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He P, Sardans J, Wang X, Ma C, Man L, Peñuelas J, Han X, Jiang Y, Li MH. Nutritional changes in trees during drought-induced mortality: A comprehensive meta-analysis and a field study. Glob Chang Biol 2024; 30:e17133. [PMID: 38273504 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.17133] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2023] [Revised: 12/13/2023] [Accepted: 12/15/2023] [Indexed: 01/27/2024]
Abstract
Both macronutrients and micronutrients are essential for tree growth and development through participating in various ecophysiological processes. However, the impact of the nutritional status of trees on their ability to withstand drought-induced mortality remains inconclusive. We thus conducted a comprehensive meta-analysis, compiling data on 11 essential nutrients from 44 publications (493 independent observations). Additionally, a field study was conducted on Pinus sylvestris L. trees with varying drought-induced vitality loss in the "Visp" forest in southern Switzerland. No consistent decline in tree nutritional status was observed during tree mortality. The meta-analysis revealed significantly lower leaf potassium (K), iron (Fe), and copper (Cu) concentrations with tree mortality. However, the field study showed no causal relationships between nutritional levels and the vitality status of trees. This discrepancy is mainly attributed to the intrinsic differences in the two types of experimental designs and the ontogenetic stages of target trees. Nutrient reductions preceding tree mortality were predominantly observed in non-field conditions, where the study was conducted on seedlings and saplings with underdeveloped root systems. It limits the nutrient uptake capacity of these young trees during drought. Furthermore, tree nutritional responses are also influenced by many variables. Specifically, (a) leaf nutrients are more susceptible to drought stress than other organs; (b) reduced tree nutrient concentrations are more prevalent in evergreen species during drought-induced mortality; (c) of all biomes, Mediterranean forests are most vulnerable to drought-induced nutrient deficiencies; (d) soil types affect the direction and extent of tree nutritional responses. We identified factors that influence the relationship between tree nutritional status and drought survival, and proposed potential early-warning indicators of impending tree mortality, for example, decreased K concentrations with declining vitality. These findings contribute to our understanding of tree responses to drought and provide practical implications for forest management strategies in the context of global change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peng He
- Tianjin Key Laboratory of Animal and Plant Resistance, College of Life Sciences, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin, China
- Forest Dynamics, Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL, Birmensdorf, Switzerland
| | - Jordi Sardans
- CSIC, Global Ecology Unit CREAF-CSIC-UAB, Bellaterra, Catalonia, Spain
- CREAF, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Catalonia, Spain
| | - Xiaoyu Wang
- Forest Dynamics, Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL, Birmensdorf, Switzerland
- Jiyang College, Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Germplasm Innovation and Utilization for Garden Plants, Zhejiang Agriculture and Forestry University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Chengcang Ma
- Tianjin Key Laboratory of Animal and Plant Resistance, College of Life Sciences, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin, China
| | - Liang Man
- Tianjin Key Laboratory of Animal and Plant Resistance, College of Life Sciences, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin, China
| | - Josep Peñuelas
- CSIC, Global Ecology Unit CREAF-CSIC-UAB, Bellaterra, Catalonia, Spain
- CREAF, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Catalonia, Spain
| | - Xingguo Han
- College of Life Sciences, Hebei University, Baoding, China
| | - Yong Jiang
- College of Life Sciences, Hebei University, Baoding, China
| | - Mai-He Li
- Forest Dynamics, Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL, Birmensdorf, Switzerland
- College of Life Sciences, Hebei University, Baoding, China
- Key Laboratory of Geographical Processes and Ecological Security in Changbai Mountains, Ministry of Education, School of Geographical Sciences, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, China
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Gora EM, Schnitzer SA, Bitzer PM, Burchfield JC, Gutierrez C, Yanoviak SP. Lianas increase lightning-caused disturbance severity in a tropical forest. New Phytol 2023; 238:1865-1875. [PMID: 36951173 DOI: 10.1111/nph.18856] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2022] [Accepted: 02/14/2023] [Indexed: 05/04/2023]
Abstract
Lightning is an important agent of plant mortality and disturbance in forests. Lightning-caused disturbance is highly variable in terms of its area of effect and disturbance severity (i.e. tree damage and death), but we do not know how this variation is influenced by forest structure and plant composition. We used a novel lightning detection system to quantify how lianas influenced the severity and spatial extent (i.e. area) of lightning disturbance using 78 lightning strikes in central Panama. The local density of lianas (measured as liana basal area) was positively associated with the number of trees killed and damaged by lightning, and patterns of plant damage indicated that this occurred because lianas facilitated more electrical connections from large to small trees. Liana presence, however, did not increase the area of the disturbance. Thus, lianas increased the severity of lightning disturbance by facilitating damage to additional trees without influencing the footprint of the disturbance. These findings indicate that lianas spread electricity to damage and kill understory trees that otherwise would survive a strike. As liana abundance increases in tropical forests, their negative effects on tree survival with respect to the severity of lightning-related tree damage and death are likely to increase.
