in many ways. We argue that these small areas, which are already experiencing the future climate, can be seen as natural laboratories to better answer the following question: what will our forests look like in a few decades with accelerated climate change?
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Affiliation(s)
- Yann Fragnière
- Department of Biology and Botanic Garden, University of Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland
| | - Luca Champoud
- Department of Biology and Botanic Garden, University of Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland
| | - Nicolas Küffer
- Department of Biology and Botanic Garden, University of Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland
| | - Luc Braillard
- Department of Geosciences, University of Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland
| | - Michael Jutzi
- Info Flora, the National Data and Information Center on the Swiss Flora, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Thomas Wohlgemuth
- Swiss Federal Institute of Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL, Birmensdorf, Switzerland
| | - Gregor Kozlowski
- Department of Biology and Botanic Garden, University of Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland
- Eastern China Conservation Centre for Wild Endangered Plant Resources, Shanghai Chenshan Botanical Garden, Shanghai, China
- Natural History Museum Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland
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37
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Abstract
Tree canopies are one of the most recognizable features of forests, providing shelter from external influences to a myriad of species that live within and below the tree foliage. Canopy disturbances are now increasing across European forests, and climate-change-induced drought is a key driver, together with pests and pathogens, storms and fire. These disturbances are opening the canopy and exposing below-canopy biodiversity and functioning to novel light regimes-spatial and temporal characteristics of light distribution at forest floors not found previously. The majority of forest biodiversity occurs in the shade within and below tree canopies, and numerous ecosystem processes are regulated at the forest floor. Altered light regimes, in interaction with other global change drivers, can thus strongly impact forest biodiversity and functioning. As recent European droughts are unprecedented in the past two millennia, and this has initiated probably the largest pulse of forest disturbances in almost two centuries, we urgently need to quantify, understand and predict the impacts of novel light regimes on below-canopy forest biodiversity and functions. This will be a crucial element in delivering much-needed information for policymakers and managers to adapt European forests to future no-analogue conditions.
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Lorer E, Verheyen K, Blondeel H, De Pauw K, Sanczuk P, De Frenne P, Landuyt D. Forest understorey flowering phenology responses to experimental warming and illumination. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2024; 241:1476-1491. [PMID: 38031641 DOI: 10.1111/nph.19425] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2023] [Accepted: 11/06/2023] [Indexed: 12/01/2023]
Abstract
Species are altering their phenology to track warming temperatures. In forests, understorey plants experience tree canopy shading resulting in light and temperature conditions, which strongly deviate from open habitats. Yet, little is known about understorey phenology responses to forest microclimates. We recorded flowering onset, peak, end and duration of 10 temperate forest understorey plant species in two mesocosm experiments to understand how phenology is affected by sub-canopy warming and how this response is modulated by illumination, which is related to canopy change. Furthermore, we investigated whether phenological sensitivities can be explained by species' characteristics, such as thermal niche. We found a mean advance of flowering onset of 7.1 d per 1°C warming, more than previously reported in studies not accounting for microclimatic buffering. Warm-adapted species exhibited greater advances. Temperature sensitivity did not differ between early- and later-flowering species. Experimental illumination did not significantly affect species' phenological temperature sensitivities, but slightly delayed flowering phenology independent from warming. Our study suggests that integrating sub-canopy temperature and light availability will help us better understand future understorey phenology responses. Climate warming together with intensifying canopy disturbances will continue to drive phenological shifts and potentially disrupt understorey communities, thereby affecting forest biodiversity and functioning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eline Lorer
- Forest & Nature Lab, Department of Environment, Ghent University, Geraardsbergsesteenweg 267, BE-9090, Melle-Gontrode, Belgium
| | - Kris Verheyen
- Forest & Nature Lab, Department of Environment, Ghent University, Geraardsbergsesteenweg 267, BE-9090, Melle-Gontrode, Belgium
| | - Haben Blondeel
- Forest & Nature Lab, Department of Environment, Ghent University, Geraardsbergsesteenweg 267, BE-9090, Melle-Gontrode, Belgium
| | - Karen De Pauw
- Forest & Nature Lab, Department of Environment, Ghent University, Geraardsbergsesteenweg 267, BE-9090, Melle-Gontrode, Belgium
| | - Pieter Sanczuk
- Forest & Nature Lab, Department of Environment, Ghent University, Geraardsbergsesteenweg 267, BE-9090, Melle-Gontrode, Belgium
| | - Pieter De Frenne
- Forest & Nature Lab, Department of Environment, Ghent University, Geraardsbergsesteenweg 267, BE-9090, Melle-Gontrode, Belgium
| | - Dries Landuyt
- Forest & Nature Lab, Department of Environment, Ghent University, Geraardsbergsesteenweg 267, BE-9090, Melle-Gontrode, Belgium
