1
|
Kim JH, Park WG, Kim NH. Performance of convolutional neural network (CNN) and performance influencing factors for wood species classification of Lepidobalanus growing in Korea. Sci Rep 2024; 14:18141. [PMID: 39103562 PMCID: PMC11300805 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-69281-y] [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: 04/02/2024] [Accepted: 08/02/2024] [Indexed: 08/07/2024] Open
Abstract
This study aimed to investigate the performance and factors affecting the species classification of convolutional neural network (CNN) architecture using whole-part and earlywood-part cross-sectional datasets of six Korean Quercus species. The accuracy of species classification for each condition was analyzed using the datasets, data augmentation, and optimizers-stochastic gradient descent (SGD), adaptive moment estimation (Adam), and root mean square propagation (RMSProp)-based on a CNN architecture with three to four convolutional layers. The model trained with the augmented dataset yielded significantly superior results in terms of classification accuracy compared to the model trained with the non-augmented dataset. The augmented dataset was the only factor affecting classification accuracy in the final five epochs. In contrast, four factors in the entire epoch, such as the Adam and SGD optimizers and the earlywood-part and whole-part datasets, affected species classification. The arrangement of earlywood vessels, broad rays, and axial parenchyma was identified as a major influential factor in the CNN species classification using gradient-weighted class activation mapping (Grad-CAM) analysis. The augmented whole-part dataset with the Adam optimizer achieved the highest classification accuracy of 85.7% during the final five epochs of the test phase.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jong-Ho Kim
- Institute of Forest Science, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon, 24341, Republic of Korea
| | - Wan-Geun Park
- Department of Forestry, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon, 24341, Republic of Korea
| | - Nam-Hun Kim
- Department of Forest Biomaterials Engineering, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon, 24341, Republic of Korea.
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Shroff S, Perämäki A, Väisänen A, Pasanen P, Grönlund K, Nissinen VH, Jänis J, Haapala A, Marjomäki V. Tree Species-Dependent Inactivation of Coronaviruses and Enteroviruses on Solid Wood Surfaces. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2024; 16:29621-29633. [PMID: 38806169 PMCID: PMC11181278 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.4c02156] [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: 02/06/2024] [Revised: 05/06/2024] [Accepted: 05/09/2024] [Indexed: 05/30/2024]
Abstract
The ongoing challenge of viral transmission, exemplified by the Covid pandemic and recurrent viral outbreaks, necessitates the exploration of sustainable antiviral solutions. This study investigates the underexplored antiviral potential of wooden surfaces. We evaluated the antiviral efficacy of various wood types, including coniferous and deciduous trees, against enveloped coronaviruses and nonenveloped enteroviruses like coxsackie virus A9. Our findings revealed excellent antiviral activity manifesting already within 10 to 15 min in Scots pine and Norway spruce, particularly against enveloped viruses. In contrast, other hardwoods displayed varied efficacy, with oak showing effectiveness against the enterovirus. This antiviral activity was consistently observed across a spectrum of humidity levels (20 to 90 RH%), while the antiviral efficacy manifested itself more rapidly at 37 °C vs 21 °C. Key to our findings is the chemical composition of these woods. Resin acids and terpenes were prevalent in pine and spruce, correlating with their antiviral performance, while oak's high phenolic content mirrored its efficacy against enterovirus. The pine surface absorbed a higher fraction of the coronavirus in contrast to oak, whereas enteroviruses were not absorbed on those surfaces. Thermal treatment of wood or mixing wood with plastic, such as in wood-plastic composites, strongly compromised the antiviral functionality of wood materials. This study highlights the role of bioactive chemicals in the antiviral action of wood and opens new avenues for employing wood surfaces as a natural and sustainable barrier against viral transmissions.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sailee Shroff
- Department
of Biological and Environmental Sciences and Nanoscience Center, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä 40500, Finland
| | - Anni Perämäki
- Department
of Biological and Environmental Sciences and Nanoscience Center, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä 40500, Finland
| | - Antti Väisänen
- Department
of Environmental and Biological Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio 70210, Finland
| | - Pertti Pasanen
- Department
of Environmental and Biological Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio 70210, Finland
| | - Krista Grönlund
- Department
of Chemistry, Sustainable Technologies, University of Eastern Finland, 80100 Joensuu, Finland
| | - Ville H. Nissinen
- Department
of Chemistry, Sustainable Technologies, University of Eastern Finland, 80100 Joensuu, Finland
| | - Janne Jänis
- Department
of Chemistry, Sustainable Technologies, University of Eastern Finland, 80100 Joensuu, Finland
| | - Antti Haapala
- Department
of Chemistry, Sustainable Technologies, University of Eastern Finland, 80100 Joensuu, Finland
- FSCN
Research Centre, Mid Sweden University, SE-85170 Sundsvall, Sweden
| | - Varpu Marjomäki
- Department
of Biological and Environmental Sciences and Nanoscience Center, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä 40500, Finland
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Wei J, von Arx G, Fan Z, Ibrom A, Mund M, Knohl A, Peters RL, Babst F. Drought alters aboveground biomass production efficiency: Insights from two European beech forests. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2024; 919:170726. [PMID: 38331275 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.170726] [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: 09/05/2023] [Revised: 02/03/2024] [Accepted: 02/03/2024] [Indexed: 02/10/2024]
Abstract
The fraction of photosynthetically assimilated carbon that trees allocate to long-lasting woody biomass pools (biomass production efficiency - BPE), is a key metric of the forest carbon balance. Its apparent simplicity belies the complex interplay between underlying processes of photosynthesis, respiration, litter and fruit production, and tree growth that respond differently to climate variability. Whereas the magnitude of BPE has been routinely quantified in ecological studies, its temporal dynamics and responses to extreme events such as drought remain less well understood. Here, we combine long-term records of aboveground carbon increment (ACI) obtained from tree rings with stand-level gross primary productivity (GPP) from eddy covariance (EC) records to empirically quantify aboveground BPE (= ACI/GPP) and its interannual variability in two European beech forests (Hainich, DE-Hai, Germany; Sorø, DK-Sor, Denmark). We found significant negative correlations between BPE and a daily-resolved drought index at both sites, indicating that woody growth is de-prioritized under water limitation. During identified extreme years, early-season drought reduced same-year BPE by 29 % (Hainich, 2011), 31 % (Sorø, 2006), and 14 % (Sorø, 2013). By contrast, the 2003 late-summer drought resulted in a 17 % reduction of post-drought year BPE at Hainich. Across the entire EC period, the daily-to-seasonal drought response of BPE resembled that of ACI, rather than that of GPP. This indicates that BPE follows sink dynamics more closely than source dynamics, which appear to be decoupled given the distinctive climate response patterns of GPP and ACI. Based on our observations, we caution against estimating the magnitude and variability of the carbon sink in European beech (and likely other temperate forests) based on carbon fluxes alone. We also encourage comparable studies at other long-term EC measurement sites from different ecosystems to further constrain the BPE response to rare climatic events.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jingshu Wei
- School of Natural Resources and the Environment, University of Arizona, 1064 E Lowell Street, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA; Swiss Federal Institute for Forest Snow and Landscape Research WSL, Zuercherstrasse 111, CH-8903 Birmensdorf, Switzerland; CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Menglun Town, Mengla County, Yunnan Province 666303, China.
| | - Georg von Arx
- Swiss Federal Institute for Forest Snow and Landscape Research WSL, Zuercherstrasse 111, CH-8903 Birmensdorf, Switzerland; Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, Hochschulstrasse 4, CH-3012 Bern, Switzerland
| | - Zexin Fan
- CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Menglun Town, Mengla County, Yunnan Province 666303, China
| | - Andreas Ibrom
- Biosystems Division, Risø National Laboratory for Sustainable Energy, Technical University of Denmark, Denmark
| | - Martina Mund
- Forestry Research and Competence Centre Gotha, Jägerstraße1, D-99867 Gotha, Germany
| | - Alexander Knohl
- Bioclimatology, University of Göttingen, Büsgenweg 2, D-37077 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Richard L Peters
- Environmental Sciences - Botany, University of Basel, Schönbeinstrasse 6, Basel CH-4056, Switzerland
| | - Flurin Babst
- School of Natural Resources and the Environment, University of Arizona, 1064 E Lowell Street, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA; Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research, University of Arizona, 1215 E Lowell Street, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Power CC, Normand S, von Arx G, Elberling B, Corcoran D, Krog AB, Bouvin NK, Treier UA, Westergaard-Nielsen A, Liu Y, Prendin AL. No effect of snow on shrub xylem traits: Insights from a snow-manipulation experiment on Disko Island, Greenland. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2024; 916:169896. [PMID: 38185160 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.169896] [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: 09/21/2023] [Revised: 12/18/2023] [Accepted: 01/02/2024] [Indexed: 01/09/2024]
Abstract
Widespread shrubification across the Arctic has been generally attributed to increasing air temperatures, but responses vary across species and sites. Wood structures related to the plant hydraulic architecture may respond to local environmental conditions and potentially impact shrub growth, but these relationships remain understudied. Using methods of dendroanatomy, we analysed shrub ring width (RW) and xylem anatomical traits of 80 individuals of Salix glauca L. and Betula nana L. at a snow manipulation experiment in Western Greenland. We assessed how their responses differed between treatments (increased versus ambient snow depth) and soil moisture regimes (wet and dry). Despite an increase in snow depth due to snow fences (28-39 %), neither RW nor anatomical traits in either species showed significant responses to this increase. In contrast, irrespective of the snow treatment, the xylem specific hydraulic conductivity (Ks) and earlywood vessel size (LA95) for the study period were larger in S. glauca (p < 0.1, p < 0.01) and B. nana (p < 0.01, p < 0.001) at the wet than the dry site, while both species had larger vessel groups at the dry than the wet site (p < 0.01). RW of B. nana was higher at the wet site (p < 0.01), but no differences were observed for S. glauca. Additionally, B. nana Ks and LA95 showed different trends over the study period, with decreases observed at the dry site (p < 0.001), while for other responses no difference was observed. Our results indicate that, taking into account ontogenetic and allometric trends, hydraulic related xylem traits of both species, along with B. nana growth, were influenced by soil moisture. These findings suggest that soil moisture regime, but not snow cover, may determine xylem responses to future climate change and thus add to the heterogeneity of Arctic shrub dynamics, though more long-term species- and site- specific studies are needed.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Candice C Power
- Ecoinformatics and Biodiversity, Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Denmark.
| | - Signe Normand
- Ecoinformatics and Biodiversity, Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Denmark; SustainScapes - Center for Sustainable Landscapes under Global Change, Aarhus University, Denmark
| | - Georg von Arx
- Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL, Birmensdorf, Switzerland; Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Bo Elberling
- Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, University of Copenhagen, Denmark; Center for Permafrost (CENPERM), Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Derek Corcoran
- Ecoinformatics and Biodiversity, Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Denmark; SustainScapes - Center for Sustainable Landscapes under Global Change, Aarhus University, Denmark
| | - Amanda B Krog
- Ecoinformatics and Biodiversity, Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Denmark
| | | | - Urs Albert Treier
- Ecoinformatics and Biodiversity, Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Denmark; SustainScapes - Center for Sustainable Landscapes under Global Change, Aarhus University, Denmark
| | - Andreas Westergaard-Nielsen
- Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, University of Copenhagen, Denmark; Center for Permafrost (CENPERM), Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Yijing Liu
- Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Angela L Prendin
- Ecoinformatics and Biodiversity, Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Denmark; Department of Land Environment Agriculture and Forestry (TeSAF), University of Padova, Legnaro, Italy
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Keret R, Schliephack PM, Stangler DF, Seifert T, Kahle HP, Drew DM, Hills PN. An open-source machine-learning approach for obtaining high-quality quantitative wood anatomy data from E. grandis and P. radiata xylem. PLANT SCIENCE : AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL PLANT BIOLOGY 2024; 340:111970. [PMID: 38163623 DOI: 10.1016/j.plantsci.2023.111970] [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: 09/19/2023] [Revised: 12/26/2023] [Accepted: 12/27/2023] [Indexed: 01/03/2024]
Abstract
Quantitative wood anatomy is a subfield in dendrochronology that requires effective open-source image analysis tools. In this research, the bioimage analysis software QuPath (v0.4.4) is introduced as a candidate for accurately quantifying the cellular properties of the xylem in an automated manner. Additionally, the potential of QuPath to detect the transition of early- to latewood tracheids over the growing season was evaluated to assess a potential application in dendroecological studies. Various algorithms in QuPath were optimized to quantify different xylem cell types in Eucalyptus grandis and the transition of early- to latewood tracheids in Pinus radiata. These algorithms were coded into cell detection scripts for automatic quantification of stem microsections and compared to a manually curated method to assess the accuracy of the cell detections. The automatic cell detection approach, using QuPath, has been validated to be reproducible with an acceptable error when assessing fibers, vessels, early- and latewood tracheids. However, further optimization for parenchyma is still required. This proposed method developed in QuPath provides a scalable and accurate approach for quantifying anatomical features in stem microsections. With minor amendments to the detection and classification algorithms, this strategy is likely to be viable in other plant species.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Rafael Keret
- Institute for Plant Biotechnology, Department of Genetics, Stellenbosch University, Private Bag X1, Matieland 7602, Stellenbosch, South Africa; Department of Forestry and Wood Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Bosman St, 7599, Stellenbosch central, South Africa
| | - Paul M Schliephack
- Chair of Forest Growth and Dendroecology, Institute of Forest Sciences, University of Freiburg, Tennenbacher Str. 4, Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany
| | - Dominik F Stangler
- Chair of Forest Growth and Dendroecology, Institute of Forest Sciences, University of Freiburg, Tennenbacher Str. 4, Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany
| | - Thomas Seifert
- Department of Forestry and Wood Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Bosman St, 7599, Stellenbosch central, South Africa; Chair of Forest Growth and Dendroecology, Institute of Forest Sciences, University of Freiburg, Tennenbacher Str. 4, Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany
| | - Hans-Peter Kahle
- Chair of Forest Growth and Dendroecology, Institute of Forest Sciences, University of Freiburg, Tennenbacher Str. 4, Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany
| | - David M Drew
- Department of Forestry and Wood Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Bosman St, 7599, Stellenbosch central, South Africa.