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Affiliation(s)
- Evan M Gora
- Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, Millbrook, New York, NY, 12545, USA
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Balboa, Panamá
| | - Stefan A Schnitzer
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Balboa, Panamá
- Department of Biological Sciences, Marquette University, Milwaukee, WI, 53233, USA
| | - Phillip M Bitzer
- Department of Atmospheric and Earth Science, The University of Alabama in Huntsville, Huntsville, AL, 35899, USA
| | - Jeffrey C Burchfield
- Earth System Science Center, The University of Alabama in Huntsville, Huntsville, AL, 35899, USA
| | | | - Stephen P Yanoviak
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Balboa, Panamá
- Department of Biology, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, 40208, USA
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Hartmann H, Moura CF, Anderegg WRL, Ruehr NK, Salmon Y, Allen CD, Arndt SK, Breshears DD, Davi H, Galbraith D, Ruthrof KX, Wunder J, Adams HD, Bloemen J, Cailleret M, Cobb R, Gessler A, Grams TEE, Jansen S, Kautz M, Lloret F, O'Brien M. Research frontiers for improving our understanding of drought-induced tree and forest mortality. New Phytol 2018; 218:15-28. [PMID: 29488280 DOI: 10.1111/nph.15048] [Citation(s) in RCA: 153] [Impact Index Per Article: 25.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2017] [Accepted: 01/08/2018] [Indexed: 05/20/2023]
Abstract
Accumulating evidence highlights increased mortality risks for trees during severe drought, particularly under warmer temperatures and increasing vapour pressure deficit (VPD). Resulting forest die-off events have severe consequences for ecosystem services, biophysical and biogeochemical land-atmosphere processes. Despite advances in monitoring, modelling and experimental studies of the causes and consequences of tree death from individual tree to ecosystem and global scale, a general mechanistic understanding and realistic predictions of drought mortality under future climate conditions are still lacking. We update a global tree mortality map and present a roadmap to a more holistic understanding of forest mortality across scales. We highlight priority research frontiers that promote: (1) new avenues for research on key tree ecophysiological responses to drought; (2) scaling from the tree/plot level to the ecosystem and region; (3) improvements of mortality risk predictions based on both empirical and mechanistic insights; and (4) a global monitoring network of forest mortality. In light of recent and anticipated large forest die-off events such a research agenda is timely and needed to achieve scientific understanding for realistic predictions of drought-induced tree mortality. The implementation of a sustainable network will require support by stakeholders and political authorities at the international level.