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Ruan T, Wei W, Zhang Z, Zhou H. Research on the Changes in Distribution and Habitat Suitability of the Chinese Red Panda Population. Animals (Basel) 2024; 14:424. [PMID: 38338067 PMCID: PMC10854785 DOI: 10.3390/ani14030424] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2023] [Revised: 01/18/2024] [Accepted: 01/26/2024] [Indexed: 02/12/2024] Open
Abstract
The study of the dynamics of species habitat is of great significance for maintaining or adjusting the current habitat protection management strategy. However, the current research on the Chinese red panda's habitat is limited to the analysis of a single period, which makes it difficult to quantify the changes in its habitat on a temporal scale and greatly hinders the formulation of the overall protection and management strategies that are to be used for the Chinese red panda. This study simulated habitat suitability at different temporal scales to quantify the trend of changes in habitat quality and analyzed the reasons for the changes in habitat suitability in certain regions. The results showed that the overall suitability of the Chinese red panda's habitat increased and that the area of suitable habitats expanded. Suitable Chinese red panda habitats in the mountains of Qionglai (1662.73 km2), Daxiangling (230.30 km2), Xiaoxiangling (549.47 km2), and Liangshan (50.39 km2) increased by a total of 2452.89 km2. The suitability of habitats in the central part of the Liangshan Mountains has declined significantly, which is positively correlated with changes in temperature seasonality (BIO4, R = 0.18) and negatively correlated with changes in annual average temperature (BIO1, R = -0.03) as well as changes in the proportion of farmland (FARMLAND, R = -0.14). The local extinction of isolated populations of Chinese red pandas in the Minshan Mountains is the main factor leading to their distribution retreat rather than a decrease in habitat quality. The research results help us to provide a scientific basis for the formulation of conservation and management strategies for Chinese red pandas at different scales.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tao Ruan
- College of Giant Panda, China West Normal University, Nanchong 637009, China; (T.R.); (W.W.); (Z.Z.)
- Liziping Giant Panda’s Ecology and Conservation Observation and Research Station of Sichuan Province, Nanchong 637009, China
| | - Wei Wei
- College of Giant Panda, China West Normal University, Nanchong 637009, China; (T.R.); (W.W.); (Z.Z.)
- Liziping Giant Panda’s Ecology and Conservation Observation and Research Station of Sichuan Province, Nanchong 637009, China
| | - Zejun Zhang
- College of Giant Panda, China West Normal University, Nanchong 637009, China; (T.R.); (W.W.); (Z.Z.)
- Liziping Giant Panda’s Ecology and Conservation Observation and Research Station of Sichuan Province, Nanchong 637009, China
| | - Hong Zhou
- College of Giant Panda, China West Normal University, Nanchong 637009, China; (T.R.); (W.W.); (Z.Z.)
- Liziping Giant Panda’s Ecology and Conservation Observation and Research Station of Sichuan Province, Nanchong 637009, China
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40
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Ismaeel A, Tai APK, Santos EG, Maraia H, Aalto I, Altman J, Doležal J, Lembrechts JJ, Camargo JL, Aalto J, Sam K, Avelino do Nascimento LC, Kopecký M, Svátek M, Nunes MH, Matula R, Plichta R, Abera T, Maeda EE. Patterns of tropical forest understory temperatures. Nat Commun 2024; 15:549. [PMID: 38263406 PMCID: PMC10805846 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-44734-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2023] [Accepted: 01/02/2024] [Indexed: 01/25/2024] Open
Abstract
Temperature is a fundamental driver of species distribution and ecosystem functioning. Yet, our knowledge of the microclimatic conditions experienced by organisms inside tropical forests remains limited. This is because ecological studies often rely on coarse-gridded temperature estimates representing the conditions at 2 m height in an open-air environment (i.e., macroclimate). In this study, we present a high-resolution pantropical estimate of near-ground (15 cm above the surface) temperatures inside forests. We quantify diurnal and seasonal variability, thus revealing both spatial and temporal microclimate patterns. We find that on average, understory near-ground temperatures are 1.6 °C cooler than the open-air temperatures. The diurnal temperature range is on average 1.7 °C lower inside the forests, in comparison to open-air conditions. More importantly, we demonstrate a substantial spatial variability in the microclimate characteristics of tropical forests. This variability is regulated by a combination of large-scale climate conditions, vegetation structure and topography, and hence could not be captured by existing macroclimate grids. Our results thus contribute to quantifying the actual thermal ranges experienced by organisms inside tropical forests and provide new insights into how these limits may be affected by climate change and ecosystem disturbances.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ali Ismaeel
- Earth and Environmental Sciences Programme, Faculty of Science, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Amos P K Tai
- Earth and Environmental Sciences Programme, Faculty of Science, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
- State Key Laboratory of Agrobiotechnology, and Institute of Environment, Energy and Sustainability, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Erone Ghizoni Santos
- Department of Geosciences and Geography, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 68, FI-00014, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Heveakore Maraia
- Institute of Entomology, Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, České Budějovice, Branisovska 31, CZ 370 05, Czech Republic
- Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, Branisovska 1760, CZ 370 05, České Budějovice, Czechia
| | - Iris Aalto
- Department of Geosciences and Geography, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 68, FI-00014, Helsinki, Finland
- School of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH8 9XP, UK
| | - Jan Altman
- Institute of Botany of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Zámek 1, CZ-252 43, Průhonice, Czech Republic
- Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences, University of Life Sciences Prague, Kamýcká 129, CZ-16521, Praha 6-Suchdol, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Jiří Doležal
- Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, Branisovska 1760, CZ 370 05, České Budějovice, Czechia
- Institute of Botany of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Zámek 1, CZ-252 43, Průhonice, Czech Republic
| | - Jonas J Lembrechts
- Research Group Plants and Ecosystems, University of Antwerp, 2610, Wilrijk, Belgium
| | - José Luís Camargo
- Biological Dynamics of Forest Fragment Project (BDFFP) - National Institute of Amazonian Research (INPA), CP 478, 69067-375, Manaus, AM, Brazil
| | - Juha Aalto
- Department of Geosciences and Geography, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 68, FI-00014, Helsinki, Finland
- Finnish Meteorological Institute, P.O. Box 503, FI-00101, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Kateřina Sam
- Institute of Entomology, Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, České Budějovice, Branisovska 31, CZ 370 05, Czech Republic
- Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, Branisovska 1760, CZ 370 05, České Budějovice, Czechia
| | | | - Martin Kopecký
- Institute of Botany of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Zámek 1, CZ-252 43, Průhonice, Czech Republic
- Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences, University of Life Sciences Prague, Kamýcká 129, CZ-16521, Praha 6-Suchdol, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Martin Svátek
- Department of Forest Botany, Dendrology and Geobiocoenology, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology, Mendel University in Brno, Zemědělská 3, 61300, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Matheus Henrique Nunes
- Department of Geosciences and Geography, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 68, FI-00014, Helsinki, Finland
- Department of Geographical Sciences, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, 20742, USA
| | - Radim Matula
- Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences, University of Life Sciences Prague, Kamýcká 129, CZ-16521, Praha 6-Suchdol, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Roman Plichta
- Department of Forest Botany, Dendrology and Geobiocoenology, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology, Mendel University in Brno, Zemědělská 3, 61300, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Temesgen Abera
- Department of Geosciences and Geography, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 68, FI-00014, Helsinki, Finland
- Department of Environmental Informatics, Faculty of Geography, Philipps Universität-Marburg, Deutschhausstrasse, 12, 35032, Marburg, Germany
| | - Eduardo Eiji Maeda
- Department of Geosciences and Geography, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 68, FI-00014, Helsinki, Finland.
- Finnish Meteorological Institute, P.O. Box 503, FI-00101, Helsinki, Finland.
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Liu L, Xie Y, Yahaya BS, Wu F. GIGANTEA Unveiled: Exploring Its Diverse Roles and Mechanisms. Genes (Basel) 2024; 15:94. [PMID: 38254983 PMCID: PMC10815842 DOI: 10.3390/genes15010094] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2023] [Revised: 01/09/2024] [Accepted: 01/10/2024] [Indexed: 01/24/2024] Open
Abstract
GIGANTEA (GI) is a conserved nuclear protein crucial for orchestrating the clock-associated feedback loop in the circadian system by integrating light input, modulating gating mechanisms, and regulating circadian clock resetting. It serves as a core component which transmits blue light signals for circadian rhythm resetting and overseeing floral initiation. Beyond circadian functions, GI influences various aspects of plant development (chlorophyll accumulation, hypocotyl elongation, stomatal opening, and anthocyanin metabolism). GI has also been implicated to play a pivotal role in response to stresses such as freezing, thermomorphogenic stresses, salinity, drought, and osmotic stresses. Positioned at the hub of complex genetic networks, GI interacts with hormonal signaling pathways like abscisic acid (ABA), gibberellin (GA), salicylic acid (SA), and brassinosteroids (BRs) at multiple regulatory levels. This intricate interplay enables GI to balance stress responses, promoting growth and flowering, and optimize plant productivity. This review delves into the multifaceted roles of GI, supported by genetic and molecular evidence, and recent insights into the dynamic interplay between flowering and stress responses, which enhance plants' adaptability to environmental challenges.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ling Liu
- Faculty of Agriculture, Forestry and Food Engineering, Yibin University, Yibin 644000, China;
| | - Yuxin Xie
- Maize Research Institute, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu 611130, China; (Y.X.); (B.S.Y.)
- Key Laboratory of Biology and Genetic Improvement of Maize in Southwest Region, Ministry of Agriculture, Chengdu 611130, China
| | - Baba Salifu Yahaya
- Maize Research Institute, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu 611130, China; (Y.X.); (B.S.Y.)
- Key Laboratory of Biology and Genetic Improvement of Maize in Southwest Region, Ministry of Agriculture, Chengdu 611130, China
| | - Fengkai Wu
- Maize Research Institute, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu 611130, China; (Y.X.); (B.S.Y.)