| | - Paul N Hills
- Institute for Plant Biotechnology, Department of Genetics, Stellenbosch University, Private Bag X1, Matieland 7602, Stellenbosch, South Africa
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Tucker GF, Maguire DA, Tupinambá‐Simões F. Associations between shade tolerance and wood specific gravity for conifers in contrast to angiosperm trees: Foundations of the conifer fitness-enhancing shade tolerance hypothesis. PLANT-ENVIRONMENT INTERACTIONS (HOBOKEN, N.J.) 2024; 5:e10131. [PMID: 38323133 PMCID: PMC10840375 DOI: 10.1002/pei3.10131] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2023] [Revised: 09/25/2023] [Accepted: 11/04/2023] [Indexed: 02/08/2024]
Abstract
For decades, researchers have held that wood specific gravity was an indicator or surrogate for both shade tolerance and successional status. However, recent research in dry tropical forests has shown very different associations regarding wood specific gravity. Past analyses of the tolerance and wood properties of tree species have focused on pooled coniferous and angiosperm species in temperate regions; fewer analyses have been conducted separately for conifers and angiosperm species. A database was compiled for the wood properties and/or tolerance scores of 542 temperate Northern Hemisphere conifer and angiosperm trees. Plant strategy was defined by shade tolerance (T shade), drought tolerance (T drought), and polytolerance (T poly = T shade + T drought) and fundamental wood properties were represented by basic specific gravity (SGbasic), relative stiffness (MOE/SGbasic), and relative strength (MOR/SGbasic). Simple linear regressions tested the significance (p < .05) of correlations between plant strategy and wood properties. Conifers, unlike angiosperm trees, showed a negative correlation between T shade and SGbasic and a positive correlation between T shade and both MOE/SGbasic and MOR/SGbasic. Only angiosperm trees had a significant correlation between T poly and both SGbasic and MOE/SGbasic, but both conifers and angiosperm trees had a significant correlation between T drought and both SGbasic and MOE/SGbasic. Shade tolerance, as a plant strategy, has functional implications for wood properties in temperate Northern Hemisphere conifers but not in associated angiosperms. The implied functional link between wood properties (SGbasic) and shade tolerance hypothetically extends to other fitness-enhancing traits impacted by SGbasic, such as growth rates and species maximum height.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Gabriel F. Tucker
- Department of Forest Engineering, Resources, and ManagementOregon State UniversityCorvallisOregonUSA
- O'Brien ForestWestportCounty MayoIreland
| | - Douglas A. Maguire
- Department of Forest Engineering, Resources, and ManagementOregon State UniversityCorvallisOregonUSA
| | - Frederico Tupinambá‐Simões
- University Institute for Research in Sustainable Forest ManagementUniversidad de Valladolid|UVaPalenciaSpain
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
García-Hidalgo M, García-Pedrero Á, Rozas V, Sangüesa-Barreda G, García-Cervigón AI, Resente G, Wilmking M, Olano JM. Tree ring segmentation using UNEt TRansformer neural network on stained microsections for quantitative wood anatomy. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2024; 14:1327163. [PMID: 38259935 PMCID: PMC10800830 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2023.1327163] [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: 10/24/2023] [Accepted: 12/14/2023] [Indexed: 01/24/2024]
Abstract
Forests are critical in the terrestrial carbon cycle, and the knowledge of their response to ongoing climate change will be crucial for determining future carbon fluxes and climate trajectories. In areas with contrasting seasons, trees form discrete annual rings that can be assigned to calendar years, allowing to extract valuable information about how trees respond to the environment. The anatomical structure of wood provides highly-resolved information about the reaction and adaptation of trees to climate. Quantitative wood anatomy helps to retrieve this information by measuring wood at the cellular level using high-resolution images of wood micro-sections. However, whereas large advances have been made in identifying cellular structures, obtaining meaningful cellular information is still hampered by the correct annual tree ring delimitation on the images. This is a time-consuming task that requires experienced operators to manually delimit ring boundaries. Classic methods of automatic segmentation based on pixel values are being replaced by new approaches using neural networks which are capable of distinguishing structures, even when demarcations require a high level of expertise. Although neural networks have been used for tree ring segmentation on macroscopic images of wood, the complexity of cell patterns in stained microsections of broadleaved species requires adaptive models to accurately accomplish this task. We present an automatic tree ring boundary delineation using neural networks on stained cross-sectional microsection images from beech cores. We trained a UNETR, a combined neural network of UNET and the attention mechanisms of Visual Transformers, to automatically segment annual ring boundaries. Its accuracy was evaluated considering discrepancies with manual segmentation and the consequences of disparity for the goals of quantitative wood anatomy analyses. In most cases (91.8%), automatic segmentation matched or improved manual segmentation, and the rate of vessels assignment to annual rings was similar between the two categories, even when manual segmentation was considered better. The application of convolutional neural networks-based models outperforms human operator segmentations when confronting ring boundary delimitation using specific parameters for quantitative wood anatomy analysis. Current advances on segmentation models may reduce the cost of massive and accurate data collection for quantitative wood anatomy.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Ángel García-Pedrero
- Department of Computer Architecture and Technology, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
- Center for Biomedical Technology, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Vicente Rozas
- iuFOR, EiFAB, Universidad de Valladolid, Soria, Spain
| | | | | | - Giulia Resente
- Institute of Botany and Landscape Ecology, University Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany
- Department DISAFA, University of Torino, Torino, Italy
| | - Martin Wilmking
- Institute of Botany and Landscape Ecology, University Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany
| | | |
Collapse
|
8
|
Unterholzner L, Castagneri D, Cerrato R, Știrbu MI, Roibu CC, Carrer M. Climate response of a glacial relict conifer across its distribution range is invariant in space but not in time. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2024; 906:167512. [PMID: 37813259 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.167512] [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: 07/25/2023] [Revised: 09/22/2023] [Accepted: 09/29/2023] [Indexed: 10/11/2023]
Abstract
Climate change impacts on forest trees will be particularly severe for relict species endemic to the subalpine forest, such as Pinus cembra in the Alps and Carpathians. Most current knowledge about the response of this species to climate comes from tree-ring width analysis. However, this approach cannot perform in-depth and highly time-resolved analysis on the climate influence on specific growth processes and xylem functions. We analyzed xylem anatomical traits from six sites covering most of the longitudinal range of this species. Associations between climate and cell number, lumen area and cell wall thickness were computed for the 1920-2010 period using climate records aligned to degree-day temperature sum thresholds. The anatomical chronologies were clearly distinct between the Alps and Carpathians. However, climate responses were similar for all sites, suggesting common species-specific response mechanisms. Temperature showed a positive correlation with both cell number and cell wall thickness. Cell lumen size exhibited an early positive association, followed by strong negative association with temperature and a positive one with precipitation. This highlights that the cell enlargement process was negatively related to high temperature at high elevation, where meristematic processes are rather supposed to be constrained by low temperatures. Therefore, long-term climate warming can have negative consequences on the xylem potential to transport water at all investigated sites. Moreover, in the last 30 years, we observed a slight anticipation of some responses and a decrease in climate sensitivity of some xylem parameters. Our findings provide evidence of temporally unstable but spatially consistent climate response of Pinus cembra from the Alps to the Carpathians. The low diversity in xylem phenotypic responses to climate suggests that future warming could extensively and evenly affect the species throughout its entire distribution.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Lucrezia Unterholzner
- Department of Land, Environment, Agriculture and Forestry (TESAF), University of Padova, via dell'Università 16, 35020 Legnaro, Italy; Chair of Forest Growth and Woody Biomass Production, Technische Universität Dresden, Pienner Straße 8, 01737 Tharandt, Germany
| | - Daniele Castagneri
- Department of Land, Environment, Agriculture and Forestry (TESAF), University of Padova, via dell'Università 16, 35020 Legnaro, Italy.
| | - Riccardo Cerrato
- Department of Earth Sciences (DST), University of Pisa, via S. Maria 53, 56124 Pisa, Italy
| | - Marian-Ionuț Știrbu
- Forest Biometrics Laboratory, Faculty of Forestry, "Ștefan cel Mare" University of Suceava, Universității street, no. 13, 720229 Suceava, Romania
| | - Cătălin-Constantin Roibu
- Forest Biometrics Laboratory, Faculty of Forestry, "Ștefan cel Mare" University of Suceava, Universității street, no. 13, 720229 Suceava, Romania
| | - Marco Carrer
- Department of Land, Environment, Agriculture and Forestry (TESAF), University of Padova, via dell'Università 16, 35020 Legnaro, Italy
| |
Collapse
|
9
|
Giberti GS, von Arx G, Giovannelli A, du Toit B, Unterholzner L, Bielak K, Carrer M, Uhl E, Bravo F, Tonon G, Wellstein C. The admixture of Quercus sp. in Pinus sylvestris stands influences wood anatomical trait responses to climatic variability and drought events. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2023; 14:1213814. [PMID: 38034580 PMCID: PMC10687546 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2023.1213814] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2023] [Accepted: 10/24/2023] [Indexed: 12/02/2023]
Abstract
Introduction Forests are threatened by increasingly severe and more frequent drought events worldwide. Mono-specific forests, developed as a consequence of widespread management practices established early last century, seem particularly susceptible to global warming and drought compared with mixed-species forests. Although, in several contexts, mixed-species forests display higher species diversity, higher productivity, and higher resilience, previous studies highlighted contrasting findings, with not only many positive but also neutral or negative effects on tree performance that could be related to tree species diversity. Processes underlying this relationship need to be investigated. Wood anatomical traits are informative proxies of tree functioning, and they can potentially provide novel long-term insights in this regard. However, wood anatomical traits are critically understudied in such a context. Here, we assess the role of tree admixture on Pinus sylvestris L. xylem traits such as mean hydraulic diameter, cell wall thickness, and anatomical wood density, and we test the variability of these traits in response to climatic parameters such as temperature, precipitation, and drought event frequency and intensity. Methods Three monocultural plots of P. sylvestris and three mixed-stand plots of P. sylvestris and Quercus sp. were identified in Poland and Spain, representing Continental and Mediterranean climate types, respectively. In each plot, we analyzed xylem traits from three P. sylvestris trees, for a total of nine trees in monocultures and nine in mixed stands per study location. Results The results highlighted that anatomical wood density was one of the most sensitive traits to detect tree responses to climatic conditions and drought under different climate and forest types. Inter-specific facilitation mechanisms were detected in the admixture between P. sylvestris and Quercus sp., especially during the early growing season and during stressful events such as spring droughts, although they had negligible effects in the late growing season. Discussion Our findings suggest that the admixture between P. sylvestris and Quercus sp. increases the resilience of P. sylvestris to extreme droughts. In a global warming scenario, this admixture could represent a useful adaptive management option.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Giulia Silvia Giberti
- Faculty of Agricultural, Environmental and Food Sciences, Free University of Bolzano - Bozen, Bolzano, Italy
| | - Georg von Arx
- Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL, Birmensdorf, Switzerland
- Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Alessio Giovannelli
- Istituto di Ricerca sugli Ecosistemi Terrestri (IRET), Consiglio Nazionale Ricerche, Sesto Fiorentino, Italy
- National Biodiversity Future Center (NBFC), Palermo, Italy
| | - Ben du Toit
- Department of Forest and Wood Science, Faculty of AgriSciences, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa
| | - Lucrezia Unterholzner
- Department of Land Environment Agriculture and Forestry, University of Padova, Legnaro, Italy
- Chair of Forest Growth and Woody Biomass Production, Technische Universität Dresden, Tharandt, Germany
| | - Kamil Bielak
- Department of Silviculture, Institute of Forest Sciences, Warsaw University of Life Sciences-SGGW, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Marco Carrer
- Department of Land Environment Agriculture and Forestry, University of Padova, Legnaro, Italy
| | - Enno Uhl
- School of Life Sciences, Chair for Forest Growth and Yield Science, Technical University of Munich (TUM), Freising, Germany
- Bavarian State Institute of Forestry (LWF), Freising, Germany
| | - Felipe Bravo
- Instituto Universitario de Investigación en Gestión Forestal Sostenible (iuFOR). Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenierías Agrarias de Palencia, Universidad de Valladolid, Palencia, Spain
| | - Giustino Tonon
- Faculty of Agricultural, Environmental and Food Sciences, Free University of Bolzano - Bozen, Bolzano, Italy
| | - Camilla Wellstein
- Faculty of Agricultural, Environmental and Food Sciences, Free University of Bolzano - Bozen, Bolzano, Italy
| |
Collapse
|
10
|
Björklund J, Seftigen K, Stoffel M, Fonti MV, Kottlow S, Frank DC, Esper J, Fonti P, Goosse H, Grudd H, Gunnarson BE, Nievergelt D, Pellizzari E, Carrer M, von Arx G. Fennoscandian tree-ring anatomy shows a warmer modern than medieval climate. Nature 2023; 620:97-103. [PMID: 37532816 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-06176-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2023] [Accepted: 05/05/2023] [Indexed: 08/04/2023]
Abstract
Earth system models and various climate proxy sources indicate global warming is unprecedented during at least the Common Era1. However, tree-ring proxies often estimate temperatures during the Medieval Climate Anomaly (950-1250 CE) that are similar to, or exceed, those recorded for the past century2,3, in contrast to simulation experiments at regional scales4. This not only calls into question the reliability of models and proxies but also contributes to uncertainty in future climate projections5. Here we show that the current climate of the Fennoscandian Peninsula is substantially warmer than that of the medieval period. This highlights the dominant role of anthropogenic forcing in climate warming even at the regional scale, thereby reconciling inconsistencies between reconstructions and model simulations. We used an annually resolved 1,170-year-long tree-ring record that relies exclusively on tracheid anatomical measurements from Pinus sylvestris trees, providing high-fidelity measurements of instrumental temperature variability during the warm season. We therefore call for the construction of more such millennia-long records to further improve our understanding and reduce uncertainties around historical and future climate change at inter-regional and eventually global scales.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jesper Björklund
- Swiss Federal Institute for Forest Snow and Landscape Research WSL, Birmensdorf, Switzerland.
- Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
| | - Kristina Seftigen
- Swiss Federal Institute for Forest Snow and Landscape Research WSL, Birmensdorf, Switzerland
- Regional Climate Group, Department of Earth Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Markus Stoffel
- Climate Change Impacts and Risks in the Anthropocene (C-CIA), University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
- Dendrolab.ch, Department of Earth Sciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
- Department F.-A. Forel for Environmental and Aquatic Sciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Marina V Fonti
- Swiss Federal Institute for Forest Snow and Landscape Research WSL, Birmensdorf, Switzerland
- Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Sven Kottlow
- Swiss Federal Institute for Forest Snow and Landscape Research WSL, Birmensdorf, Switzerland
| | - David C Frank
- Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
| | - Jan Esper
- Department of Geography, Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz, Germany
- Global Change Research Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences (CzechGlobe), Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Patrick Fonti
- Swiss Federal Institute for Forest Snow and Landscape Research WSL, Birmensdorf, Switzerland
- Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Hugues Goosse
- Earth and Life Institute, Université Catholique de Louvain (UCLouvain), Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
| | - Håkan Grudd
- Swedish Polar Research Secretariat, Abisko Scientific Research Station, Abisko, Sweden
| | - Björn E Gunnarson
- Department of Physical Geography, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
- Bolin Centre for Climate Research, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Daniel Nievergelt
- Swiss Federal Institute for Forest Snow and Landscape Research WSL, Birmensdorf, Switzerland
- Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Elena Pellizzari
- Department of Land, Environment, Agriculture and Forestry (TeSAF), University of Padua, Padua, Italy
| | - Marco Carrer
- Department of Land, Environment, Agriculture and Forestry (TeSAF), University of Padua, Padua, Italy
| | - Georg von Arx
- Swiss Federal Institute for Forest Snow and Landscape Research WSL, Birmensdorf, Switzerland
- Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| |
Collapse
|
11
|
Zhan W, Chen B, Wu X, Yang Z, Lin C, Lin J, Guan X. Wood identification of Cyclobalanopsis (Endl.) Oerst based on microscopic features and CTGAN-enhanced explainable machine learning models. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2023; 14:1203836. [PMID: 37484454 PMCID: PMC10361066 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2023.1203836] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2023] [Accepted: 06/06/2023] [Indexed: 07/25/2023]
Abstract
Introduction Accurate and fast identification of wood at the species level is critical for protecting and conserving tree species resources. The current identification methods are inefficient, costly, and complex. Methods A wood species identification model based on wood anatomy and using the Cyclobalanopsis genus wood cell geometric dataset was proposed. The model was enhanced by the CTGAN deep learning algorithm and used a simulated cell geometric feature dataset. The machine learning models BPNN and SVM were trained respectively for recognition of three Cyclobalanopsis species with simulated vessel cells and simulated wood fiber cells. Results The SVM model and BPNN model achieved recognition accuracy of 96.4% and 99.6%, respectively, on the real dataset, using the CTGAN-generated vessel dataset. The BPNN model and SVM model achieved recognition accuracy of 75.5% and 77.9% on real dataset, respectively, using the CTGAN-generated wood fiber dataset. Discussion The machine learning model trained based on the enhanced cell geometric feature data by CTGAN achieved good recognition of Cyclobalanopsis, with the SVM model having a higher prediction accuracy than BPNN. The machine learning models were interpreted based on LIME to explore how they identify tree species based on wood cell geometric features. This proposed model can be used for efficient and cost-effective identification of wood species in industrial applications.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Weihui Zhan
- College of Materials Engineering, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, Fujian, China
| | - Bowen Chen
- College of Materials Engineering, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, Fujian, China
| | - Xiaolian Wu
- College of Materials Engineering, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, Fujian, China
| | - Zhen Yang
- College of Transportation and Civil Engineering, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, Fujian, China
| | - Che Lin
- College of Materials Engineering, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, Fujian, China
| | - Jinguo Lin
- College of Materials Engineering, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, Fujian, China
- National Forestry and Grassland Administration Key Laboratory of Plant Fiber Functional Materials, Fuzhou, Fujian, China
| | - Xin Guan
- College of Materials Engineering, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, Fujian, China
- National Forestry and Grassland Administration Key Laboratory of Plant Fiber Functional Materials, Fuzhou, Fujian, China
| |
Collapse
|
12
|
Cunha Neto IL, Hall BT, Lanba AR, Blosenski JD, Onyenedum JG. Laser ablation tomography (LATscan) as a new tool for anatomical studies of woody plants. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2023; 239:429-444. [PMID: 36811411 DOI: 10.1111/nph.18831] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2022] [Accepted: 02/09/2023] [Indexed: 06/02/2023]
Abstract
Traditionally, botanists study plant anatomy by carefully sectioning samples, histological staining to highlight tissues of interests, then imaging slides under light microscopy. This approach generates significant details; however, this workflow is laborious, particularly in woody vines (lianas) with heterogeneous anatomies, and ultimately yields two-dimensional (2D) images. Laser ablation tomography (LATscan) is a high-throughput imaging system that yields hundreds of images per minute. This method has proven useful for studying the structure of delicate plant tissues; however, its utility in understanding the structure of woody tissues is underexplored. We report LATscan-derived anatomical data from several stems of lianas (c. 20 mm) of seven species and compare these results with those obtained through traditional anatomical techniques. LATscan successfully allows the description of tissue composition by differentiating cell type, size, and shape, but also permits the recognition of distinct cell wall composition (e.g. lignin, suberin, cellulose) based on differential fluorescent signals on unstained samples. LATscan generate high-quality 2D images and 3D reconstructions of woody plant samples; therefore, this new technology is useful for both qualitative and quantitative analyses. This high-throughput imaging technology has the potential to bolster phenotyping of vegetative and reproductive anatomy, wood anatomy, and other biological systems.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Israel L Cunha Neto
- School of Integrative Plant Sciences and L. H. Bailey Hortorium, Cornell University, NY, 14853, Ithaca, USA
| | - Benjamin T Hall
- Laser for Innovative Solutions (L4iS), Suite 261, 200 Innovation Boulevard, State College, PA, 16803, USA
| | - Asheesh R Lanba
- Laser for Innovative Solutions (L4iS), Suite 261, 200 Innovation Boulevard, State College, PA, 16803, USA
- Department of Engineering, University of Southern Maine, 37 College Ave., Gorham, ME, 04038, USA
| | - Joshua D Blosenski
- Laser for Innovative Solutions (L4iS), Suite 261, 200 Innovation Boulevard, State College, PA, 16803, USA
| | - Joyce G Onyenedum
- School of Integrative Plant Sciences and L. H. Bailey Hortorium, Cornell University, NY, 14853, Ithaca, USA
| |
Collapse
|
13
|
Pacheco-Solana A, Oelkers R, D’Arrigo R, Santos GM, Rodriguez-Caton M, Tejedor E, Ferrero E, Fuentes AF, Maldonado C, Andreu-Hayles L. Radiocarbon and wood anatomy as complementary tools for generating tree-ring records in Bolivia. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2023; 14:1135480. [PMID: 36909413 PMCID: PMC9997647 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2023.1135480] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/31/2022] [Accepted: 02/06/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
The science of tropical dendrochronology is now emerging in regions where tree-ring dating had previously not been considered possible. Here, we combine wood anatomical microsectioning techniques and radiocarbon analysis to produce the first tree-ring chronology with verified annual periodicity for a new dendrochronological species, Neltuma alba (commonly known as "algarrobo blanco") in the tropical Andes of Bolivia. First, we generated a preliminary chronology composed of six trees using traditional dendrochronological methods (i.e., cross-dating). We then measured the 14C content on nine selected tree rings from two samples and compared them with the Southern Hemisphere (SH) atmospheric 14C curves, covering the period of the bomb 14C peak. We find consistent offsets of 5 and 12 years, respectively, in the calendar dates initially assigned, indicating that several tree rings were missing in the sequence. In order to identify the tree-ring boundaries of the unidentified rings we investigated further by analyzing stem wood microsections to examine anatomical characteristics. These anatomical microsections revealed the presence of very narrow terminal parenchyma defining several tree-ring boundaries within the sapwood, which was not visible in sanded samples under a stereomicroscope. Such newly identified tree rings were consistent with the offsets shown by the radiocarbon analysis and allowed us to correct the calendar dates of the initial chronology. Additional radiocarbon measurements over a new batch of rings of the corrected dated samples resulted in a perfect match between the dendrochronological calendar years and the 14C dating, which is based on good agreement between the tree-ring 14C content and the SH 14C curves. Correlations with prior season precipitation and temperature reveal a strong legacy effect of climate conditions prior to the current Neltuma alba growing season. Overall, our study highlights much potential to complement traditional dendrochronology in tree species with challenging tree-ring boundaries with wood anatomical methods and 14C analyses. Taken together, these approaches confirm that Neltuma alba can be accurately dated and thereby used in climatic and ecological studies in tropical and subtropical South America.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Rose Oelkers
- Tree Ring Laboratory at LDEO, Columbia University, New York City, NY, United States
| | - Rosanne D’Arrigo
- Tree Ring Laboratory at LDEO, Columbia University, New York City, NY, United States
| | - Guaciara M. Santos
- Earth System Science Department, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States
| | - Milagros Rodriguez-Caton
- Tree Ring Laboratory at LDEO, Columbia University, New York City, NY, United States
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, United States
| | - Ernesto Tejedor
- National Museum of Natural Sciences-Spanish Research Council, Madrid, Spain
| | - Eugenia Ferrero
- Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales, CONICET-Universidad Nacional de Cuyo, Mendoza, Argentina
| | - Alfredo F. Fuentes
- Herbario Nacional de Bolivia, Instituto de Ecología, Carrera de Biología, Universidad Mayor de San Andrés, La Paz, Bolivia
- Center for Conservation and Sustainable Development, Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO, United States
| | - Carla Maldonado
- Herbario Nacional de Bolivia, Instituto de Ecología, Carrera de Biología, Universidad Mayor de San Andrés, La Paz, Bolivia
| | - Laia Andreu-Hayles
- Tree Ring Laboratory at LDEO, Columbia University, New York City, NY, United States
- Centro de Investigacion Ecologica y Aplicaciones Forestales (Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced Studies), Barcelona, Spain
- Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced Studies (Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced Studies), Barcelona, Spain
| |
Collapse
|
14
|
Farooq TH, Yasmeen S, Shakoor A, Nawaz MF, Rashid MHU, Ahmad S, Rasheed M, Li H, Li Q. Xylem anatomical responses of Larix Gmelinii and Pinus Sylvestris influenced by the climate of Daxing'an mountains in Northeastern China. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2023; 14:1095888. [PMID: 36794215 PMCID: PMC9923116 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2023.1095888] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2022] [Accepted: 01/11/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Wood anatomy and plant hydraulics play a significant role in understanding species-specific responses and their ability to manage rapid environmental changes. This study used the dendro-anatomical approach to assess the anatomical characteristics and their relation to local climate variability in the boreal coniferous tree species Larix gmelinii (Dahurian larch) and Pinus sylvestris var. mongolica (Scots pine) at an altitude range of 660 m to 842 m. We measured the xylem anatomical traits (lumen area (LA), cell wall thickness (CWt), cell counts per ring (CN), ring width (RW), and cell sizes in rings) of both species at four different sites Mangui (MG), Wuerqihan (WEQH), Moredagha (MEDG) and Alihe (ALH) and investigated their relationship with temperature and precipitation of those sites along a latitude gradient. Results showed that all chronologies have strong summer temperature correlations. LA extremes were mostly associated with climatic variation than CWt and RWt. MEDG site species showed an inverse correlation in different growing seasons. The correlation coefficient with temperature indicated significant variations in the May-September months at MG, WEQH, and ALH sites. These results suggest that climatic seasonality changes in the selected sites positively affect hydraulic efficiency (increase in the diameter of the earlywood cells) and the width of the latewood produced in P. sylvestris. In contrast, L. gmelinii showed the opposite response to warm temperatures. It is concluded that xylem anatomical responses of L. gmelinii and P. sylvestris showed varied responses to different climatic factors at different sites. These differences between the two species responses to climate are due to the change of site condition on a large spatial and temporal scale.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Taimoor Hassan Farooq
- Bangor College China, a Joint Unit of Bangor University and Central South University of Forestry and Technology, Changsha, Hunan, China
| | - Sumaira Yasmeen
- Center for Ecological Research, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin, China
| | - Awais Shakoor
- Teagasc, Environment, Soils and Land Use Department, Johnstown Castle, Co, Wexford, Ireland
| | - Muhammad Farrakh Nawaz
- Department of Forestry and Range Management, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan
| | | | - Sarir Ahmad
- Center for Ecological Research, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin, China
- Department of Forestry, University of Agriculture, Dera Ismail Khan, Pakistan
| | - Majeeda Rasheed
- Department of Life Sciences, Khwaja Fareed University of Engineering and Information Technology, Rahim Yar Khan, Pakistan
| | - He Li
- College of Forestry, Central South University of Forestry and Technology, Changsha, Hunan, China
| | - Qian Li
- Bangor College China, a Joint Unit of Bangor University and Central South University of Forestry and Technology, Changsha, Hunan, China
- College of Forestry, Central South University of Forestry and Technology, Changsha, Hunan, China
| |
Collapse
|
15
|
Piccinelli S, Francon L, Corona C, Stoffel M, Slamova L, Cannone N. Vessels in a Rhododendron ferrugineum (L.) population do not trace temperature anymore at the alpine shrubline. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2023; 13:1023384. [PMID: 36714740 PMCID: PMC9879627 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2022.1023384] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/19/2022] [Accepted: 12/21/2022] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Mean xylem vessel or tracheid area have been demonstrated to represent powerful proxies to better understand the response of woody plants to changing climatic conditions. Yet, to date, this approach has rarely been applied to shrubs. METHODS Here, we developed a multidecadal, annually-resolved chronology of vessel sizes for Rhododendron ferrugineum shrubs sampled at the upper shrubline (2,550 m asl) on a north-facing, inactive rock glacier in the Italian Alps. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Over the 1960-1989 period, the vessel size chronology shares 64% of common variability with summer temperatures, thus confirming the potential of wood anatomical analyses on shrubs to track past climate variability in alpine environments above treeline. The strong winter precipitation signal recorded in the chronology also confirms the negative effect of long-lasting snow cover on shrub growth. By contrast, the loss of a climate-growth relation signal since the 1990s for both temperature and precipitation, significantly stronger than the one found in radial growth, contrasts with findings in other QWA studies according to which stable correlations between series of anatomical features and climatic parameters have been reported. In a context of global warming, we hypothesize that this signal loss might be induced by winter droughts, late frost, or complex relations between increasing air temperatures, permafrost degradation, and its impacts on shrub growth. We recommend future studies to validate these hypotheses on monitored rock glaciers.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Silvia Piccinelli
- Department Science and High Technology, Insubria University, Como, Italy
| | - Loïc Francon
- Climate Change Impacts and Risks in the Anthropocene (C-CIA), Institute for Environmental Sciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Christophe Corona
- Climate Change Impacts and Risks in the Anthropocene (C-CIA), Institute for Environmental Sciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
- Geolab, Université Clermont Auvergne, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Clermont-Ferrand, France
| | - Markus Stoffel
- Climate Change Impacts and Risks in the Anthropocene (C-CIA), Institute for Environmental Sciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
- Dendrolab.ch, Department of Earth Sciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
- Department of Forel for Environmental and Aquatic Sciences (F.A.), University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Lenka Slamova
- Climate Change Impacts and Risks in the Anthropocene (C-CIA), Institute for Environmental Sciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Nicoletta Cannone
- Department Science and High Technology, Insubria University, Como, Italy
- Climate Change Research Centre, Insubria University, Como, Italy
| |
Collapse
|
16
|
Lopez-Saez J, Corona C, von Arx G, Fonti P, Slamova L, Stoffel M. Tree-ring anatomy of Pinus cembra trees opens new avenues for climate reconstructions in the European Alps. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2023; 855:158605. [PMID: 36116650 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.158605] [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: 06/08/2022] [Revised: 08/10/2022] [Accepted: 09/04/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Tree rings form the backbone of high-resolution palaeoclimatology and represent one of the most frequently used proxy to reconstruct climate variability of the Common Era. In the European Alps, reconstructions were often based on tree-ring width (TRW) and maximum latewood density (MXD) series, with a focus on European larch. By contrast, only a very limited number of dendroclimatic studies exists for long-lived, multi-centennial Pinus cembra, despite the widespread occurrence of the species at treeline sites across the European Alps. This lack of reconstructions can be ascribed to the difficulties encountered in past studies in extracting a robust climate signal from TRW and MXD chronologies. In this study, we tested various wood anatomical parameters from P. cembra as proxies for the reconstruction of past air temperatures. To this end, we measured anatomical cell parameters and TRW of old-growth trees from the God da Tamangur forest stand, known for being the highest pure, and continuous P. cembra forest in Europe. We demonstrate that several wood anatomical parameters allow robust reconstruction of past temperature variability at annual to multidecadal timescales. Best results are obtained with maximum latewood radial cell wall thickness (CWTrad) measured at 40 μm radial band width. Over the 1920-2017 period, the CWTrad chronology explains 62 % and >80 % of interannual and decadal variability of air temperatures during a time window corresponding roughly with the growing season. These values exceed those found in past work on P. cembra and even exceed the values reported for MXD chronologies built with L. decidua and hitherto considered the gold standard for dendroclimatic reconstructions in the European Alps. The wood anatomical analysis of P. cembra records therefore unveils a dormant potential and opens new avenues for a species that has been considered unsuitable for climate reconstructions so far.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jérôme Lopez-Saez
- Climate Change Impacts and Risks in the Anthropocene (C-CIA), Institute for Environmental Sciences, University of Geneva, 1205 Geneva, Switzerland.
| | - Christophe Corona
- Climate Change Impacts and Risks in the Anthropocene (C-CIA), Institute for Environmental Sciences, University of Geneva, 1205 Geneva, Switzerland; Université Clermont-Auvergne, CNRS Geolab UMR 6042, 63057 Clermont-Ferrand, France
| | - Georg von Arx
- Dendrosciences, Swiss Federal Institute for Forest Snow and Landscape Research WSL, 8903 Birmensdorf, Switzerland; Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, 3012 Bern, Switzerland
| | - Patrick Fonti
- Dendrosciences, Swiss Federal Institute for Forest Snow and Landscape Research WSL, 8903 Birmensdorf, Switzerland
| | - Lenka Slamova
- Climate Change Impacts and Risks in the Anthropocene (C-CIA), Institute for Environmental Sciences, University of Geneva, 1205 Geneva, Switzerland; Department of Earth Sciences, University of Geneva, 1205 Geneva, Switzerland; Department F.-A. Forel for Environmental and Aquatic Sciences, University of Geneva, 1205 Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Markus Stoffel
- Climate Change Impacts and Risks in the Anthropocene (C-CIA), Institute for Environmental Sciences, University of Geneva, 1205 Geneva, Switzerland; Department of Earth Sciences, University of Geneva, 1205 Geneva, Switzerland; Department F.-A. Forel for Environmental and Aquatic Sciences, University of Geneva, 1205 Geneva, Switzerland
| |
Collapse
|
17
|
Power CC, Assmann JJ, Prendin AL, Treier UA, Kerby JT, Normand S. Improving ecological insights from dendroecological studies of Arctic shrub dynamics: Research gaps and potential solutions. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2022; 851:158008. [PMID: 35988628 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.158008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2022] [Revised: 08/01/2022] [Accepted: 08/09/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Rapid climate change has been driving changes in Arctic vegetation in recent decades, with increased shrub dominance in many tundra ecosystems. Dendroecological observations of tundra shrubs can provide insight into current and past growth and recruitment patterns, both key components for understanding and predicting ongoing and future Arctic shrub dynamics. However, generalizing these dynamics is challenging as they are highly scale-dependent and vary among sites, species, and individuals. Here, we provide a perspective on how some of these challenges can be overcome. Based on a targeted literature search of dendrochronological studies from 2005 to 2022, we highlight five research gaps that currently limit dendro-based studies from revealing cross-scale ecological insight into shrub dynamics across the Arctic biome. We further discuss the related research priorities, suggesting that future studies could consider: 1) increasing focus on intra- and interspecific variation, 2) including demographic responses other than radial growth, 3) incorporating drivers, in addition to warming, at different spatial and temporal scales, 4) implementing systematic and unbiased sampling approaches, and 5) investigating the cellular mechanisms behind the observed responses. Focusing on these aspects in dendroecological studies could improve the value of the field for addressing cross-scale and plant community-framed ecological questions. We outline how this could be facilitated through the integration of community-based dendroecology and dendroanatomy with remote sensing approaches. Integrating new technologies and a more multidisciplinary approach in dendroecological research could provide key opportunities to close important knowledge gaps in our understanding of scale-dependencies, as well as intra- and inter-specific variation, in vegetation community dynamics across the Arctic tundra.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Candice C Power
- Ecoinformatics and Biodiversity, Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Ny Munkegade 114-116, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark; Center for Biodiversity Dynamics in a Changing World, Aarhus University, Ny Munkegade 114-116, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark.