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Affiliation(s)
- Henrik Hartmann
- Max-Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, Hans Knöll Str. 10, 07745, Jena, Germany
| | - Catarina F Moura
- Max-Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, Hans Knöll Str. 10, 07745, Jena, Germany
- Faculty of Sciences and Technology, NOVA University of Lisbon, Campus da Caparica, 2829-516, Caparica, Portugal
- Centre for Functional Ecology, Department of Life Sciences, Universilty of Coimbra, Calçada Martim de Freitas, 3000-456, Coimbra, Portugal
| | | | - Nadine K Ruehr
- Institute of Meteorology and Climate Research - Atmospheric Environmental Research (IMK-IFU), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Kreuzeckbahnstr. 19, 82467, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany
| | - Yann Salmon
- School of Geosciences, University of Edinburgh, Crew Building, The Kings Buildings, Alexander Crum Brown Road, Edinburgh, EH9 3FF, UK
- Faculty of Science, Institute for Atmospheric and Earth System Research/Physics, University of Helsinki, PO Box 68, Gustaf Hällströmin katu 2b, 00014, Helsinki, Finland
- Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry, Institute for Atmospheric and Earth System Research/Forest Sciences, University of Helsinki, Latokartanonkaari 7, PO Box 27, 00014, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Craig D Allen
- US Geological Survey, Fort Collins Science Centre, New Mexico Landscapes Field Station, Los Alamos, NM, 87544, USA
| | - Stefan K Arndt
- School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, The University of Melbourne, 500 Yarra Boulevard, Richmond, 3121, Vic., Australia
| | - David D Breshears
- School of Natural Resources and the Environment and Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, 85721, USA
| | - Hendrik Davi
- INRA, URFM Ecologie des Forest Méditerranéennes, Domaine Saint Paul, Site Agroparc, 84914, Avignon Cedex 9, France
| | - David Galbraith
- School of Geography, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK
| | - Katinka X Ruthrof
- School of Veterinary and Life Sciences, Murdoch University, 90 South Street, Murdoch, WA, 6150, Australia
- Botanic Gardens and Parks Authority, Fraser Avenue, Kings Park, WA, 6005, Australia
| | - Jan Wunder
- Insubric Ecosystems Research Group, Community Ecology, Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL, a Ramèl 18, CH-6593, Cadenazzo, Switzerland
- Tree-Ring Laboratory, School of Environment, University of Auckland, Auckland, 1142, New Zealand
| | - Henry D Adams
- Department of Plant Biology, Ecology, and Evolution, 301 Physical Sciences, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK, 74078, USA
| | - Jasper Bloemen
- Institute of Ecology, University of Innsbruck, Sternwartestraße 15, 6020, Innsbruck, Austria
- Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, 2610, Wilrijk, Belgium
| | - Maxime Cailleret
- Forest Ecology, Department of Environmental Sciences, ETH Zürich. ETH-Zentrum, CHN G77, Universitätstrasse 16, CH-8092, Zürich, Switzerland
- Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL, Zürcherstrasse 111, CH-8903, Birmensdorf, Switzerland
| | - Richard Cobb
- Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Science, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, CA, 93407, USA
| | - Arthur Gessler
- Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL, Zürcherstrasse 111, CH-8903, Birmensdorf, Switzerland
| | - Thorsten E E Grams
- Ecophysiology of Plants, Technical University of Munich, Von-Carlowitz-Platz 2, 85354, Freising, Germany
| | - Steven Jansen
- Institute of Systematic Botany and Ecology, Ulm University, Albert-Einstein-Allee 11, 89081, Ulm, Germany
| | - Markus Kautz
- Institute of Meteorology and Climate Research - Atmospheric Environmental Research (IMK-IFU), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Kreuzeckbahnstr. 19, 82467, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany
| | - Francisco Lloret
- CREAF - Centre for Ecological Research and Applied Forestry, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona, Spain
- Unitat d'Ecologia, Department of Biologia Animal, Biologia Vegetal i Ecologia, Universitat Autònoma Barcelona, Edifici C, Campus UAB, 08193 Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Michael O'Brien
- Estación Experimental de Zonas Áridas, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Carretera de Sacramento s/n, E-04120 La Cañada, Almería, Spain