- Key Laboratory of Biology and Genetic Improvement of Maize in Southwest Region, Ministry of Agriculture, Chengdu 611130, China
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42
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Wei L, Sanczuk P, De Pauw K, Caron MM, Selvi F, Hedwall PO, Brunet J, Cousins SAO, Plue J, Spicher F, Gasperini C, Iacopetti G, Orczewska A, Uria-Diez J, Lenoir J, Vangansbeke P, De Frenne P. Using warming tolerances to predict understory plant responses to climate change. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2024; 30:e17064. [PMID: 38273565 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.17064] [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: 05/22/2023] [Revised: 10/27/2023] [Accepted: 11/06/2023] [Indexed: 01/27/2024]
Abstract
Climate change is pushing species towards and potentially beyond their critical thermal limits. The extent to which species can cope with temperatures exceeding their critical thermal limits is still uncertain. To better assess species' responses to warming, we compute the warming tolerance (ΔTniche ) as a thermal vulnerability index, using species' upper thermal limits (the temperature at the warm limit of their distribution range) minus the local habitat temperature actually experienced at a given location. This metric is useful to predict how much more warming species can tolerate before negative impacts are expected to occur. Here we set up a cross-continental transplant experiment involving five regions distributed along a latitudinal gradient across Europe (43° N-61° N). Transplant sites were located in dense and open forests stands, and at forest edges and in interiors. We estimated the warming tolerance for 12 understory plant species common in European temperate forests. During 3 years, we examined the effects of the warming tolerance of each species across all transplanted locations on local plant performance, in terms of survival, height, ground cover, flowering probabilities and flower number. We found that the warming tolerance (ΔTniche ) of the 12 studied understory species was significantly different across Europe and varied by up to 8°C. In general, ΔTniche were smaller (less positive) towards the forest edge and in open stands. Plant performance (growth and reproduction) increased with increasing ΔTniche across all 12 species. Our study demonstrated that ΔTniche of understory plant species varied with macroclimatic differences among regions across Europe, as well as in response to forest microclimates, albeit to a lesser extent. Our findings support the hypothesis that plant performance across species decreases in terms of growth and reproduction as local temperature conditions reach or exceed the warm limit of the focal species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liping Wei
- CAS Engineering Laboratory for Vegetation Ecosystem Restoration on Islands and Coastal Zones, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China
- Forest & Nature Lab, Department of Environment, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Melle-Gontrode, Belgium
| | - Pieter Sanczuk
- Forest & Nature Lab, Department of Environment, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Melle-Gontrode, Belgium
| | - Karen De Pauw
- Forest & Nature Lab, Department of Environment, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Melle-Gontrode, Belgium
| | - Maria Mercedes Caron
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal (IMBIV), CONICET, Córdoba, Argentina
- European Forest Institute-Mediterranean Facility, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Federico Selvi
- Department of Agriculture, Food, Environment and Forestry, University of Florence, Florence, Italy
| | - Per-Ola Hedwall
- Southern Swedish Forest Research Centre, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Lomma, Sweden
| | - Jörg Brunet
- Southern Swedish Forest Research Centre, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Lomma, Sweden
| | - Sara A O Cousins
- Landscapes, Environment and Geomatics, Department of Physical Geography, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Jan Plue
- Department of Urban and Rural Development, SLU Swedish Biodiversity Centre (CBM), Institutionen för stad och land, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Fabien Spicher
- UMR CNRS 7058 Ecologie et Dynamique des Systèmes Anthropisés (EDYSAN), Université de Picardie Jules Verne, Amiens, France
| | - Cristina Gasperini
- Department of Agriculture, Food, Environment and Forestry, University of Florence, Florence, Italy
| | - Giovanni Iacopetti
- Department of Agriculture, Food, Environment and Forestry, University of Florence, Florence, Italy
| | - Anna Orczewska
- Institute of Biology, Biotechnology and Environmental Protection, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Silesia, Katowice, Poland
| | - Jaime Uria-Diez
- Department of Forest Sciences, NEIKER-Basque Institute for Agricultural Research and Development, Basque Research and Technology Alliance (BRTA), Derio, Spain
| | - Jonathan Lenoir
- UMR CNRS 7058 Ecologie et Dynamique des Systèmes Anthropisés (EDYSAN), Université de Picardie Jules Verne, Amiens, France
| | - Pieter Vangansbeke
- Forest & Nature Lab, Department of Environment, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Melle-Gontrode, Belgium
- Earth and Life Institute, Université Catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
| | - Pieter De Frenne
- Forest & Nature Lab, Department of Environment, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Melle-Gontrode, Belgium
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43