| | - Jakob J Assmann
- Ecoinformatics and Biodiversity, Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Ny Munkegade 114-116, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark; Center for Biodiversity Dynamics in a Changing World, Aarhus University, Ny Munkegade 114-116, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - Angela L Prendin
- Ecoinformatics and Biodiversity, Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Ny Munkegade 114-116, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark; Center for Biodiversity Dynamics in a Changing World, Aarhus University, Ny Munkegade 114-116, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - Urs A Treier
- Ecoinformatics and Biodiversity, Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Ny Munkegade 114-116, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark; Center for Biodiversity Dynamics in a Changing World, Aarhus University, Ny Munkegade 114-116, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - Jeffrey T Kerby
- Center for Biodiversity Dynamics in a Changing World, Aarhus University, Ny Munkegade 114-116, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark; Aarhus Institute of Advanced Studies, Aarhus University, Høegh-Guldbergs Gade 6B, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - Signe Normand
- Ecoinformatics and Biodiversity, Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Ny Munkegade 114-116, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark; Center for Biodiversity Dynamics in a Changing World, Aarhus University, Ny Munkegade 114-116, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
| |
Collapse
|
18
|
Kita Y, Awano T, Yoshinaga A, Sugiyama J. Intra-annual fluctuation in morphology and microfibril angle of tracheids revealed by novel microscopy-based imaging. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0277616. [PMID: 36378676 PMCID: PMC9665381 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0277616] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2022] [Accepted: 10/31/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Woody cells, such as tracheids, fibers, vessels, rays etc., have unique structural characteristics such as nano-scale ultrastructure represented by multilayers, microfibril angle (MFA), micro-scale anatomical properties and spatial arrangement. Simultaneous evaluation of the above indices is very important for their adequate quantification and extracting the effects of external stimuli from them. However, it is difficult in general to achieve the above only by traditional methodologies. To overcome the above point, a new methodological framework combining polarization optical microscopy, fluorescence microscopy, and image segmentation is proposed. The framework was tested to a model softwood species, Chamaecyparis obtusa for characterizing intra-annual transition of MFA and tracheid morphology in a radial file unit. According our result, this framework successfully traced the both characteristics tracheid by tracheid and revealed the high correlation (|r| > 0.5) between S2 microfibril angles and tracheidal morphology (lumen radial diameter, tangential wall thickness and cell wall occupancy). In addition, radial file based evaluation firstly revealed their complex transitional behavior in transition and latewood. The proposed framework has great potential as one of the unique tools to provide detailed insights into heterogeneity of intra and inter-cells in the wide field of view through the simultaneous evaluation of cells' ultrastructure and morphological properties.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yusuke Kita
- Laboratory of Tree Cell Biology, Division of Forest and Biomaterials Science, Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
| | - Tatsuya Awano
- Laboratory of Tree Cell Biology, Division of Forest and Biomaterials Science, Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
| | - Arata Yoshinaga
- Laboratory of Tree Cell Biology, Division of Forest and Biomaterials Science, Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
| | - Junji Sugiyama
- Laboratory of Tree Cell Biology, Division of Forest and Biomaterials Science, Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
| |
Collapse
|
19
|
Gennaretti F, Carrer M, García-González I, Rossi S, von Arx G. Editorial: Quantitative wood anatomy to explore tree responses to global change. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2022; 13:998895. [PMID: 36160993 PMCID: PMC9502006 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2022.998895] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2022] [Accepted: 08/11/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Fabio Gennaretti
- Forest Research Institute, Groupe de Recherche en Écologie de la MRC-Abitibi, Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue, Amos, QC, Canada
| | - Marco Carrer
- TeSAF Department, Universitá degli Studi di Padova, Padova, Italy
| | | | - Sergio Rossi
- Laboratoire sur les écosystèmes terrestres boréaux, Département des Sciences Fondamentales, Université du Québec à Chicoutimi, Chicoutimi, QC, Canada
| | - Georg von Arx
- Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL), Birmensdorf, Switzerland
- Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| |
Collapse
|
20
|
Știrbu MI, Roibu CC, Carrer M, Mursa A, Unterholzner L, Prendin AL. Contrasting Climate Sensitivity of Pinus cembra Tree-Ring Traits in the Carpathians. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2022; 13:855003. [PMID: 35755705 PMCID: PMC9228034 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2022.855003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/14/2022] [Accepted: 04/22/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
High-elevation ecosystems are one of the most sensitive to climate change. The analysis of growth and xylem structure of trees from marginal populations, especially the ones growing at the treeline, could provide early-warning signs to better understand species-specific responses to future climate conditions. In this study, we combined classical dendrochronology with wood density and anatomical measurements to investigate the climate sensitivity of Pinus cembra L., a typical European high-elevation tree species distributed in isolated patches in the Carpathians. Samples were collected from the Retezat Mountains, South-Western Romania. We analyzed ring width (TRW), maximum density (MXD), xylem anatomical traits [cell number per ring (CNo), cell density (CD), conduit area (CA), and cell wall thickness (CWT)] time series, split into ring sectors and assessed the relationships with monthly and daily climate records over the last century (1901-2015). The analysis showed a strong dependency of TRW on CNo and MXD on CWT. Summer temperature positively correlated with MXD and CWT [monthly correlation (r) were 0.65 and 0.48 respectively] from the early to late wood but not TRW (r = 0.22). CA positively correlated with water availability (r = 0.37) and negatively correlated with temperature (r = -0.39). This study improves our general understanding of the climate-growth relationships of a European high-elevation tree species and the results could be considered for forecasting population dynamics on projected changes in climate.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Marian-Ionuț Știrbu
- Forest Biometrics Laboratory, Faculty of Forestry, ‘Stefan cel Mare’ University of Suceava, Suceava, Romania
| | - Cătălin-Constantin Roibu
- Forest Biometrics Laboratory, Faculty of Forestry, ‘Stefan cel Mare’ University of Suceava, Suceava, Romania
| | - Marco Carrer
- Department of Land Environment Agriculture and Forestry, University of Padova, Legnaro, Italy
| | - Andrei Mursa
- Forest Biometrics Laboratory, Faculty of Forestry, ‘Stefan cel Mare’ University of Suceava, Suceava, Romania
| | - Lucrezia Unterholzner
- Department of Land Environment Agriculture and Forestry, University of Padova, Legnaro, Italy
| | - Angela Luisa Prendin
- Department of Land Environment Agriculture and Forestry, University of Padova, Legnaro, Italy
- Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| |
Collapse
|
21
|
Arnič D, Krajnc L, Gričar J, Prislan P. Relationships Between Wood-Anatomical Features and Resistance Drilling Density in Norway Spruce and European Beech. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2022; 13:872950. [PMID: 35463439 PMCID: PMC9024210 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2022.872950] [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: 02/10/2022] [Accepted: 03/22/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Environmental conditions affect tree-ring width (TRW), wood structure, and, consequently, wood density, which is one of the main wood quality indicators. Although studies on inter- and intra-annual variability in tree-ring features or density exist, studies demonstrating a clear link between wood structure on a cellular level and its effect on wood density on a macroscopic level are rare. Norway spruce with its simple coniferous structure and European beech, a diffuse-porous angiosperm species were selected to analyze these relationships. Increment cores were collected from both species at four sites in Slovenia. In total, 24 European beech and 17 Norway spruce trees were sampled. In addition, resistance drilling measurements were performed just a few centimeters above the increment core sampling. TRW and quantitative wood anatomy measurements were performed on the collected cores. Resistance drilling density values, tree-ring (TRW, earlywood width-EWW, transition-TWW, and latewood width-LWW) and wood-anatomical features (vessel/tracheid area and diameter, cell density, relative conductive area, and cell wall thickness) were then averaged for the first 7 cm of measurements. We observed significant relationships between tree-ring and wood-anatomical features in both spruce and beech. In spruce, the highest correlation values were found between TRW and LWW. In beech, the highest correlations were observed between TRW and cell density. There were no significant relationships between wood-anatomical features and resistance drilling density in beech. However, in spruce, a significant negative correlation was found between resistance drilling density and tangential tracheid diameter, and a positive correlation between resistance drilling density and both TWW + LWW and LWW. Our findings suggest that resistance drilling measurements can be used to evaluate differences in density within and between species, but they should be improved in resolution to be able to detect changes in wood anatomy.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Domen Arnič
- Department for Forest Technique and Economics, Slovenian Forestry Institute, Ljubljana, Slovenia
- Biotechnical Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Luka Krajnc
- Department of Forest Yield and Silviculture, Slovenian Forestry Institute, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Jožica Gričar
- Department of Forest Physiology and Genetics, Slovenian Forestry Institute, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Peter Prislan
- Department for Forest Technique and Economics, Slovenian Forestry Institute, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| |
Collapse
|
22
|
Miranda JC, Calderaro C, Cocozza C, Lasserre B, Tognetti R, von Arx G. Wood Anatomical Responses of European Beech to Elevation, Land Use Change, and Climate Variability in the Central Apennines, Italy. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2022; 13:855741. [PMID: 35401623 PMCID: PMC8983936 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2022.855741] [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: 01/15/2022] [Accepted: 02/21/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) is a widespread and economically important temperate tree species in Europe. The warmer temperatures and severe drought events expected in the future, especially in Mediterranean areas, could affect the vitality and productivity of beech stands that have been intensively used in these areas in the past. Here, we aim to assess the wood anatomical responses of beech to environmental variability and silvicultural practices by investigating three beech stands along an elevational gradient (1,200 to 1,950 m a.s.l.) in the Apennines (Italy). Therefore, we quantified several anatomical traits of the xylem vessels related to tree hydraulics from five trees per stand and investigated variability between and within tree rings. Our results suggest generally limited trait plasticity, with higher plasticity of mean vessel lumen area and theoretical hydraulic conductivity, while maximum vessel size and mean hydraulic diameter were less plastic, likely because of the stronger determination by tree height. High-elevation trees were hydraulically more limited than trees at a mid and lower elevation as indicated by the more conservative anatomical configuration, i.e., comparatively smaller vessels and a 50% tighter trait coordination. Cessation of coppicing resulted in a hydraulically safer anatomy with comparatively smaller vessels at the most intensively used site (1,200 m), triggered by increased water demand due to an increase in canopy density, and thus, an increase in stand transpiration. Furthermore, maximum vessel size at the beginning showed different climate sensitivity compared to the rest of the tree ring, while intra-ring anatomical profiles showed little difference between normal and the 5 years with the highest and lowest mean temperature and precipitation. Overall, this study highlights the challenges to separate the externally induced medium- to longer-term responses from ontogenetically determined patterns. We, therefore, call for more comprehensive studies to further explore and verify the plasticity of wood anatomical traits in European beech in response to short- to long-term environmental fluctuations to gain a mechanistic understanding useful for sustainable forest ecosystems.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jose Carlos Miranda
- Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL, Birmensdorf, Switzerland
| | - Chiara Calderaro
- Dipartimento di Bioscienze e Territorio, Università degli Studi del Molise, Pesche, Italy
| | - Claudia Cocozza
- Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Agrarie, Alimentari Ambientali e Forestali, Università di Firenze, Firenze, Italy
| | - Bruno Lasserre
- Dipartimento di Bioscienze e Territorio, Università degli Studi del Molise, Pesche, Italy
| | - Roberto Tognetti
- Dipartimento di Agricoltura, Ambiente e Alimenti, Università degli Studi del Molise, Campobasso, Italy
| | - Georg von Arx
- Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL, Birmensdorf, Switzerland
- Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| |
Collapse
|
23
|
Influences of summer warming and nutrient availability on Salix glauca L. growth in Greenland along an ice to sea gradient. Sci Rep 2022; 12:3077. [PMID: 35197470 PMCID: PMC8866482 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-05322-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2021] [Accepted: 01/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
The combined effects of climate change and nutrient availability on Arctic vegetation growth are poorly understood. Archaeological sites in the Arctic could represent unique nutrient hotspots for studying the long-term effect of nutrient enrichment. In this study, we analysed a time-series of ring widths of Salix glauca L. collected at nine archaeological sites and in their natural surroundings along a climate gradient in the Nuuk fjord region, Southwest Greenland, stretching from the edge of the Greenlandic Ice Sheet in the east to the open sea in the west. We assessed the temperature-growth relationship for the last four decades distinguishing between soils with past anthropogenic nutrient enrichment (PANE) and without (controls). Along the East-West gradient, the inner fjord sites showed a stronger temperature signal compared to the outermost ones. Individuals growing in PANE soils had wider ring widths than individuals growing in the control soils and a stronger climate-growth relation, especially in the inner fjord sites. Thereby, the individuals growing on the archaeological sites seem to have benefited more from the climate warming in recent decades. Our results suggest that higher nutrient availability due to past human activities plays a role in Arctic vegetation growth and should be considered when assessing both the future impact of plants on archaeological sites and the general greening in landscapes with contrasting nutrient availability.
Collapse
|
24
|
Edvardsson J, Helama S, Rundgren M, Nielsen AB. The Integrated Use of Dendrochronological Data and Paleoecological Records From Northwest European Peatlands and Lakes for Understanding Long-Term Ecological and Climatic Changes—A Review. Front Ecol Evol 2022. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2022.781882] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Our overall understanding of long-term climate dynamics is largely based on proxy data generated from archives such as ice cores, ocean sediments, tree rings, speleothems, and corals, whereas reconstructions of long-term changes in vegetation and associated climate during the Holocene are largely based on paleoecological records from peat and lake sequences, primarily pollen and plant macrofossil data. However, since no proxy can provide a complete picture of the past, it is important to integrate different types of data, and to use methods that can support the paleoecological and paleoclimatic interpretations. Here we review how tree-ring data and dendrochronological approaches can be integrated with stratigraphic records to provide complementary paleoecological and paleoclimatic information. The review includes multiproxy studies in which dendrochronological data have been either compared or integrated with stratigraphic records, mainly pollen records, with the aim to contribute to a better understanding of long-term ecosystem and climate dynamics. We mainly focus on studies from northwest Europe in which tree-ring data and at least one type of paleoecological proxy record from the same site or area has been either compared or integrated. We find that integration of dendrochronological data and paleoecological records from peat and lake sequences is a powerful but underutilized approach to reconstruct long-term ecological and climatic changes. One likely reason for its limited use is the contrasting character of the two categories of data, including their different time resolution and occurrence, making them difficult to integrate. For example, subfossil wood providing annual dendrochronological data usually only occurs sporadically in peat and lake sediments, and the presence/absence of the trees are normally expected to be recorded in the pollen data with multi-decadal or coarser resolution. Therefore, we also discuss methods to compare and integrate dendrochronological and stratigraphic records, as well as the relevant paleoecological and paleoclimatic information provided by dendrochronology, pollen, and peat stratigraphy, with the aim to facilitate new multi-proxy initiatives that will contribute to a better understanding of long-term ecosystem and climate dynamics and thereby a firmer basis for future nature conservation initiatives.