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Pangle RE, Limousin JM, Plaut JA, Yepez EA, Hudson PJ, Boutz AL, Gehres N, Pockman WT, McDowell NG. Prolonged experimental drought reduces plant hydraulic conductance and transpiration and increases mortality in a piñon-juniper woodland. Ecol Evol 2015; 5:1618-38. [PMID: 25937906 PMCID: PMC4409411 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.1422] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2014] [Revised: 01/15/2015] [Accepted: 01/20/2015] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Plant hydraulic conductance (ks) is a critical control on whole-plant water use and carbon uptake and, during drought, influences whether plants survive or die. To assess long-term physiological and hydraulic responses of mature trees to water availability, we manipulated ecosystem-scale water availability from 2007 to 2013 in a piñon pine (Pinus edulis) and juniper (Juniperus monosperma) woodland. We examined the relationship between ks and subsequent mortality using more than 5 years of physiological observations, and the subsequent impact of reduced hydraulic function and mortality on total woody canopy transpiration (EC) and conductance (GC). For both species, we observed significant reductions in plant transpiration (E) and ks under experimentally imposed drought. Conversely, supplemental water additions increased E and ks in both species. Interestingly, both species exhibited similar declines in ks under the imposed drought conditions, despite their differing stomatal responses and mortality patterns during drought. Reduced whole-plant ks also reduced carbon assimilation in both species, as leaf-level stomatal conductance (gs) and net photosynthesis (An) declined strongly with decreasing ks. Finally, we observed that chronically low whole-plant ks was associated with greater canopy dieback and mortality for both piñon and juniper and that subsequent reductions in woody canopy biomass due to mortality had a significant impact on both daily and annual canopy EC and GC. Our data indicate that significant reductions in ks precede drought-related tree mortality events in this system, and the consequence is a significant reduction in canopy gas exchange and carbon fixation. Our results suggest that reductions in productivity and woody plant cover in piñon–juniper woodlands can be expected due to reduced plant hydraulic conductance and increased mortality of both piñon pine and juniper under anticipated future conditions of more frequent and persistent regional drought in the southwestern United States.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert E Pangle
- Department of Biology, MSC03 2020, 1 University of New Mexico Albuquerque, New Mexico, 87131-0001
| | - Jean-Marc Limousin
- Centre d'Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive CEFE, UMR5175, CNRS, Université de Montpellier, Université Paul-Valéry Montpellier, EPHE 1919 Route de Mende, Montpellier Cedex 5, 34293, France
| | - Jennifer A Plaut
- Department of Biology, MSC03 2020, 1 University of New Mexico Albuquerque, New Mexico, 87131-0001
| | - Enrico A Yepez
- Departamento de Ciencias del Agua y del Medio Ambiente, Instituto Tecnológico de Sonora Ciudad Obregón, Sonora, 85000, Mexico
| | - Patrick J Hudson
- Department of Biology, MSC03 2020, 1 University of New Mexico Albuquerque, New Mexico, 87131-0001
| | - Amanda L Boutz
- Department of Biology, MSC03 2020, 1 University of New Mexico Albuquerque, New Mexico, 87131-0001
| | - Nathan Gehres
- Department of Biology, MSC03 2020, 1 University of New Mexico Albuquerque, New Mexico, 87131-0001
| | - William T Pockman
- Department of Biology, MSC03 2020, 1 University of New Mexico Albuquerque, New Mexico, 87131-0001
| | - Nate G McDowell
- Earth and Environmental Sciences Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory Los Alamos, New Mexico, 87545
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Abstract
Widespread drought-induced mortality of woody plants has recently occurred worldwide, is likely to be exacerbated by future climate change and holds large ecological consequences. Yet despite decades of research on plant-water relations, the pathways through which drought causes plant mortality are poorly understood. Recent work on the physiology of tree mortality has begun to reveal how physiological dysfunction induced by water stress leads to plant death; however, we are still far from being able to predict tree mortality using easily observed or modeled meteorological variables. In this review, we contend that, in order to fully understand when and where plants will exceed mortality thresholds when drought occurs, we must understand the entire path by which precipitation deficit is translated into physiological dysfunction and lasting physiological damage. In temperate ecosystems with seasonal climate patterns, precipitation characteristics such as seasonality, timing, form (snow versus rain) and intensity interact with edaphic characteristics to determine when and how much water is actually available to plants as soil moisture. Plant and community characteristics then mediate how quickly water is used and seasonally varying plant physiology determines whether the resulting soil moisture deficit is physiologically damaging. Recent research suggests that drought seasonality and timing matter for how an ecosystem experiences drought. But, mortality studies that bridge the gaps between climatology, hydrology, plant ecology and plant physiology are rare. Drawing upon a broad hydrological and ecological perspective, we highlight key and underappreciated processes that may mediate drought-induced tree mortality and propose steps to better include these components in current research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leander D L Anderegg
- Department of Global Ecology, Carnegie Institution for Science, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
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