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Astigarraga J, Esquivel-Muelbert A, Ruiz-Benito P, Rodríguez-Sánchez F, Zavala MA, Vilà-Cabrera A, Schelhaas MJ, Kunstler G, Woodall CW, Cienciala E, Dahlgren J, Govaere L, König LA, Lehtonen A, Talarczyk A, Liu D, Pugh TAM. Relative decline in density of Northern Hemisphere tree species in warm and arid regions of their climate niches. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2024; 121:e2314899121. [PMID: 38954552 PMCID: PMC11252807 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2314899121] [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: 09/07/2023] [Accepted: 05/01/2024] [Indexed: 07/04/2024] Open
Abstract
Although climate change is expected to drive tree species toward colder and wetter regions of their distribution, broadscale empirical evidence is lacking. One possibility is that past and present human activities in forests obscure or alter the effects of climate. Here, using data from more than two million monitored trees from 73 widely distributed species, we quantify changes in tree species density within their climatic niches across Northern Hemisphere forests. We observe a reduction in mean density across species, coupled with a tendency toward increasing tree size. However, the direction and magnitude of changes in density exhibit considerable variability between species, influenced by stand development that results from previous stand-level disturbances. Remarkably, when accounting for stand development, our findings show a significant change in density toward cold and wet climatic conditions for 43% of the species, compared to only 14% of species significantly changing their density toward warm and arid conditions in both early- and late-development stands. The observed changes in climate-driven density showed no clear association with species traits related to drought tolerance, recruitment and dispersal capacity, or resource use, nor with the temperature or aridity affiliation of the species, leaving the underlying mechanism uncertain. Forest conservation policies and associated management strategies might want to consider anticipated long-term species range shifts alongside the integration of contemporary within-distribution density changes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julen Astigarraga
- Department of Life Sciences, Forest Ecology and Restoration Group (FORECO), Universidad de Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares 28805, Spain
| | - Adriane Esquivel-Muelbert
- School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, BirminghamB15 2TT, United Kingdom
- Birmingham Institute of Forest Research, University of Birmingham, BirminghamB15 2TT, United Kingdom
| | - Paloma Ruiz-Benito
- Department of Life Sciences, Forest Ecology and Restoration Group (FORECO), Universidad de Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares 28805, Spain
- Department of Geology, Geography and Environment Science, Environmental Remote Sensing Research Group (GITA), Universidad de Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares28801, Spain
| | | | - Miguel A. Zavala
- Department of Life Sciences, Forest Ecology and Restoration Group (FORECO), Universidad de Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares 28805, Spain
- Universidad de Alcalá, Franklin Institute, Alcalá de Henares28801, Spain
| | - Albert Vilà-Cabrera
- Department of Life Sciences, Forest Ecology and Restoration Group (FORECO), Universidad de Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares 28805, Spain
- Centre de Recerca Ecològica i Aplicacions Forestals (CREAF), Bellaterra (Cerdanyola de Vallès), CataloniaE08193, Spain
| | - Mart-Jan Schelhaas
- Wageningen Environmental Research, Team Sustainable Forest Ecosystems, Wageningen University and Research, Wageningen6708 PB, The Netherlands
| | - Georges Kunstler
- Université Grenoble Alpes, Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE), Laboratoire EcoSystémes et Sociétés En Montagne (LESSEM), St.-Martin-d’Heres38402, France
| | - Christopher W. Woodall
- The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service, Northern Research Station, Durham, NH03824
| | - Emil Cienciala
- Institute of Forest Ecosystem Research (IFER), Research and Science, Jilove u Prahy254 01, Czech Republic
- Global Change Research Institute CAS, Department of Climate Change Impacts on Agroecosystems, Brno603 00, Czech Republic
| | - Jonas Dahlgren
- Department of Forest Resource and Management, Division of Forest Resource Data, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Umeå90183, Sweden
| | - Leen Govaere
- Department of Policy and Strategy, Agency for Nature and Forests, Brussels1000, Belgium
| | - Louis A. König
- Wageningen Environmental Research, Team Sustainable Forest Ecosystems, Wageningen University and Research, Wageningen6708 PB, The Netherlands
- Forest Ecology, Department of Environmental Systems Science, Institute of Terrestrial Ecosystems, Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zurich, Zurich8092, Switzerland
| | | | - Andrzej Talarczyk
- Forest and Natural Resources Research Centre, Warsaw02-491, Poland
- Taxus IT, Warsaw02-491, Poland
| | - Daijun Liu
- Department of Botany and Biodiversity Research, University of Vienna, Vienna1030, Austria
| | - Thomas A. M. Pugh
- School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, BirminghamB15 2TT, United Kingdom
- Birmingham Institute of Forest Research, University of Birmingham, BirminghamB15 2TT, United Kingdom
- Department of Physical Geography and Ecosystem Science, Lund University, LundS-223 62, Sweden
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Krintza N, Dener E, Seifan M. Stress Induces Trait Variability across Multiple Spatial Scales in the Arid Annual Plant Anastatica hierochuntica. PLANTS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2024; 13:256. [PMID: 38256809 PMCID: PMC10820187 DOI: 10.3390/plants13020256] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2023] [Revised: 12/21/2023] [Accepted: 01/04/2024] [Indexed: 01/24/2024]
Abstract
Variations in plant characteristics in response to habitat heterogeneity can provide valuable insights into the mechanisms governing plant responses to environmental conditions. In this study, we investigated the role of environmental factors associated with arid conditions in shaping the phenotypic responses of an arid annual plant, Anastatica hierochuntica, across several populations found along an aridity gradient and across multiple spatial scales. Utilizing both field surveys and a net house experiment, we assessed the effects of environmental factors on trait variability within and between populations. The results indicated a significant convergence in plant height due to site aridity, reflecting growth potential based on abiotic resources. Convergence was also observed in the plant's electrolyte leakage with aridity and in plant height concerning soil salinity at specific sites. Phenotypic plasticity was pivotal in maintaining trait variability, with plant height plasticity increasing with soil salinity, SLA plasticity decreasing with aridity, and leaf number plasticity rising with aridity. In conclusion, our findings underscore the adaptive significance of phenotypic variability, especially plasticity, in arid conditions. Notably, trait variability and plasticity did not consistently diminish in stressful settings, emphasizing the adaptive value of flexible responses in such environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nir Krintza
- Albert Katz International School for Desert Studies, Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Midreshet Ben-Gurion 8499000, Israel;
| | - Efrat Dener
- Mitrani Department of Desert Ecology, Swiss Institute for Dryland Environment and Energy Research, Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Midreshet Ben-Gurion 8499000, Israel;
| | - Merav Seifan
- Mitrani Department of Desert Ecology, Swiss Institute for Dryland Environment and Energy Research, Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Midreshet Ben-Gurion 8499000, Israel;
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