Collapse
|
25
|
Ganthaler A, Bär A, Dämon B, Losso A, Nardini A, Dullin C, Tromba G, von Arx G, Mayr S. Alpine dwarf shrubs show high proportions of nonfunctional xylem: Visualization and quantification of species-specific patterns. PLANT, CELL & ENVIRONMENT 2022; 45:55-68. [PMID: 34783044 DOI: 10.1111/pce.14226] [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: 04/13/2021] [Revised: 07/15/2021] [Accepted: 07/15/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Xylem conductive capacity is a key determinant of plant hydraulic function and intimately linked to photosynthesis and productivity, but can be impeded by temporary or permanent conduit dysfunctions. Here we show that persistent xylem dysfunctions in unstressed plants are frequent in Alpine dwarf shrubs and occur in various but species-specific cross-sectional patterns. Combined synchrotron micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) imaging, xylem staining, and flow measurements in saturated samples of six widespread Ericaceae species evidence a high proportion (19%-50%) of hydraulically nonfunctional xylem areas in the absence of drought stress, with regular distribution of dysfunctions between or within growth rings. Dysfunctions were only partly reversible and reduced the specific hydraulic conductivity to 1.38 to 3.57 ×10-4 m2 s-1 MPa-1 . Decommission of inner growth rings was clearly related to stem age and a higher vulnerability to cavitation of older rings, while the high proportion of nonfunctional conduits in each annual ring needs further investigations. The lower the xylem fraction contributing to the transport function, the higher was the hydraulic efficiency of conducting xylem areas. Improved understanding of the functional lifespan of xylem elements and the prevalence and nature of dysfunctions is critical to correctly assess structure-function relationships and whole-plant hydraulic strategies.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Ganthaler
- Department of Botany, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Andreas Bär
- Department of Botany, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Birgit Dämon
- Department of Botany, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Adriano Losso
- Department of Botany, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria
- Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, Richmond, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Andrea Nardini
- Dipartimento di Scienze della Vita, Università di Trieste, Trieste, Italy
| | - Christian Dullin
- Elettra-Sincrotrone Trieste, Basovizza, Italy
- Institute for Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, University Medical Center, Göttingen, Germany
- Max-Planck-Institute for Experimental Medicine, Göttingen, Germany
- Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, University Hospital, Heidelberg, Germany
| | | | - Georg von Arx
- Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL, Birmensdorf, Switzerland
| | - Stefan Mayr
- Department of Botany, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria
| |
Collapse
|
26
|
Resente G, Gillert A, Trouillier M, Anadon-Rosell A, Peters RL, von Arx G, von Lukas U, Wilmking M. Mask, Train, Repeat! Artificial Intelligence for Quantitative Wood Anatomy. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2021; 12:767400. [PMID: 34804101 PMCID: PMC8601631 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2021.767400] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2021] [Accepted: 10/15/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
The recent developments in artificial intelligence have the potential to facilitate new research methods in ecology. Especially Deep Convolutional Neural Networks (DCNNs) have been shown to outperform other approaches in automatic image analyses. Here we apply a DCNN to facilitate quantitative wood anatomical (QWA) analyses, where the main challenges reside in the detection of a high number of cells, in the intrinsic variability of wood anatomical features, and in the sample quality. To properly classify and interpret features within the images, DCNNs need to undergo a training stage. We performed the training with images from transversal wood anatomical sections, together with manually created optimal outputs of the target cell areas. The target species included an example for the most common wood anatomical structures: four conifer species; a diffuse-porous species, black alder (Alnus glutinosa L.); a diffuse to semi-diffuse-porous species, European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.); and a ring-porous species, sessile oak (Quercus petraea Liebl.). The DCNN was created in Python with Pytorch, and relies on a Mask-RCNN architecture. The developed algorithm detects and segments cells, and provides information on the measurement accuracy. To evaluate the performance of this tool we compared our Mask-RCNN outputs with U-Net, a model architecture employed in a similar study, and with ROXAS, a program based on traditional image analysis techniques. First, we evaluated how many target cells were correctly recognized. Next, we assessed the cell measurement accuracy by evaluating the number of pixels that were correctly assigned to each target cell. Overall, the "learning process" defining artificial intelligence plays a key role in overcoming the issues that are usually manually solved in QWA analyses. Mask-RCNN is the model that better detects which are the features characterizing a target cell when these issues occur. In general, U-Net did not attain the other algorithms' performance, while ROXAS performed best for conifers, and Mask-RCNN showed the highest accuracy in detecting target cells and segmenting lumen areas of angiosperms. Our research demonstrates that future software tools for QWA analyses would greatly benefit from using DCNNs, saving time during the analysis phase, and providing a flexible approach that allows model retraining.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Giulia Resente
- Institute of Botany and Landscape Ecology, Ernst Moritz Arndt University Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany
| | - Alexander Gillert
- Fraunhofer-Institut für Graphische Datenverarbeitung IGD, Rostock, Germany
| | - Mario Trouillier
- Institute of Botany and Landscape Ecology, Ernst Moritz Arndt University Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany
| | - Alba Anadon-Rosell
- Institute of Botany and Landscape Ecology, Ernst Moritz Arndt University Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany
- CREAF, Campus de Bellaterra (UAB), Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain
| | - Richard L. Peters
- Department of Environment, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent, Belgium
- Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research, Birmensdorf, Switzerland
| | - Georg von Arx
- Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research, Birmensdorf, Switzerland
- Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Uwe von Lukas
- Fraunhofer-Institut für Graphische Datenverarbeitung IGD, Rostock, Germany
- Institute for Visual and Analytic Computing, University of Rostock, Rostock, Germany
| | - Martin Wilmking
- Institute of Botany and Landscape Ecology, Ernst Moritz Arndt University Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
27
|
Pampuch T, Anadon-Rosell A, Trouillier M, Lange J, Wilmking M. Direct and Indirect Effects of Environmental Limitations on White Spruce Xylem Anatomy at Treeline. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2021; 12:748055. [PMID: 34759941 PMCID: PMC8573320 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2021.748055] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2021] [Accepted: 10/04/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Treeline ecosystems are of great scientific interest to study the effects of limiting environmental conditions on tree growth. However, tree growth is multidimensional, with complex interactions between height and radial growth. In this study, we aimed to disentangle effects of height and climate on xylem anatomy of white spruce [Picea glauca (Moench) Voss] at three treeline sites in Alaska; i.e., one warm and drought-limited, and two cold, temperature-limited. To analyze general growth differences between trees from different sites, we used data on annual ring width, diameter at breast height (DBH), and tree height. A representative subset of the samples was used to investigate xylem anatomical traits. We then used linear mixed-effects models to estimate the effects of height and climatic variables on our study traits. Our study showed that xylem anatomical traits in white spruce can be directly and indirectly controlled by environmental conditions: hydraulic-related traits seem to be mainly influenced by tree height, especially in the earlywood. Thus, they are indirectly driven by environmental conditions, through the environment's effects on tree height. Traits related to mechanical support show a direct response to environmental conditions, mainly temperature, especially in the latewood. These results highlight the importance of assessing tree growth in a multidimensional way by considering both direct and indirect effects of environmental forcing to better understand the complexity of tree growth responses to the environment.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Timo Pampuch
- Institute of Botany and Landscape Ecology, University Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany
| | - Alba Anadon-Rosell
- Institute of Botany and Landscape Ecology, University Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany
- CREAF – Centre for Research on Ecology and Forestry Applications, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Mario Trouillier
- Institute of Botany and Landscape Ecology, University Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany
| | - Jelena Lange
- Institute of Botany and Landscape Ecology, University Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany
- Department of Physical Geography and Geoecology, Charles University in Prague, Prague, Czechia
| | - Martin Wilmking
- Institute of Botany and Landscape Ecology, University Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
28
|
Abstract
Wood microdensitometry provides an integrated measurement of inter and intra-annual changes in wood anatomy and lignification. Although it can be acquired through a wide array of techniques, X-ray-based techniques are still the standard. Conversion of a grayscale X-ray image to density and annual ring boundaries delimitation is performed through image analysis software. Proprietary software has dominated these applications, albeit Free Open Source Software (FOSS) has been developed recently. We present ρ-MtreeRing, a user-friendly FOSS that streamlines the entire microdensitometry analysis process through a graphical user interface based on Shiny R Software without any programming knowledge. We compared the results of this program with the most widely used commercial software (WinDendro), showing the validity of the results. ρ-MtreeRing can be personalized and developed by the microdensitometry research community.
Collapse
|
29
|
Tardif JC, Kames S, Nolin AF, Bergeron Y. Earlywood Vessels in Black Ash ( Fraxinus nigra Marsh.) Trees Show Contrasting Sensitivity to Hydroclimate Variables According to Flood Exposure. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2021; 12:754596. [PMID: 34721484 PMCID: PMC8551551 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2021.754596] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/06/2021] [Accepted: 09/10/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
In recent years, the utility of earlywood vessels anatomical characteristics in identifying and reconstructing hydrological conditions has been fully recognized. In riparian ring-porous species, flood rings have been used to identify discrete flood events, and chronologies developed from cross-sectional lumen areas of earlywood vessels have been used to successfully reconstruct seasonal discharge. In contrast, the utility of the earlywood vessel chronologies in non-riparian habitats has been less compelling. No studies have contrasted within species their earlywood vessel anatomical characteristics, specifically from trees that are inversely exposed to flooding. In this study, earlywood vessel and ring-width chronologies were compared between flooded and non-flooded control Fraxinus nigra trees. The association between chronologies and hydroclimate variables was also assessed. Fraxinus nigra trees from both settings shared similar mean tree-ring width but floodplain trees did produce, on average, thicker earlywood. Vessel chronologies from the floodplain trees generally recorded higher mean sensitivity (standard deviation) and lower autocorrelation than corresponding control chronologies indicating higher year-to-year variations. Principal components analysis (PCA) revealed that control and floodplain chronologies shared little variance indicating habitat-specific signals. At the habitat level, the PCA indicated that vessel characteristics were strongly associated with tree-ring width descriptors in control trees whereas, in floodplain trees, they were decoupled from the width. The most striking difference found between flood exposures related to the chronologies' associations with hydroclimatic variables. Floodplain vessel chronologies were strongly associated with climate variables modulating spring-flood conditions as well as with spring discharge whereas control ones showed weaker and few consistent correlations. Our results illustrated how spring flood conditions modulate earlywood vessel plasticity. In floodplain F. nigra trees, the use of earlywood vessel characteristics could potentially be extended to assess and/or mitigate anthropogenic modifications of hydrological regimes. In absence of major recurring environmental stressors like spring flooding, our results support the idea that the production of continuous earlywood vessel chronologies may be of limited utility in dendroclimatology.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jacques Clément Tardif
- Centre for Forest Interdisciplinary Research (C-FIR), Department of Biology/Environmental Studies and Sciences, University of Winnipeg, Winnipeg, MB, Canada
- Institut de Recherche sur les Forêts, Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue (UQAT), Rouyn-Noranda, QC, Canada
- Centre d'Étude de la Forêt, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM), Montréal, QC, Canada
| | - Susanne Kames
- Centre for Forest Interdisciplinary Research (C-FIR), Department of Biology/Environmental Studies and Sciences, University of Winnipeg, Winnipeg, MB, Canada
- Department of Botany, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada
| | - Alexandre Florent Nolin
- Institut de Recherche sur les Forêts, Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue (UQAT), Rouyn-Noranda, QC, Canada
- Centre d'Étude de la Forêt, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM), Montréal, QC, Canada
| | - Yves Bergeron
- Institut de Recherche sur les Forêts, Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue (UQAT), Rouyn-Noranda, QC, Canada
- Centre d'Étude de la Forêt, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM), Montréal, QC, Canada
| |
Collapse
|
30
|
Babushkina EA, Dergunov DR, Belokopytova LV, Zhirnova DF, Upadhyay KK, Tripathi SK, Zharkov MS, Vaganov EA. Non-linear Response to Cell Number Revealed and Eliminated From Long-Term Tracheid Measurements of Scots Pine in Southern Siberia. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2021; 12:719796. [PMID: 34671371 PMCID: PMC8521138 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2021.719796] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2021] [Accepted: 08/31/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Dendroclimatic research offers insight into tree growth-climate response as a solution to the forward problem and provides reconstructions of climatic variables as products of the reverse problem. Methodological developments in dendroclimatology have led to the inclusion of a variety of tree growth parameters in this field. Tree-ring traits developed during short time intervals of a growing season can potentially provide a finer temporal scale of both dendroclimatic applications and offer a better understanding of the mechanisms of tree growth reaction to climatic variations. Furthermore, the transition from classical dendroclimatic studies based on a single integral variable (tree-ring width) to the modern multitude of quantitative variables (e.g., wood anatomical structure) adds a lot of complexity, which mainly arises from intrinsic feedbacks between wood traits and muddles seasonality of registered climatic signal. This study utilized life-long wood anatomical measurements of 150- to 280-year-old trees of Pinus sylvestris L. growing in a moisture-sensitive habitat of the forest-steppe of Southern Siberia (Russia) to investigate and eliminate legacy effect from cell production in tracheid traits. Anatomical parameters were calculated to describe the results of the three main subsequent stages of conifer xylem tracheid development, namely, cell number per radial file in the ring, mean and maximum cell radial diameter, and mean and maximum cell-wall thickness. Although tree-ring width was almost directly proportional to cell number, non-linear relationships with cell number were revealed in tracheid measurements. They exhibited a stronger relationship in the areas of narrow rings and stable anatomical structure in wider rings. The exponential models proposed in this study demonstrated these relationships in numerical terms with morphometric meaning. The ratio of anatomical measurements to their modeled values was used to develop long-term anatomical chronologies, which proved to retain information about climatic fluctuations independent of tree-ring width (cell number), despite decreased common signal.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Dina F. Zhirnova
- Khakass Technical Institute, Siberian Federal University, Abakan, Russia
| | | | | | | | - Eugene A. Vaganov
- Siberian Federal University, Krasnoyarsk, Russia
- Sukachev Institute of Forest, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Science, Krasnoyarsk, Russia
| |
Collapse
|
31
|
Tabakova MA, Tabakova KA, Khotcinskaia KI, Sergeeva OV, Arzac A. Exploration of the Climate Sensitivity of Xylem Parenchyma in Pinus sylvestris L. in the Forest-steppe of Southern Siberia. RUSS J ECOL+ 2021. [DOI: 10.1134/s106741362105012x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
|
32
|
Arnič D, Gričar J, Jevšenak J, Božič G, von Arx G, Prislan P. Different Wood Anatomical and Growth Responses in European Beech ( Fagus sylvatica L.) at Three Forest Sites in Slovenia. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2021; 12:669229. [PMID: 34381473 PMCID: PMC8349990 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2021.669229] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/18/2021] [Accepted: 07/05/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) adapts to local growing conditions to enhance its performance. In response to variations in climatic conditions, beech trees adjust leaf phenology, cambial phenology, and wood formation patterns, which result in different tree-ring widths (TRWs) and wood anatomy. Chronologies of tree ring width and vessel features [i.e., mean vessel area (MVA), vessel density (VD), and relative conductive area (RCTA)] were produced for the 1960-2016 period for three sites that differ in climatic regimes and spring leaf phenology (two early- and one late-flushing populations). These data were used to investigate long-term relationships between climatic conditions and anatomical features of four quarters of tree-rings at annual and intra-annual scales. In addition, we investigated how TRW and vessel features adjust in response to extreme weather events (i.e., summer drought). We found significant differences in TRW, VD, and RCTA among the selected sites. Precipitation and maximum temperature before and during the growing season were the most important climatic factors affecting TRW and vessel characteristics. We confirmed differences in climate-growth relationships between the selected sites, late flushing beech population at Idrija showing the least pronounced response to climate. MVA was the only vessel trait that showed no relationship with TRW or other vessel features. The relationship between MVA and climatic factors evaluated at intra-annual scale indicated that vessel area in the first quarter of tree-ring were mainly influenced by climatic conditions in the previous growing season, while vessel area in the second to fourth quarters of tree ring width was mainly influenced by maximum temperature and precipitation in the current growing season. When comparing wet and dry years, beech from all sites showed a similar response, with reduced TRW and changes in intra-annual variation in vessel area. Our findings suggest that changes in temperature and precipitation regimes as predicted by most climate change scenarios will affect tree-ring increments and wood structure in beech, yet the response between sites or populations may differ.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Domen Arnič