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Brown TP, Duff TJ, Inbar A, Lane PNJ, Sheridan GJ. Forest reorganisation effects on fuel moisture content can exceed changes due to climate warming in wet temperate forests. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2024; 30:e17023. [PMID: 37929811 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.17023] [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: 05/22/2023] [Accepted: 10/17/2023] [Indexed: 11/07/2023]
Abstract
The distributions of vegetation and fire activity are changing rapidly in response to climate warming. In many regions, climate effects on dead fuel moisture content (FMC) are expected to increase future wildfire activity. However, forest FMC is largely driven by microclimate conditions, which are moderated from open weather by vegetation canopies. As shifts in vegetation increase under climate warming, the extent to which future fire activity will be driven by climate directly or associated vegetation shifts remains unresolved. Here, we present a study aimed at quantifying the relative magnitudes of (i) direct climate warming, and (ii) vegetation change, on FMC. Field sites to evaluate these effects were established in a natural laboratory of altered forest states to mature wet temperate forest in south-eastern Australia. FMC was estimated using a process-based model and 48 years of reconstructed climate data. Canopy effects on microclimate were captured by transferring inputs from climate to microclimate using models parameterised with field observations. To evaluate the relative magnitude of climate and vegetation effects, we calculated the maximum difference in mean annual FMC across annual climate replicates and compared this to FMC differences across reorganising forest sites. Our results show vegetation effects on FMC can exceed those related to expected climate change. Changes to forest structure and composition increased (+15.7%) and decreased (-12.3%) mean annual FMC, with a larger negative effect when forest cover was completely removed (-18.5%). In contrast, the largest climate effect on FMC was -6.6% across 48-years of data. Our study demonstrates that the magnitude of vegetation effects on FMC can exceed expected climate change effects. Models of future fire activity that do not account for changing vegetation effects on microclimate are omitting a key biophysical control on FMC and therefore may not be accurately predicting future fire activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tegan P Brown
- US Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory, Missoula, Montana, USA
| | - Thomas J Duff
- Fire Risk, Research and Community Preparedness, Country Fire Authority, Burwood, Victoria, Australia
| | - Assaf Inbar
- Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, Penrith, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Patrick N J Lane
- School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Sciences, Faculty of Science, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
| | - Gary J Sheridan
- School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Sciences, Faculty of Science, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
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44
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Gajendiran K, Kandasamy S, Narayanan M. Influences of wildfire on the forest ecosystem and climate change: A comprehensive study. ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 2024; 240:117537. [PMID: 37914016 DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2023.117537] [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: 07/13/2023] [Revised: 09/23/2023] [Accepted: 10/27/2023] [Indexed: 11/03/2023]
Abstract
Wildfires have complex impacts on forests, including changes in vegetation, threats to biodiversity, and emissions of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide, which exacerbate climate change. The influence of wildfires on animal habitats is particularly noteworthy, as they can lead to significant changes in native environments. The extent of these alterations in species and habitats plays a crucial role in shaping forest ecology. Drought, disease, insect infestations, overgrazing, or their combined effects can amplify the negative effects on specific plant genera and entire ecosystems. In addition to the immediate consequences of plant mortality and altered community dynamics, forest fires have far-reaching implications. They often increase flowering and seed production, further influencing ecological communities. However, one concerning trend is the decline in the diversity of forest biological species within fire-affected areas. Beyond their ecological impacts, wildfires emit substantial quantities of greenhouse gases and fine particulates into the atmosphere, triggering profound changes in climate patterns and contributing to global warming. As vegetation burns during these fires, the carbon stored within is released, rendering large forest fires detrimental to biodiversity and the emission of CO2, a significant contributor to global warming. Measuring the global impact of wildfires on ecological communities and greenhouse gas emissions has become increasingly vital. These research endeavors shed light on the intricate relationships and feedback loops linking wildfires, ecosystem inhabitants, and the evolving climate landscape.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kandasamy Gajendiran
- Department of Microbiology, M.G.R. College of Arts and Science, Hosur, Krishnagiri, Tamil Nadu, India
| | - Sabariswaran Kandasamy
- Department of Biotechnology, PSGR Krishnammal College for Women, Peelamedu, Coimbatore, 641004, India
| | - Mathiyazhagan Narayanan
- Division of Research and Innovations, Department of Biotechnology, Saveetha School of Engineering, Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Science, Chennai, 602105, Tamil Nadu, India.
