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Kinzinger L, Mach J, Haberstroh S, Schindler Z, Frey J, Dubbert M, Seeger S, Seifert T, Weiler M, Orlowski N, Werner C. Interaction between beech and spruce trees in temperate forests affects water use, root water uptake pattern and canopy structure. TREE PHYSIOLOGY 2024; 44:tpad144. [PMID: 38070177 DOI: 10.1093/treephys/tpad144] [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: 09/11/2023] [Accepted: 12/01/2023] [Indexed: 02/09/2024]
Abstract
Beneficial and negative effects of species interactions can strongly influence water fluxes in forest ecosystems. However, little is known about how trees dynamically adjust their water use when growing with interspecific neighbours. Therefore, we investigated the interaction effects between Fagus sylvatica (European beech) and Picea abies (Norway spruce) on water-use strategies and aboveground structural characteristics. We used continuous in situ isotope spectroscopy of xylem and soil water to investigate source water dynamics and root water uptake depths. Picea abies exhibited a reduced sun-exposed crown area in equally mixed compared with spruce-dominated sites, which was further correlated to a reduction in sap flow of -14.5 ± 8.2%. Contrarily, F. sylvatica trees showed +13.3 ± 33.3% higher water fluxes in equally mixed compared with beech-dominated forest sites. Although a significantly higher crown interference by neighbouring trees was observed, no correlation of water fluxes and crown structure was found. High time-resolved xylem δ2H values showed a large plasticity of tree water use (-74.1 to -28.5‰), reflecting the δ2H dynamics of soil and especially precipitation water sources. Fagus sylvatica in equally mixed sites shifted water uptake to deeper soil layers, while uptake of fresh precipitation was faster in beech-dominated sites. Our continuous in situ water stable isotope measurements traced root water uptake dynamics at unprecedented temporal resolution, indicating highly dynamic use of water sources in response to precipitation and to neighbouring species competition. Understanding this plasticity may be highly relevant in the context of increasing water scarcity and precipitation variability under climate change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Kinzinger
- Chair of Ecosystem Physiology, Faculty of Environment and Natural Resources, University of Freiburg, Georges-Köhler-Allee, 79110 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Judith Mach
- Chair of Hydrology, Faculty of Environment and Natural Resources, University of Freiburg, Friedrichstraße 39, 79089 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Simon Haberstroh
- Chair of Ecosystem Physiology, Faculty of Environment and Natural Resources, University of Freiburg, Georges-Köhler-Allee, 79110 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Zoe Schindler
- Chair of Forest Growth and Dendroecology, Faculty of Environment and Natural Resources, University of Freiburg, Tennenbacher Str. 4, 79106 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Julian Frey
- Chair of Forest Growth and Dendroecology, Faculty of Environment and Natural Resources, University of Freiburg, Tennenbacher Str. 4, 79106 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Maren Dubbert
- IBG, PB 1 'Landschaftsprozesse', Leibniz Zentrum für Agrarlandschaftsforschung (ZALF) e. V, Eberswalder Straße 84, 15374 Müncheberg, Germany
| | - Stefan Seeger
- Chair of Hydrology, Faculty of Environment and Natural Resources, University of Freiburg, Friedrichstraße 39, 79089 Freiburg, Germany
- Soil Physics, Department of Crop Sciences, University of Göttingen, Grisebachstraße 6, 37077 Gottingen, Germany
| | - Thomas Seifert
- Chair of Forest Growth and Dendroecology, Faculty of Environment and Natural Resources, University of Freiburg, Tennenbacher Str. 4, 79106 Freiburg, Germany
- Department of Forest and Wood Science, Stellenbosch University, Bosman Street, 7599 Stellenbosch, South Africa
| | - Markus Weiler
- Chair of Hydrology, Faculty of Environment and Natural Resources, University of Freiburg, Friedrichstraße 39, 79089 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Natalie Orlowski
- Chair of Hydrology, Faculty of Environment and Natural Resources, University of Freiburg, Friedrichstraße 39, 79089 Freiburg, Germany
- Chair of Site Ecology and Plant Nutrition, Institute of Soil Science and Site Ecology, TU Dresden, Pienner Strasse 19, Tharandt 01737, Germany
| | - Christiane Werner
- Chair of Ecosystem Physiology, Faculty of Environment and Natural Resources, University of Freiburg, Georges-Köhler-Allee, 79110 Freiburg, Germany
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Schuldt B, Ruehr NK. Responses of European forests to global change-type droughts. PLANT BIOLOGY (STUTTGART, GERMANY) 2022; 24:1093-1097. [PMID: 36445187 DOI: 10.1111/plb.13484] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2022] [Accepted: 11/08/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- B Schuldt
- Chair of Forest Botany, Institute of Forest Botany and Forest Zoology, Technical University of Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - N K Ruehr
- Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Institute of Meteorology and Climate Research - Atmospheric Environmental Research (IMK-IFU), Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany
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Abstract
There is consistent evidence of vegetation greening in Central Asia over the past four decades. However, in the early 1990s, the greening temporarily stagnated and even for a time reversed. In this study, we evaluate changes in the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) based on the long-term satellite-derived remote sensing data systems of the Global Inventory Modelling and Mapping Studies (GIMMS) NDVI from 1981 to 2013 and MODIS NDVI from 2000 to 2020 to determine whether the vegetation in Central Asia has browned. Our findings indicate that the seasonal sequence of NDVI is summer > spring > autumn > winter, and the spatial distribution pattern is a semicircular distribution, with the Aral Sea Basin as its core and an upward tendency from inside to outside. Around the mid-1990s, the region’s vegetation experienced two climatic environments with opposing trends (cold and wet; dry and hot). Prior to 1994, NDVI increased substantially throughout the growth phase (April–October), but this trend reversed after 1994, when vegetation began to brown. Our findings suggest that changes in vegetation NDVI are linked to climate change induced by increased CO2. The state of water deficit caused by temperature changes is a major cause of the browning turning point across the study area. At the same time, changes in vegetation NDVI were consistent with changes in drought degree (PDSI). This research is relevant for monitoring vegetation NDVI and carbon neutralization in Central Asian ecosystems.
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