- Department for Forest Technique and Economics, Slovenian Forestry Institute, Ljubljana, Slovenia
- Biotechnical Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Jožica Gričar
- Department of Forest Yield and Silviculture, Slovenian Forestry Institute, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Jernej Jevšenak
- Department of Forest Yield and Silviculture, Slovenian Forestry Institute, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Gregor Božič
- Department of Forest Physiology and Genetics, Slovenian Forestry Institute, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Georg von Arx
- Swiss Federal Research Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL), Birmensdorf, Switzerland
| | - Peter Prislan
- Department for Forest Technique and Economics, Slovenian Forestry Institute, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| |
Collapse
|
33
|
García-Cervigón AI, García-López MA, Pistón N, Pugnaire FI, Olano JM. Co-ordination between xylem anatomy, plant architecture and leaf functional traits in response to abiotic and biotic drivers in a nurse cushion plant. ANNALS OF BOTANY 2021; 127:919-929. [PMID: 33640955 PMCID: PMC8225275 DOI: 10.1093/aob/mcab036] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2020] [Accepted: 02/24/2021] [Indexed: 05/15/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND AIMS Plants in dry Mediterranean mountains experience a double climatic stress: at low elevations, high temperatures coincide with water shortage during summer, while at high elevations temperature decreases and water availability increases. Cushion plants often act as nurses by improving the microclimate underneath their canopies, hosting beneficiary species that may reciprocally modify their benefactors' microenvironment. We assess how the nurse cushion plant Arenaria tetraquetra subsp. amabilis adjusts its hydraulic system to face these complex abiotic and biotic constraints. METHODS We evaluated intra-specific variation and co-ordination of stem xylem anatomy, leaf functional traits and plant architecture in response to elevation, aspect and the presence of beneficiary species in four A. tetraquetra subsp. amabilis populations in the Sierra Nevada mountains, southern Spain. KEY RESULTS Xylem anatomical and plant architectural traits were the most responsive to environmental conditions, showing the highest mutual co-ordination. Cushions were more compact and had smaller, more isolated conductive vessels in the southern than in the northern aspect, which allow minimization of the negative impacts of more intense drought. Only vessel size, leaf mass per area and terminal branch length varied with elevation. Nurse cushions co-ordinated plant architecture and xylem traits, having higher canopy compactness, fewer leaves per branch and fewer, more isolated vessels than non-nurse cushions, which reflects the negative effects of beneficiary plants on nurse water status. In non-nurse cushions, plant architecture co-ordinated with leaf traits instead. The interacting effects of aspect and elevation on xylem traits showed that stress due to frost at high elevation constrained xylem anatomy in the north, whereas stress due to drought had a parallel effect in the south. CONCLUSIONS Trait co-ordination was weaker under more demanding environmental conditions, which agrees with the hypothesis that trait independence allows plants to better optimize different functions, probably entailing higher adjustment potential against future environmental changes.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ana I García-Cervigón
- Department of Biology and Geology, Physics and Inorganic Chemistry, Rey Juan Carlos University, c/Tulipán s/n, Móstoles, Spain
- For correspondence. E-mail
| | | | - Nuria Pistón
- Department of Ecology, Center for Health Sciences, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Av. Carlos Chagas Filho, Rio de Janeiro – RJ, Brazil
| | - Francisco I Pugnaire
- Estación Experimental de Zonas Áridas, EEZA-CSIC, Ctra. de Sacramento s/n, La Cañada, Almería, Spain
| | - José Miguel Olano
- iuFOR-EiFAB, University of Valladolid, Campus Duques de Soria s/n, Soria, Spain
| |
Collapse
|
34
|
Hwang SW, Sugiyama J. Computer vision-based wood identification and its expansion and contribution potentials in wood science: A review. PLANT METHODS 2021; 17:47. [PMID: 33910606 PMCID: PMC8082842 DOI: 10.1186/s13007-021-00746-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/16/2020] [Accepted: 04/17/2021] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
The remarkable developments in computer vision and machine learning have changed the methodologies of many scientific disciplines. They have also created a new research field in wood science called computer vision-based wood identification, which is making steady progress towards the goal of building automated wood identification systems to meet the needs of the wood industry and market. Nevertheless, computer vision-based wood identification is still only a small area in wood science and is still unfamiliar to many wood anatomists. To familiarize wood scientists with the artificial intelligence-assisted wood anatomy and engineering methods, we have reviewed the published mainstream studies that used or developed machine learning procedures. This review could help researchers understand computer vision and machine learning techniques for wood identification and choose appropriate techniques or strategies for their study objectives in wood science.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sung-Wook Hwang
- Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto University, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto, 606-8502 Japan
| | - Junji Sugiyama
- Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto University, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto, 606-8502 Japan
- College of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, 210037 China
| |
Collapse
|
35
|
Gebregeorgis EG, Boniecka J, Pia̧tkowski M, Robertson I, Rathgeber CBK. SabaTracheid 1.0: A Novel Program for Quantitative Analysis of Conifer Wood Anatomy - A Demonstration on African Juniper From the Blue Nile Basin. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2021; 12:595258. [PMID: 33815433 PMCID: PMC8013728 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2021.595258] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/15/2020] [Accepted: 01/06/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Knowledge about past climates, especially at a seasonal time scale, is important as it allows informed decisions to be made to mitigate future climate change. However, globally, and especially in semi-arid Tropics, instrumental climatic data are scarce. A dendroclimatic approach may fill this gap, but tropical dendrochronological data are rare and do not yet provide fine resolution intra-annual information about past climates. Unlike in the Tropics, in the Mediterranean, temperate, alpine, and arctic regions, dendroanatomy and quantitative wood anatomy (QWA) are progressing fast attaining an intra-annual resolution, which allows a better understanding of seasonal climate dynamics and climate-growth relationships. The existing dendroanatomical and QWA methods aren't suitable for tropical trees because they do not consider the high variation in tree ring width and the frequent occurrence of micro-rings containing only a few tracheids per radial file. The available tracheid analysis programs generally fail to provide multiple sectors for micro-rings and they are unable to compute most of the useful dendroanatomical parameters at fine temporal resolutions. Here, we present a program (SabaTracheid) that addresses the three main standard tasks that are necessary for QWA and dendroanatomy before running a climate analysis: (1) tracheidogram standardization, (2) sectoring, and (3) computing QWA and dendroanatomical variables. SabaTracheid is demonstrated on African Juniper (Juniperus procera Hochst. ex Endl), but it is potentially able to provide fine-resolution QWA and dendroanatomic data that could be used for dendroanatomical studies in all regions of the world. SabaTracheid is a freeware that quickly and accurately standardizes tracheidograms, divides tree rings into multiple regular sectors, computes useful dendroanatomic and QWA variables for the whole tree rings, early- and latewood portions, and each sector separately. This program is particularly adapted to deal with high inter-annual growth variations observed in tropical trees so that it assures the provision of complete sectoral QWA and dendroanatomical data for micro-rings as well. We demonstrate SabaTracheid using a dataset of 30 Juniperus procera tree rings from the Blue Nile basin, in Ethiopia. SabaTracheid's ability to provide fine resolution QWA and dendroanatomic data will help the discipline develop in tropical as well as in the Mediterranean and temperate regions.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Eyob Gebrehiwot Gebregeorgis
- Ethiopian Environment and Forest Research Institute, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
- Department of Plant Biology and Biodiversity Management, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
| | - Justyna Boniecka
- Department of Genetics, Faculty of Biological and Veterinary Sciences, Nicolaus Copernicus University, Toruń, Poland
| | - Marcin Pia̧tkowski
- Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science, Nicolaus Copernicus University, Toruń, Poland
| | - Iain Robertson
- Department of Geography, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Swansea University, Swansea, United Kingdom
| | | |
Collapse
|
36
|
Skiadaresis G, Schwarz J, Stahl K, Bauhus J. Groundwater extraction reduces tree vitality, growth and xylem hydraulic capacity in Quercus robur during and after drought events. Sci Rep 2021; 11:5149. [PMID: 33664306 PMCID: PMC7970862 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-84322-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2020] [Accepted: 02/15/2021] [Indexed: 01/31/2023] Open
Abstract
Climate change is expected to pose major direct and indirect threats to groundwater-dependent forest ecosystems. Forests that concurrently experience increased rates of water extraction may face unprecedented exposure to droughts. Here, we examined differences in stem growth and xylem hydraulic architecture of 216 oak trees from sites with contrasting groundwater availability, including sites where groundwater extraction has led to reduced water availability for trees over several decades. We expected reduced growth and xylem hydraulic capacity for trees at groundwater extraction sites both under normal and unfavourable growing conditions. Compared to sites without extraction, trees at sites with groundwater extraction showed reduced growth and hydraulic conductivity both during periods of moderate and extremely low soil water availability. Trees of low vigour, which were more frequent at sites with groundwater extraction, were not able to recover growth and hydraulic capacity following drought, pointing to prolonged drought effects. Long-term water deficit resulting in reduced CO2 assimilation and hydraulic capacity after drought are very likely responsible for observed reductions in tree vitality at extraction sites. Our results demonstrate that groundwater access maintains tree function and resilience to drought and is therefore important for tree health in the context of climate change.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Georgios Skiadaresis
- Chair of Silviculture, Institute of Forest Sciences, University of Freiburg, Tennenbacherstrasse 4, 79085, Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany.
| | - Julia Schwarz
- Chair of Silviculture, Institute of Forest Sciences, University of Freiburg, Tennenbacherstrasse 4, 79085, Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany
| | - Kerstin Stahl
- Chair of Environmental Hydrological Systems, University of Freiburg, Friedrichstrasse 39, 79098, Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany
| | - Jürgen Bauhus
- Chair of Silviculture, Institute of Forest Sciences, University of Freiburg, Tennenbacherstrasse 4, 79085, Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
37
|
Babst F, Friend AD, Karamihalaki M, Wei J, von Arx G, Papale D, Peters RL. Modeling Ambitions Outpace Observations of Forest Carbon Allocation. TRENDS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2021; 26:210-219. [PMID: 33168468 DOI: 10.1016/j.tplants.2020.10.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2020] [Revised: 08/17/2020] [Accepted: 10/08/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
There have been vociferous calls for 'tree-centered' vegetation models to refine predictions of forest carbon (C) cycling. Unfortunately, our global survey at flux-tower sites indicates insufficient empirical data support for this much-needed model development. We urge for a new generation of studies across large environmental gradients that strategically pair long-term ecosystem monitoring with manipulative experiments on mature trees. For this, we outline a versatile experimental framework to build cross-scale data archives of C uptake and allocation to structural, non-structural, and respiratory sinks. Community-wide efforts and discussions are needed to implement this framework, especially in hitherto underrepresented tropical forests. Global coordination and realistic priorities for data collection will thereby be key to achieve and maintain adequate empirical support for tree-centered vegetation modeling.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Flurin Babst
- W. Szafer Institute of Botany, Polish Academy of Sciences, Lubicz 46, 31-512 Krakow, Poland; Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL, Zürcherstrasse 111, 8903 Birmensdorf, Switzerland.
| | - Andrew D Friend
- Department of Geography, University of Cambridge, Downing Place, Cambridge CB2 3EN, UK
| | - Maria Karamihalaki
- W. Szafer Institute of Botany, Polish Academy of Sciences, Lubicz 46, 31-512 Krakow, Poland; Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL, Zürcherstrasse 111, 8903 Birmensdorf, Switzerland
| | - Jingshu Wei
- W. Szafer Institute of Botany, Polish Academy of Sciences, Lubicz 46, 31-512 Krakow, Poland; Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL, Zürcherstrasse 111, 8903 Birmensdorf, Switzerland
| | - Georg von Arx
- Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL, Zürcherstrasse 111, 8903 Birmensdorf, Switzerland
| | - Dario Papale
- DIBAF, University of Tuscia, Largo dell'Universita, 01100 Viterbo, Italy
| | - Richard L Peters
- Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL, Zürcherstrasse 111, 8903 Birmensdorf, Switzerland; Laboratory of Plant Ecology, Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, 9000 Gent, Belgium
| |
Collapse
|
38
|
Sabella E, Moretti S, Gärtner H, Luvisi A, De Bellis L, Vergine M, Saurer M, Cherubini P. Increase in ring width, vessel number and δ18O in olive trees infected with Xylella fastidiosa. TREE PHYSIOLOGY 2020; 40:1583-1594. [PMID: 32705131 DOI: 10.1093/treephys/tpaa095] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2020] [Accepted: 07/06/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Xylella fastidiosa (Xf) Wells, Raju et al., 1986 is a bacterium that causes plant diseases in the Americas. In Europe, it was first detected on the Salento Peninsula (Italy), where it was found to be associated with the olive quick decline syndrome. Here, we present the results of the first tree-ring study of infected and uninfected olive trees (Olea europaea L.) of two different cultivars, one resistant and one susceptible, to establish the effects induced by the spread of the pathogen inside the tree. Changes in wood anatomical characteristics, such as an increase in the number of vessels and in ring width, were observed in the infected plants of both the cultivars Cellina di Nardò (susceptible to Xf infection) and Leccino (resistant to Xf infection). Thus, whether infection affects the mortality of the tree or not, the tree shows a reaction to it. The presence of occlusions was detected in the wood of both 4-year-old branches and the tree stem core. As expected, the percentage of occluded vessels in the Xf-susceptible cultivar Cellina di Nardò was significantly higher than in the Xf-resistant cultivar Leccino. The δ 18O of the 4-year-old branches was significantly higher in infected trees of both cultivars than in noninfected trees, while no variations in δ 13C were observed. This suggests a reduction in leaf transpiration rates during infection and seems to be related to the occlusions observed in rings of the 4-year-old branches. Such occlusions can determine effects at leaf level that could influence stomatal activity. On the other hand, the significant increase in the number of vessels in infected trees could be related to the tree's attempt to enhance water conductivity in response to the pathogen-induced vessel occlusions.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Erika Sabella
- Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences and Technologies, University of Salento, via Prov.le Monteroni 165, Lecce, 73100, Italy
| | - Samuele Moretti
- WSL Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research, Zürcherstrasse 111, 8903 Birmensdorf, Switzerland
- Laboratoire Vigne, Biotechnologies et Environnement (LVBE, EA 3991), Université de Haute-Alsace, 33 rue de Herrlisheim, 68008 Colmar Cedex, France
| | - Holger Gärtner
- WSL Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research, Zürcherstrasse 111, 8903 Birmensdorf, Switzerland
| | - Andrea Luvisi
- Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences and Technologies, University of Salento, via Prov.le Monteroni 165, Lecce, 73100, Italy
| | - Luigi De Bellis
- Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences and Technologies, University of Salento, via Prov.le Monteroni 165, Lecce, 73100, Italy
| | - Marzia Vergine
- Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences and Technologies, University of Salento, via Prov.le Monteroni 165, Lecce, 73100, Italy
| | - Matthias Saurer
- WSL Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research, Zürcherstrasse 111, 8903 Birmensdorf, Switzerland
| | - Paolo Cherubini
- WSL Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research, Zürcherstrasse 111, 8903 Birmensdorf, Switzerland
- Department of Forest and Conservation Sciences, University of British Columbia, 3041 - 2424 Main Mall, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| |
Collapse
|
39
|
Wood and Pulping Properties Variation of Acacia crassicarpa A.Cunn. ex Benth. and Sampling Strategies for Accurate Phenotyping. FORESTS 2020. [DOI: 10.3390/f11101043] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Research Highlights: This study provides a comprehensive set of wood and pulping properties of Acacia crassicarpa A.Cunn. ex Benth. to assess variation and efficient sampling strategies for whole-tree level phenotyping. Background and Objectives: A. crassicarpa is an important tree species in Southeast Asia, with limited knowledge about its wood properties. The objective of this study was to characterize important wood properties and pulping performance of improved germplasm of the species. Furthermore, we investigated within-tree patterns of variation and evaluated the efficiency of phenotyping strategies. Materials and Methods: Second-generation progeny trials were studied, where forty 50-month-old trees were selected for destructive sampling and assessed for wood density, kraft pulp yield, α-cellulose, carbohydrate composition, and lignin content and composition (S/G ratio). We estimated the phenotypic correlations among traits determined within-tree longitudinal variation and its importance for whole-tree level phenotyping. Results: The mean whole-tree disc basic density was 481 kg/m3, and the screened kraft pulp yield was 53.8%. The reliabilities of each sampling position to predict whole-tree properties varied with different traits. For basic density, pulp yield, and glucose content, the ground-level sampling could reliably predict the whole-tree property. With near infrared reflectance spectroscopy predictions as an indirect measurement method for disc basic density, we verified reduced reliability values for breast height sampling but sufficiently correlated to allow accurate ranking and efficient selection of genotypes in a breeding program context. Conclusions: We demonstrated the quality of A. crassicarpa as a wood source for the pulping industry. The wood and pulping traits have high levels of phenotypic variation, and standing tree sampling strategies can be performed for both ranking and high-accuracy phenotyping purposes.