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45
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Tourani M, Sollmann R, Kays R, Ahumada J, Fegraus E, Karp DS. Maximum temperatures determine the habitat affiliations of North American mammals. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2023; 120:e2304411120. [PMID: 38048469 PMCID: PMC10723132 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2304411120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2023] [Accepted: 10/14/2023] [Indexed: 12/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Addressing the ongoing biodiversity crisis requires identifying the winners and losers of global change. Species are often categorized based on how they respond to habitat loss; for example, species restricted to natural environments, those that most often occur in anthropogenic habitats, and generalists that do well in both. However, species might switch habitat affiliations across time and space: an organism may venture into human-modified areas in benign regions but retreat into thermally buffered forested habitats in areas with high temperatures. Here, we apply community occupancy models to a large-scale camera trapping dataset with 29 mammal species distributed over 2,485 sites across the continental United States, to ask three questions. First, are species' responses to forest and anthropogenic habitats consistent across continental scales? Second, do macroclimatic conditions explain spatial variation in species responses to land use? Third, can species traits elucidate which taxa are most likely to show climate-dependent habitat associations? We found that all species exhibited significant spatial variation in how they respond to land-use, tending to avoid anthropogenic areas and increasingly use forests in hotter regions. In the hottest regions, species occupancy was 50% higher in forested compared to open habitats, whereas in the coldest regions, the trend reversed. Larger species with larger ranges, herbivores, and primary predators were more likely to change their habitat affiliations than top predators, which consistently affiliated with high forest cover. Our findings suggest that climatic conditions influence species' space-use and that maintaining forest cover can help protect mammals from warming climates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mahdieh Tourani
- Department of Ecosystem and Conservation Sciences, University of Montana, Missoula, MT59812
- Department of Wildlife, Fish, and Conservation Biology, University of California, Davis, CA95616
| | - Rahel Sollmann
- Department of Wildlife, Fish, and Conservation Biology, University of California, Davis, CA95616
- Department of Ecological Dynamics, Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Berlin10315, Germany
| | - Roland Kays
- Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC27607
- North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, Raleigh, NC27601
| | - Jorge Ahumada
- Moore Center for Science, Conservation International, Arlington, VA22202
- Center for Biodiversity Outcomes, Julia Ann Wrigley Global Institute of Sustainability, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ85281
| | - Eric Fegraus
- Moore Center for Science, Conservation International, Arlington, VA22202
| | - Daniel S. Karp
- Department of Wildlife, Fish, and Conservation Biology, University of California, Davis, CA95616
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Verschuren L, De Mil T, De Frenne P, Haneca K, Van Acker J, Vandekerkhove K, Van den Bulcke J. Heading for a fall: The fate of old wind-thrown beech trees (Fagus sylvatica) is detectable in their growth pattern. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2023; 903:166148. [PMID: 37574075 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.166148] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2023] [Revised: 08/04/2023] [Accepted: 08/06/2023] [Indexed: 08/15/2023]
Abstract
Common beech (Fagus sylvatica) is one of the most important deciduous tree species in European forests. However, climate-change-induced drought may threaten its dominant position. The Sonian Forest close to Brussels (Belgium) is home to some of the largest beech trees in the world. This UNESCO world heritage site is famous for its high density of very large beech trees as a result of its climatic suitability, fertile soil conditions, and past management. Here we utilized tree-ring data from increment cores to investigate the growth of these old and monumental beech trees, evaluating their growth trends, response to past climate, and the effect of mast years on 39 living and 16 recently wind-thrown trees. Our analysis reveals that the sampled trees were generally sensitive to spring and summer droughts but recovered quickly after such an extreme climatic event. The growth trend of living trees has remained high and only shows a slight, statistically insignificant, decline over the past 50 years. Although the overall growth rate remains strong (BAI 50 cm2/year), the past five decades have shown strong inter-annual growth variations due to frequent and more intense droughts combined with an increased frequency of mast years. We also found notable differences in growth patterns between the living trees and those that had recently been wind-thrown. While there were no significant differences between living and wind-thrown trees in response to droughts, heatwaves, or mast years when examining year-to-year growth changes, the wind-thrown trees did exhibit considerably lower overall growth rates and a significant downward trend in growth (BAI -0.57 cm2/year). This difference in growth trends has been apparent since at least the 1980s. Overall, the findings of this study can provide valuable insights for understanding the long-term dynamics of lowland beech forests and their responses to climate change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Louis Verschuren
- UGent-Woodlab, Department of Environment, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Coupure links 653, 9000 Ghent, Belgium; Centre for X-ray Tomography, Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, Belgium; Forest & Nature Lab, Department of Environment, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Geraardsbergsesteenweg 267, 9090 Melle, Belgium.
| | - Tom De Mil
- Forest is life, TERRA Teaching and Research Centre, Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech. University of Liège, Passage des Déportés 2, B-5030 Gembloux, Belgium.
| | - Pieter De Frenne
- Forest & Nature Lab, Department of Environment, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Geraardsbergsesteenweg 267, 9090 Melle, Belgium.
| | - Kristof Haneca
- Flanders Heritage Agency, Herman Teirlinckgebouw, Havenlaan 88 bus 5, 1000 Brussel, Belgium.
| | - Joris Van Acker
- UGent-Woodlab, Department of Environment, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Coupure links 653, 9000 Ghent, Belgium; Centre for X-ray Tomography, Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, Belgium.
| | - Kris Vandekerkhove
- Department of Forest Ecology and Management, Research Institute for Nature and Forest, Gaverstraat 4 and 35, 9500 Geraardsbergen, Belgium.
| | - Jan Van den Bulcke
- UGent-Woodlab, Department of Environment, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Coupure links 653, 9000 Ghent, Belgium; Centre for X-ray Tomography, Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, Belgium.