Collapse
|
40
|
A computer-aided method for identifying the presence of softwood growth ring boundaries. PLoS One 2020; 15:e0235727. [PMID: 32946443 PMCID: PMC7500654 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0235727] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2020] [Accepted: 08/31/2020] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
The objective of this study was to develop a computer-aided method to quantify the obvious degree of growth ring boundaries of softwood species, based on data analysis with some image processing technologies. For this purpose, a 5× magnified cross-section color micro-image of softwood was cropped into 20 sub-images, and then every image was binarized as a gray image according to an automatic threshold value. After that, the number of black pixels in the gray image was counted row by row and the number of black pixels was binarized to 0 or 100. Finally, a transition band from earlywood to latewood on the sub-image was identified. If everything goes as planned, the growth ring boundaries of the sub-image would be distinct. Otherwise would be indistinct or absent. If more than 50% sub-images are distinct, with the majority voting method, the growth ring boundaries of softwood would be distinct, otherwise would be indistinct or absent. The proposed method has been visualized as a growth-ring-boundary detecting system based on the .NET Framework. A sample of 100 micro-images (see S1 Fig via https://github.com/senly2019/Lin-Qizhao/) of softwood cross-sections were selected for evaluation purposes. In short, this detecting system computes the obvious degree of growth ring boundaries of softwood species by image processing involving image importing, image cropping, image reading, image grayscale, image binarization, data analysis. The results showed that the method used avoided mistakes made by the manual comparison method of identifying the presence of growth ring boundaries, and it has a high accuracy of 98%.
Collapse
|
41
|
Darenova E, Horáček P, Krejza J, Pokorný R, Pavelka M. Seasonally varying relationship between stem respiration, increment and carbon allocation of Norway spruce trees. TREE PHYSIOLOGY 2020; 40:943-955. [PMID: 32268373 DOI: 10.1093/treephys/tpaa039] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2020] [Revised: 03/04/2020] [Accepted: 03/18/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Stem respiration is an important component of an ecosystem's carbon budget. Beside environmental factors, it depends highly on tree energy demands for stem growth. Determination of the relationship between stem growth and stem respiration would help to reveal the response of stem respiration to changing climate, which is expected to substantially affect tree growth. Common measurement of stem radial increment does not record all aspects of stem growth processes, especially those connected with cell wall thickening; therefore, the relationship between stem respiration and stem radial increment may vary depending on the wood cell growth differentiation phase. This study presents results from measurements of stem respiration and increment carried out for seven growing seasons in a young Norway spruce forest. Moreover, rates of carbon allocation to stems were modeled for these years. Stem respiration was divided into maintenance (Rm) and growth respiration (Rg) based upon the mature tissue method. There was a close relationship between Rg and daily stem radial increment (dSRI), and this relationship differed before and after dSRI seasonal maximum, which was around 19 June. Before this date, Rg increased exponentially with dSRI, while after this date logarithmically. This is a result of later maxima of Rg and its slower decrease when compared with dSRI, which is connected with energy demands for cell wall thickening. Rg reached a maxima at the end of June or in July. The maximum of carbon allocation to stem peaked in late summer, when Rg mostly tended to decrease. The overall contribution of Rg to stem CO2 efflux amounted to 46.9% for the growing period from May to September and 38.2% for the year as a whole. This study shows that further deeper analysis of in situ stem growth and stem respiration dynamics is greatly needed, especially with a focus on wood formation on a cell level.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Eva Darenova
- Global Change Research Institute CAS, v.v.i., Belidla 4a, 603 00 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Petr Horáček
- Global Change Research Institute CAS, v.v.i., Belidla 4a, 603 00 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Jan Krejza
- Global Change Research Institute CAS, v.v.i., Belidla 4a, 603 00 Brno, Czech Republic
- Department of Forest Ecology, Mendel University in Brno, Zemědělská 3, 613 00 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Radek Pokorný
- Department of Silvilculture, Mendel University in Brno, Zemědělská 3, 613 00 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Marian Pavelka
- Global Change Research Institute CAS, v.v.i., Belidla 4a, 603 00 Brno, Czech Republic
| |
Collapse
|
42
|
García-Cervigón AI, Fajardo A, Caetano-Sánchez C, Camarero JJ, Olano JM. Xylem anatomy needs to change, so that conductivity can stay the same: xylem adjustments across elevation and latitude in Nothofagus pumilio. ANNALS OF BOTANY 2020; 125:1101-1112. [PMID: 32173741 PMCID: PMC7262467 DOI: 10.1093/aob/mcaa042] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/04/2019] [Accepted: 03/10/2020] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND AIMS Plants have the potential to adjust the configuration of their hydraulic system to maintain its function across spatial and temporal gradients. Species with wide environmental niches provide an ideal framework to assess intraspecific xylem adjustments to contrasting climates. We aimed to assess how xylem structure in the widespread species Nothofagus pumilio varies across combined gradients of temperature and moisture, and to what extent within-individual variation contributes to population responses across environmental gradients. METHODS We characterized xylem configuration in branches of N. pumilio trees at five sites across an 18° latitudinal gradient in the Chilean Andes, sampling at four elevations per site. We measured vessel area, vessel density and the degree of vessel grouping. We also obtained vessel diameter distributions and estimated the xylem-specific hydraulic conductivity. Xylem traits were studied in the last five growth rings to account for within-individual variation. KEY RESULTS Xylem traits responded to changes in temperature and moisture, but also to their combination. Reductions in vessel diameter and increases in vessel density suggested increased safety levels with lower temperatures at higher elevation. Vessel grouping also increased under cold and dry conditions, but changes in vessel diameter distributions across the elevational gradient were site-specific. Interestingly, the estimated xylem-specific hydraulic conductivity remained constant across elevation and latitude, and an overwhelming proportion of the variance of xylem traits was due to within-individual responses to year-to-year climatic fluctuations, rather than to site conditions. CONCLUSIONS Despite conspicuous adjustments, xylem traits were coordinated to maintain a constant hydraulic function under a wide range of conditions. This, combined with the within-individual capacity for responding to year-to-year climatic variations, may have the potential to increase forest resilience against future environmental changes.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ana I García-Cervigón
- Departamento de Biología y Geología, Física y Química Inorgánica, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Móstoles, Spain
| | - Alex Fajardo
- Centro de Investigación en Ecosistemas de la Patagonia (CIEP), Camino Baguales s/n, Coyhaique, Chile
| | - Cristina Caetano-Sánchez
- Departamento de Biología-IVAGRO, Universidad de Cádiz, Campus Río San Pedro s/n, Puerto Real, Spain
| | - J Julio Camarero
- Instituto Pirenaico de Ecología (IPE-CSIC), Avda. Montañana, Zaragoza, Spain and
| | - José Miguel Olano
- iuFOR-EiFAB, Universidad de Valladolid, Campus Duques de Soria, Soria, Spain
| |
Collapse
|
43
|
Piermattei A, von Arx G, Avanzi C, Fonti P, Gärtner H, Piotti A, Urbinati C, Vendramin GG, Büntgen U, Crivellaro A. Functional Relationships of Wood Anatomical Traits in Norway Spruce. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2020; 11:683. [PMID: 32528514 PMCID: PMC7266088 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2020.00683] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2019] [Accepted: 04/30/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
The quantitative assessment of wood anatomical traits offers important insights into those factors that shape tree growth. While it is known that conduit diameter, cell wall thickness, and wood density vary substantially between and within species, the interconnection between wood anatomical traits, tree-ring width, tree height and age, as well as environment effects on wood anatomy remain unclear. Here, we measure and derived 65 wood anatomical traits in cross-sections of the five outermost tree rings (2008-2012) of 30 Norway spruce [Picea abies (L.) H. Karst.] trees growing along an altitudinal gradient (1,400-1,750 m a.s.l.) in the northern Apennines (Italy). We assess the relationship among each anatomical trait and between anatomical trait groups according to their function for (i) tree-ring growth, (ii) cell growth, (iii) hydraulic traits, and (iv) mechanical traits. The results show that tree height significantly affects wood hydraulic traits, as well as number and tangential diameter of tracheids, and ultimately the total ring width. Moreover, the amount of earlywood and latewood percentage influence wood hydraulic safety and efficiency, as well as mechanical traits. Mechanically relevant wood anatomical traits are mainly influenced by tree age, not necessarily correlated with tree height. An additional level of complexity is also indicated by some anatomical traits, such as latewood lumen diameter and the cell wall reinforcement index, showing large inter-annual variation as a proxy of phenotypic plasticity. This study unravels the complex interconnection of tree-ring tracheid structure and identifies anatomical traits showing a large inter-individual variation and a strong interannual coherency. Knowing and quantifying anatomical variation in cells of plant stem is crucial in ecological and biological studies for an appropriate interpretation of abiotic drivers of wood formation often related to tree height and/or tree age.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Alma Piermattei
- Department of Geography, Faculty of Earth Sciences and Geography, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Georg von Arx
- Swiss Federal Research Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL), Birmensdorf, Switzerland
| | - Camilla Avanzi
- Department of Chemistry, Life Science and Sustainability, University of Parma, Parma, Italy
- Institute of Biosciences and Bioresources, Italian National Research Council, Florence, Italy
| | - Patrick Fonti
- Swiss Federal Research Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL), Birmensdorf, Switzerland
| | - Holger Gärtner
- Swiss Federal Research Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL), Birmensdorf, Switzerland
| | - Andrea Piotti
- Institute of Biosciences and Bioresources, Italian National Research Council, Florence, Italy
| | - Carlo Urbinati
- Department of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences, Marche Polytechnic University, Ancona, Italy
| | | | - Ulf Büntgen
- Department of Geography, Faculty of Earth Sciences and Geography, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
- Swiss Federal Research Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL), Birmensdorf, Switzerland
- Global Change Research Institute, Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno, Czechia
- Department of Geography, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Brno, Czechia
| | - Alan Crivellaro
- Department of Geography, Faculty of Earth Sciences and Geography, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| |
Collapse
|
44
|
Guérin M, von Arx G, Martin-Benito D, Andreu-Hayles L, Griffin KL, McDowell NG, Pockman W, Gentine P. Distinct xylem responses to acute vs prolonged drought in pine trees. TREE PHYSIOLOGY 2020; 40:605-620. [PMID: 31976523 DOI: 10.1093/treephys/tpz144] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2019] [Revised: 09/17/2019] [Accepted: 12/23/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Increasing dryness challenges trees' ability to maintain water transport to the leaves. Most plant hydraulics models use a static xylem response to water stress. Yet, in reality, lower soil moisture and warmer temperatures during growing seasons feed back onto xylem development. In turn, adjustments to water stress in the newly built xylem influence future physiological responses to droughts. In this study, we investigate the annual variation of anatomical traits in branch xylem in response to different soil and atmospheric moisture conditions and tree stress levels, as indicated by seasonal predawn leaf water potential (ΨL,pd). We used a 6-year field experiment in southwestern USA with three soil water treatments applied to Pinus edulis Engelm trees-ambient, drought (45% rain reduction) and irrigation (15-35% annual water addition). All trees were also subject to a natural 1-year acute drought (soil and atmospheric) that occurred during the experiment. The irrigated trees showed only moderate changes in anatomy-derived hydraulic traits compared with the ambient trees, suggesting a generally stable, well-balanced xylem structure under unstressed conditions. The artificial prolonged soil drought increased hydraulic efficiency but lowered xylem construction costs and decreased tracheid implosion safety ((t/b)2), suggesting that annual adjustments of xylem structure follow a safety-efficiency trade-off. The acute drought plunged hydraulic efficiency across all treatments. The combination of acute and prolonged drought resulted in vulnerable and inefficient new xylem, disrupting the stability of the anatomical trade-off observed in the rest of the years. The xylem hydraulic traits showed no consistent direct link to ΨL,pd. In the future, changes in seasonality of soil and atmospheric moisture are likely to have a critical impact on the ability of P. edulis to acclimate its xylem to warmer climate. Furthermore, the increasing frequency of acute droughts might reduce hydraulic resilience of P. edulis by repeatedly creating vulnerable and less efficient anatomical structure.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Marceau Guérin
- Department of Earth and Environmental Engineering, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA
| | - Georg von Arx
- Forest Dynamics Research Unit, Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL, Zürcherstrasse 111 CH-8903 Birmensdorf, Switzerland
| | - Dario Martin-Benito
- INIA, CIFOR, Ctra La Coruña km 7.5, 28040 Madrid, Spain
- Forest Ecology, Department of Environmental Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, ETH Zurich, Universitätstrasse 16, 8092 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Laia Andreu-Hayles
- Tree-Ring Laboratory, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University, 61 Route 9 W, Palisades, NY 10964, USA
| | - Kevin L Griffin
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University, Palisades, NY 10964, USA
| | - Nate G McDowell
- Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, 902 Battelle Boulevard, Richland, WA 99354, USA
| | - William Pockman
- Biology Department, MSC03 202, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA
| | - Pierre Gentine
- Department of Earth and Environmental Engineering, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA
- Earth Institute, Columbia University, Hogan Hall, 2910 Broadway, New York, NY 10027, USA
| |
Collapse
|
45
|
Peters RL, von Arx G, Nievergelt D, Ibrom A, Stillhard J, Trotsiuk V, Mazurkiewicz A, Babst F. Axial changes in wood functional traits have limited net effects on stem biomass increment in European beech (Fagus sylvatica). TREE PHYSIOLOGY 2020; 40:498-510. [PMID: 32031220 PMCID: PMC7182063 DOI: 10.1093/treephys/tpaa002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2019] [Revised: 12/31/2019] [Accepted: 01/16/2020] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
During the growing season, trees allocate photoassimilates to increase their aboveground woody biomass in the stem (ABIstem). This 'carbon allocation' to structural growth is a dynamic process influenced by internal and external (e.g., climatic) drivers. While radial variability in wood formation and its resulting structure have been intensively studied, their variability along tree stems and subsequent impacts on ABIstem remain poorly understood. We collected wood cores from mature trees within a fixed plot in a well-studied temperate Fagus sylvatica L. forest. For a subset of trees, we performed regular interval sampling along the stem to elucidate axial variability in ring width (RW) and wood density (ρ), and the resulting effects on tree- and plot-level ABIstem. Moreover, we measured wood anatomical traits to understand the anatomical basis of ρ and the coupling between changes in RW and ρ during drought. We found no significant axial variability in ρ because an increase in the vessel-to-fiber ratio with smaller RW compensated for vessel tapering towards the apex. By contrast, temporal variability in RW varied significantly along the stem axis, depending on the growing conditions. Drought caused a more severe growth decrease, and wetter summers caused a disproportionate growth increase at the stem base compared with the top. Discarding this axial variability resulted in a significant overestimation of tree-level ABIstem in wetter and cooler summers, but this bias was reduced to ~2% when scaling ABIstem to the plot level. These results suggest that F. sylvatica prioritizes structural carbon sinks close to the canopy when conditions are unfavorable. The different axial variability in RW and ρ thereby indicates some independence of the processes that drive volume growth and wood structure along the stem. This refines our knowledge of carbon allocation dynamics in temperate diffuse-porous species and contributes to reducing uncertainties in determining forest carbon fixation.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Richard L Peters
- Swiss Federal Research Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL), Zürcherstrasse 111, CH-8903 Birmensdorf, Switzerland
- Laboratory of Plant Ecology, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Coupure links 653, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium
| | - Georg von Arx
- Swiss Federal Research Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL), Zürcherstrasse 111, CH-8903 Birmensdorf, Switzerland
| | - Daniel Nievergelt
- Swiss Federal Research Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL), Zürcherstrasse 111, CH-8903 Birmensdorf, Switzerland
| | - Andreas Ibrom
- Technical University of Denmark (DTU), Department of Environmental Engineering, Air, Land and Water Resources Section, Bygningstorvet 115, 2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Jonas Stillhard
- Swiss Federal Research Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL), Zürcherstrasse 111, CH-8903 Birmensdorf, Switzerland
| | - Volodymyr Trotsiuk
- Swiss Federal Research Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL), Zürcherstrasse 111, CH-8903 Birmensdorf, Switzerland
- Department of Environmental Systems Science, Institute of Agricultural Sciences, ETH Zurich, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland
- Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences, Kamýcka Cesta 1176, CZ-165 21 Praha 6-Suchdol, Czech Republic
| | - Aleksandra Mazurkiewicz
- Institute of Botany, Faculty of Biology, Jagiellonian University, Kopernika 27, 31-501 Kraków, Poland
| | - Flurin Babst
- Swiss Federal Research Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL), Zürcherstrasse 111, CH-8903 Birmensdorf, Switzerland
- Department of Ecology, W. Szafer Institute of Botany, Polish Academy of Sciences, ul. Lubicz 46, 31-512 Kraków, Poland
| |
Collapse
|
46
|
Castagneri D, Prendin AL, Peters RL, Carrer M, von Arx G, Fonti P. Long-Term Impacts of Defoliator Outbreaks on Larch Xylem Structure and Tree-Ring Biomass. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2020; 11:1078. [PMID: 32765561 PMCID: PMC7378862 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2020.01078] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2020] [Accepted: 06/30/2020] [Indexed: 05/19/2023]
Abstract
Defoliator insects are a major disturbance agent in many forests worldwide. During outbreaks, they can strongly reduce photosynthetic carbon uptake and impact tree growth. In the Alps, larch budmoth (Zeiraphera diniana) outbreaks affect European larch (Larix decidua) radial growth over several years. However, immediate and legacy effects on xylem formation, structure, and functionality are still largely unknown. In this study, we aimed at assessing the impact of budmoth defoliations on larch xylem anatomical features and tree-ring structure. Analyses were performed in the Lötschental (Swiss Alps) within (1,900 m a.s.l.) and above (2,200 m a.s.l.) the optimum elevational range of larch budmoth. We investigated variability of xylem anatomical traits along century-long tree-ring series of larch (host) and Norway spruce (non-host) trees. We identified eight outbreaks affecting larch xylem anatomy during the 20th century, particularly at 1,900 m a.s.l. Tracheid number always showed a higher percent reduction than properties of individual cells. Cell lumen size was slightly reduced in the first 2-3 years of outbreaks, especially in the early part of the ring. The more carbon-demanding cell wall was thinned along the entire ring, but more evidently in the last part. Theoretical tree-ring hydraulic conductivity was reduced for several years (up to 6), mostly due to cell number decrease. Reduced cell wall area and cell number resulted in a strong reduction of the tree-ring biomass, especially in the first year of outbreak. Our study shows that, under carbon source limitations caused by natural defoliation, cell division is more impacted than wall thickening and cell enlargement (the least affected process). Consequences on both xylem hydraulic properties and tree-ring biomass should be considered when assessing long-term defoliator effects on xylem functioning, forest dynamics, and terrestrial carbon cycle.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Daniele Castagneri
- Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL, Birmensdorf, Switzerland
- *Correspondence: Daniele Castagneri,
| | | | - Richard L. Peters
- Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL, Birmensdorf, Switzerland
- Laboratory of Plant Ecology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Marco Carrer
- Department TeSAF, Università degli Studi di Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Georg von Arx
- Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL, Birmensdorf, Switzerland
| | - Patrick Fonti
- Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL, Birmensdorf, Switzerland
| |
Collapse
|
47
|
Machine Learning Models with Quantitative Wood Anatomy Data Can Discriminate between Swietenia macrophylla and Swietenia mahagoni. FORESTS 2019. [DOI: 10.3390/f11010036] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
Illegal logging and associated trade aggravate the over-exploitation of Swietenia species, of which S. macrophylla King, S. mahagoni (L.) Jacq, and S. humilis Zucc. have been listed in Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) Appendix Ⅱ. Implementation of CITES necessitates the development of efficient forensic tools to identify wood species accurately, and ideally ones readily deployable in wood anatomy laboratories across the world. Herein, a method using quantitative wood anatomy data in combination with machine learning models to discriminate between three Swietenia species is presented, in addition to a second model focusing only on the two historically more important species S. mahagoni and S. macrophylla. The intra- and inter-specific variations in nine quantitative wood anatomical characters were measured and calculated based on 278 wood specimens, and four machine learning classifiers—Decision Tree C5.0, Naïve Bayes (NB), Support Vector Machine (SVM), and Artificial Neural Network (ANN)—were used to discriminate between the species. Among these species, S. macrophylla exhibited the largest intraspecific variation, and all three species showed at least partly overlapping values for all nine characters. SVM performed the best of all the classifiers, with an overall accuracy of 91.4% and a per-species correct identification rate of 66.7%, 95.0%, and 80.0% for S. humilis, S. macrophylla, and S. mahagoni, respectively. The two-species model discriminated between S. macrophylla and S. mahagoni with accuracies of over 90.0% using SVM. These accuracies are lower than perfect forensic certainty but nonetheless demonstrate that quantitative wood anatomy data in combination with machine learning models can be applied as an efficient tool to discriminate anatomically between similar species in the wood anatomy laboratory. It is probable that a range of previously anatomically inseparable species may become identifiable by incorporating in-depth analysis of quantitative characters and appropriate statistical classifiers.
Collapse
|
48
|
Lechthaler S, Colangeli P, Gazzabin M, Anfodillo T. Axial anatomy of the leaf midrib provides new insights into the hydraulic architecture and cavitation patterns of Acer pseudoplatanus leaves. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BOTANY 2019; 70:6195-6201. [PMID: 31365742 PMCID: PMC6859715 DOI: 10.1093/jxb/erz347] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2018] [Accepted: 07/17/2019] [Indexed: 05/26/2023]
Abstract
The structure of leaf veins is typically described by a hierarchical scheme (e.g. midrib, 1st order, 2nd order), which is used to predict variation in conduit diameter from one order to another whilst overlooking possible variation within the same order. We examined whether xylem conduit diameter changes within the same vein order, with resulting consequences for resistance to embolism. We measured the hydraulic diameter (Dh), and number of vessels (VN) along the midrib and petioles of leaves of Acer pseudoplatanus, and estimated the leaf area supplied (Aleaf-sup) at different points of the midrib and how variation in anatomical traits affected embolism resistance. We found that Dh scales with distance from the midrib tip (path length, L) with a power of 0.42, and that VN scales with Aleaf-sup with a power of 0.66. Total conductive area scales isometrically with Aleaf-sup. Embolism events along the midrib occurred first in the basipetal part and then at the leaf tip where vessels are narrower. The distance from the midrib tip is a good predictor of the variation in vessel diameter along the 1st order veins in A. pseudoplatanus leaves and this anatomical pattern seems to have an effect on hydraulic integrity since wider vessels at the leaf base embolize first.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Silvia Lechthaler
- Department Territorio e Sistemi Agro-Forestali, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Pierluigi Colangeli
- Department of Ecology and Ecosystem Modelling, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Moira Gazzabin
- Department Territorio e Sistemi Agro-Forestali, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Tommaso Anfodillo
- Department Territorio e Sistemi Agro-Forestali, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| |
Collapse
|
49
|
Van den Bulcke J, Boone MA, Dhaene J, Van Loo D, Van Hoorebeke L, Boone MN, Wyffels F, Beeckman H, Van Acker J, De Mil T. Advanced X-ray CT scanning can boost tree ring research for earth system sciences. ANNALS OF BOTANY 2019; 124:837-847. [PMID: 31361809 PMCID: PMC6868372 DOI: 10.1093/aob/mcz126] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2019] [Accepted: 07/18/2019] [Indexed: 05/16/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND AIMS Tree rings, as archives of the past and biosensors of the present, offer unique opportunities to study influences of the fluctuating environment over decades to centuries. As such, tree-ring-based wood traits are capital input for global vegetation models. To contribute to earth system sciences, however, sufficient spatial coverage is required of detailed individual-based measurements, necessitating large amounts of data. X-ray computed tomography (CT) scanning is one of the few techniques that can deliver such data sets. METHODS Increment cores of four different temperate tree species were scanned with a state-of-the-art X-ray CT system at resolutions ranging from 60 μm down to 4.5 μm, with an additional scan at a resolution of 0.8 μm of a splinter-sized sample using a second X-ray CT system to highlight the potential of cell-level scanning. Calibration-free densitometry, based on full scanner simulation of a third X-ray CT system, is illustrated on increment cores of a tropical tree species. KEY RESULTS We show how multiscale scanning offers unprecedented potential for mapping tree rings and wood traits without sample manipulation and with limited operator intervention. Custom-designed sample holders enable simultaneous scanning of multiple increment cores at resolutions sufficient for tree ring analysis and densitometry as well as single core scanning enabling quantitative wood anatomy, thereby approaching the conventional thin section approach. Standardized X-ray CT volumes are, furthermore, ideal input imagery for automated pipelines with neural-based learning for tree ring detection and measurements of wood traits. CONCLUSIONS Advanced X-ray CT scanning for high-throughput processing of increment cores is within reach, generating pith-to-bark ring width series, density profiles and wood trait data. This would allow contribution to large-scale monitoring and modelling efforts with sufficient global coverage.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jan Van den Bulcke
- UGent-Woodlab, Laboratory of Wood Technology, Department of Environment, Ghent University, Gent, Belgium
- Ghent University Centre for X-ray Tomography (UGCT), Gent, Belgium
- For correspondence. E-mail
| | | | - Jelle Dhaene
- Ghent University Centre for X-ray Tomography (UGCT), Gent, Belgium
- Radiation Physics Research Group, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Ghent University, Gent, Belgium
| | | | - Luc Van Hoorebeke
- Ghent University Centre for X-ray Tomography (UGCT), Gent, Belgium
- Radiation Physics Research Group, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Ghent University, Gent, Belgium
| | - Matthieu N Boone
- Ghent University Centre for X-ray Tomography (UGCT), Gent, Belgium
- Radiation Physics Research Group, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Ghent University, Gent, Belgium
| | | | - Hans Beeckman
- Royal Museum for Central Africa, Wood Biology Service, Tervuren, Belgium
| | - Joris Van Acker
- UGent-Woodlab, Laboratory of Wood Technology, Department of Environment, Ghent University, Gent, Belgium
- Ghent University Centre for X-ray Tomography (UGCT), Gent, Belgium
| | - Tom De Mil
- UGent-Woodlab, Laboratory of Wood Technology, Department of Environment, Ghent University, Gent, Belgium
- Ghent University Centre for X-ray Tomography (UGCT), Gent, Belgium
- Royal Museum for Central Africa, Wood Biology Service, Tervuren, Belgium
| |
Collapse
|
50
|
De Mil T, Hubau W, Angoboy Ilondea B, Rocha Vargas MA, Boeckx P, Steppe K, Van Acker J, Beeckman H, Van den Bulcke J. Asynchronous leaf and cambial phenology in a tree species of the Congo Basin requires space-time conversion of wood traits. ANNALS OF BOTANY 2019; 124:245-253. [PMID: 31170728 PMCID: PMC6758582 DOI: 10.1093/aob/mcz069] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2018] [Accepted: 04/22/2019] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND AIMS Wood traits are increasingly being used to document tree performance. In the Congo Basin, however, weaker seasonality causes asynchrony of wood traits between trees. Here, we monitor growth and phenology data to date the formation of traits. METHODS For two seasons, leaf and cambial phenology were monitored on four Terminalia superba trees (Mayombe) using cameras, cambial pinning and dendrometers. Subsequently, vessel lumen and parenchyma fractions as well as high-resolution isotopes (δ13C/δ18O) were quantified on the formed rings. All traits were dated and related to weather data. KEY RESULTS We observed between-tree differences in green-up of 45 d, with trees flushing before and after the rainy season. The lag between green-up and onset of xylem formation was 59 ± 21 d. The xylem growing season lasted 159 ± 17 d with between-tree differences of up to 53 d. Synchronized vessel, parenchyma and δ13C profiles were related to each other. Only parenchyma fraction and δ13C were correlated to weather variables, whereas the δ18O pattern showed no trend. CONCLUSIONS Asynchrony of leaf and cambial phenology complicates correct interpretation of environmental information recorded in wood. An integrated approach including high-resolution measurements of growth, stable isotopes and anatomical features allows exact dating of the formation of traits. This methodology offers a means to explore the asynchrony of growth in a rainforest and contribute to understanding this aspect of forest resilience.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Tom De Mil
- UGCT-UGent-Woodlab, Ghent University, Laboratory of Wood Technology, Department of Environment, Gent, Belgium
- Royal Museum for Central Africa, Wood Biology Service, Tervuren, Belgium
| | - Wannes Hubau
- Royal Museum for Central Africa, Wood Biology Service, Tervuren, Belgium
| | - Bhély Angoboy Ilondea
- UGCT-UGent-Woodlab, Ghent University, Laboratory of Wood Technology, Department of Environment, Gent, Belgium
- Royal Museum for Central Africa, Wood Biology Service, Tervuren, Belgium
- Institut National pour l’Etude et la Recherche Agronomiques, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo
| | - Mirvia Angela Rocha Vargas
- UGCT-UGent-Woodlab, Ghent University, Laboratory of Wood Technology, Department of Environment, Gent, Belgium
- Isotope Bioscience Laboratory – ISOFYS, Ghent University, Department of Green Chemistry and Technology, Gent, Belgium
| | - Pascal Boeckx
- Isotope Bioscience Laboratory – ISOFYS, Ghent University, Department of Green Chemistry and Technology, Gent, Belgium
| | - Kathy Steppe
- Laboratory of Plant Ecology, Department of Plants and Crops, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Gent, Belgium
| | - Joris Van Acker
- UGCT-UGent-Woodlab, Ghent University, Laboratory of Wood Technology, Department of Environment, Gent, Belgium
| | - Hans Beeckman
- Royal Museum for Central Africa, Wood Biology Service, Tervuren, Belgium
| | - Jan Van den Bulcke
- UGCT-UGent-Woodlab, Ghent University, Laboratory of Wood Technology, Department of Environment, Gent, Belgium
| |
Collapse
|