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47
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Temmink RJM, Angelini C, Verkuijl M, van der Heide T. Restoration ecology meets design-engineering: Mimicking emergent traits to restore feedback-driven ecosystems. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2023; 902:166460. [PMID: 37611724 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.166460] [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: 04/20/2023] [Revised: 08/18/2023] [Accepted: 08/18/2023] [Indexed: 08/25/2023]
Abstract
Ecosystems shaped by habitat-modifying organisms such as reefs, vegetated coastal systems and peatlands, provide valuable ecosystem services, such as carbon storage and coastal protection. However, they are declining worldwide. Ecosystem restoration is a key tool for mitigating these losses but has proven failure-prone, because ecosystem stability often hinges on self-facilitation generated by emergent traits from habitat modifiers. Emergent traits are not expressed by the single individual, but emerge at the level of an aggregation: a minimum patch-size or density-threshold must be exceeded to generate self-facilitation. Self-facilitation has been successfully harnessed for restoration by clumping transplanted organisms, but requires large amounts of often-limiting and costly donor material. Recent advancements highlight that kickstarting self-facilitation by mimicking emergent traits can similarly increase restoration success. Here, we provide a framework for combining expertise from ecologists, engineers and industrial product designers to transition from trial-and-error to emergent trait design-based, cost-efficient approaches to support large-scale restoration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ralph J M Temmink
- Environmental Sciences, Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development, Utrecht University, Princetonlaan 8a, 3584 CB Utrecht, the Netherlands.
| | - Christine Angelini
- Department of Environmental Engineering Sciences, Engineering School for Sustainable Infrastructure and Environment, University of Florida, PO Box 116580, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
| | - Martijn Verkuijl
- Department of Industrial Design Engineering, Windesheim University of Applied Sciences, Koestraat 3, 8011NG Zwolle, the Netherlands
| | - Tjisse van der Heide
- Department of Coastal Systems, Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, 1790 AB Den Burg, the Netherlands; Conservation Ecology Group, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, 9700 CC Groningen, the Netherlands
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48
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Hillman A, Nielsen SE. Lake Superior's summer cooling of shorelines and adjacent inland forests: Implications for refugia of boreal forests and disjunct arctic-alpine plants. Ecol Evol 2023; 13:e10833. [PMID: 38155816 PMCID: PMC10753639 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.10833] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2023] [Revised: 12/11/2023] [Accepted: 12/15/2023] [Indexed: 12/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Climate refugia can serve as remnant habitat for cold-adapted species and delay forest transitions. The world's largest freshwater lake by surface area, Lake Superior, serves as a model system for understanding cooling-mediated refugia effects, as its cool summer water temperatures have maintained disjunct populations of arctic-alpine plants on its shoreline since deglaciation. It is known to affect local inland climates by providing a summer cooling effect; however, the inland temperature gradient and spatial patterns of cooling have not been well quantified. Here, we describe the extent, degree, and patterns of temperature buffering and examine drivers of buffering and disjunct plant occurrence for Lake Superior's north shore over a 3-year period at distances of 10, 100 m, 1, 10, and 100 km inland. We analyzed temperature data by year, month, summer maximum (July), and growing degree days (GDD0) for each site. Average summertime cooling at shore sites (10 m) was ~5°C cooler than reference sites (100 km inland), with a maximum difference of -19.2°C. The magnitude of cooling varied geographically, with sites further west and southeast showing little to no cooling effect, while the exposed north-central shore showed the highest degree of buffering (5.8°C cooler) and had a shorter growing season than reference sites. Finally, north-central shorelines had fewer days above 16°C, a threshold above which disjunct plants are unlikely to grow. These sites also showed the highest proportion of disjunct arctic-alpine species, reflecting the highest buffering from inland sites. On north-central shores, sites up to 10 km inland had less than 10 days per year warmer than 20°C, a threshold identified for boreal forest transition. An understanding of the extent of lake-mediated cooling on adjacent forests can better inform the risk to disjunct species, inland forests, and vegetation transition models on Lake Superior's north shore.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ashley Hillman
- Department of Renewable ResourcesUniversity of AlbertaEdmontonAlbertaCanada
| | - Scott E. Nielsen
- Department of Renewable ResourcesUniversity of AlbertaEdmontonAlbertaCanada
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Frei K, Vojtkó A, Farkas T, Erdős L, Barta K, E-Vojtkó A, Tölgyesi C, Bátori Z. Topographic depressions can provide climate and resource microrefugia for biodiversity. iScience 2023; 26:108202. [PMID: 38026156 PMCID: PMC10656275 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.108202] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2023] [Revised: 08/30/2023] [Accepted: 10/11/2023] [Indexed: 12/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Microrefugia are often located within topographically complex regions where stable environmental conditions prevail. Most of the studies concerning the distributions of climate change-sensitive species have emphasized the dominance of cold air pooling over other environmental factors, such as resource availability. There is a shortage of information on the relationships among topography-related microsite diversity, microclimate, resource availability, and species composition in microrefugia. To fill this knowledge gap, we studied the effects of microclimatic conditions and soil resources on plant species occurrence within and adjacent to 30 large topographic depressions (i.e., dolines) in two distant karst regions. Our results showed that both microclimate and soil resource availability may play a key role in maintaining climate change-sensitive species and biodiversity in dolines; therefore, they may simultaneously act as climate and resource microrefugia. Establishing climate-smart conservation priorities and strategies is required to maintain or increase the refugial capacity of such safe havens.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kata Frei
- Department of Ecology, University of Szeged, Közép fasor 52, 6726 Szeged, Hungary
- Doctoral School of Environmental Sciences, University of Szeged, Rerrich Béla tér 1, 6720 Szeged, Hungary
| | - András Vojtkó
- Department of Botany and Plant Physiology, Eszterházy Károly Catholic University, Leányka utca 6, 3300 Eger, Hungary
| | - Tünde Farkas
- Aggtelek National Park Directorate, Tengerszem oldal 1, 3758 Jósvafő, Hungary
| | - László Erdős
- Institute of Ecology and Botany, Centre for Ecological Research, Alkotmány utca 2-4, 2163 Vácrátót, Hungary
- Department of Ecology, University of Debrecen, Egyetem tér 1, 4032 Debrecen, Hungary
| | - Károly Barta
- Department of Geoinformatics, Physical and Environmental Geography, University of Szeged, Egyetem utca 2-6, 6722 Szeged, Hungary
| | - Anna E-Vojtkó
- Institute of Botany, Czech Academy of Sciences, Dukelská 135, 379 82 Třeboň, Czech Republic
| | - Csaba Tölgyesi
- Department of Ecology, University of Szeged, Közép fasor 52, 6726 Szeged, Hungary
- MTA-SZTE ‘Lendület’ Applied Ecology Research Group, Közép fasor 52, 6726 Szeged, Hungary
- HUN-REN–UD Functional and Restoration Ecology Research Group, Egyetem tér 1, 4032 Debrecen, Hungary
| | - Zoltán Bátori
- Department of Ecology, University of Szeged, Közép fasor 52, 6726 Szeged, Hungary
- MTA-SZTE ‘Lendület’ Applied Ecology Research Group, Közép fasor 52, 6726 Szeged, Hungary
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50
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Ma Q, Su Y, Niu C, Ma Q, Hu T, Luo X, Tai X, Qiu T, Zhang Y, Bales RC, Liu L, Kelly M, Guo Q. Tree mortality during long-term droughts is lower in structurally complex forest stands. Nat Commun 2023; 14:7467. [PMID: 37978191 PMCID: PMC10656564 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-43083-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2023] [Accepted: 10/31/2023] [Indexed: 11/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Increasing drought frequency and severity in a warming climate threaten forest ecosystems with widespread tree deaths. Canopy structure is important in regulating tree mortality during drought, but how it functions remains controversial. Here, we show that the interplay between tree size and forest structure explains drought-induced tree mortality during the 2012-2016 California drought. Through an analysis of over one million trees, we find that tree mortality rate follows a "negative-positive-negative" piecewise relationship with tree height, and maintains a consistent negative relationship with neighborhood canopy structure (a measure of tree competition). Trees overshadowed by tall neighboring trees experienced lower mortality, likely due to reduced exposure to solar radiation load and lower water demand from evapotranspiration. Our findings demonstrate the significance of neighborhood canopy structure in influencing tree mortality and suggest that re-establishing heterogeneity in canopy structure could improve drought resiliency. Our study also indicates the potential of advances in remote-sensing technologies for silvicultural design, supporting the transition to multi-benefit forest management.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qin Ma
- School of Geography, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, 210023, China
- Key Laboratory of Virtual Geographic Environment (Nanjing Normal University), Ministry of Education, Nanjing, 210023, China
- Jiangsu Center for Collaborative Innovation in Geographical Information Resource Development and Application, Nanjing, 210023, China
| | - Yanjun Su
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100093, Beijing, China.
- China National Botanical Garden, 100093, Beijing, China.
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100049, Beijing, China.
| | - Chunyue Niu
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100093, Beijing, China
- China National Botanical Garden, 100093, Beijing, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100049, Beijing, China
| | - Qin Ma
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100093, Beijing, China
- China National Botanical Garden, 100093, Beijing, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100049, Beijing, China
| | - Tianyu Hu
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100093, Beijing, China
- China National Botanical Garden, 100093, Beijing, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100049, Beijing, China
| | - Xiangzhong Luo
- Department of Geography, National University of Singapore, Singapore, 117570, Singapore
| | - Xiaonan Tai
- Department of Biological Sciences, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, NJ, 07102, USA
| | - Tong Qiu
- Department of Ecosystem Science and Management, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 16802, USA
| | - Yao Zhang
- Sino-French Institute for Earth System Science, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, 100871, Beijing, China
| | - Roger C Bales
- Sierra Nevada Research Institute and School of Engineering, University of California, Merced, CA, 95343, USA
| | - Lingli Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100093, Beijing, China
- China National Botanical Garden, 100093, Beijing, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100049, Beijing, China
| | - Maggi Kelly
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Policy and Management, University of California, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA
- Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of California, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA
| | - Qinghua Guo
- Institute of Remote Sensing and Geographical Information Systems, School of Earth and Space Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China
- Institute of Ecology, College of Urban and Environmental Science, Peking University, 100871, Beijing, China
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