scholarly journals Exploring Growth Variability and Crown Vitality of Sessile Oak (Quercus Petraea) in the Czech Republic

2015 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Michal Rybníček ◽  
Petr Čermák ◽  
Tomáš Žid ◽  
Tomáš Kolář ◽  
Miroslav Trnka ◽  
...  

Abstract Unraveling climatic effects on growth of oak - Europe’s most ecologically and economically important forest species - has been the subject of many recent studies; however, more insight based on field data is necessary to better understand the relationship between climate and tree growth and to adapt forest management strategies to future climate change. In this report, we explore the influence of temperature, precipitation and drought variability on the productivity and vitality of oak stands in the Czech Highlands. We collected 180 cores from mature oaks (Quercus petraea) at four forest stands in the Czech Drahany Highlands. Standard dendromethods were used for sample preparation, ring width measurements, cross-dating, chronology development, and the assessment of growth-climate response patterns. Crown vitality was also evaluated, using the modified ICP Forests methodology. Late spring precipitation totals between May and June as well as the mean July temperature for the year of ring formation were found to be the most important factors for oak growth, whereas crown condition was significantly affected by spring and summer drought. This study is rep-resentative for similar bio-ecological habitats across Central Europe and can serve as a dendroclima-tological blueprint for earlier periods for which detailed meteorological information is missing

Forests ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (11) ◽  
pp. 1602
Author(s):  
Xiaoxia Huang ◽  
Xiaoneng Sun ◽  
Yuan Jiang ◽  
Feng Xue ◽  
Minghao Cui ◽  
...  

Transitional climate zones (TCZ) are characterized by instability due to rapid changes in climate and biological variables, and trees growing there are particularly sensitive to climate change. Therefore, knowledge about the shifted relationships of tree growth in response to climate warming will shape regional forest conservation and management strategies. China has experienced rapid warming in recent decades. However, how tree growth in semihumid to semiarid regions, such as the Guandi Mountains, responds to more sophisticated changes in the hydrothermal combination is not yet clear. In this study, we used tree-ring width data from three sites along an elevational gradient in the Guandi Mountains to present the response of Picea wilsonii Mast. radial growth to increasing temperature and elevational differences in the relationship between tree growth and climate. The results indicated that the Guandi Mountains have experienced rapid warming with a clear trend toward aridity. From 1959 to 1995, the radial growth of P. wilsonii was mainly influenced by temperature, while it was controlled by both temperature and precipitation after rapid warming in 1996. From 1959 to 2017, this species showed a generally consistent growth–climate relationship at different elevations in the Guandi Mountains. However, the radial growth of trees at higher elevations had a higher climatic correlation than at lower elevations, and it was more conditioned by higher summer temperatures and precipitation in December of the previous year. These results suggested that P. wilsonii was more susceptible to drought and high temperatures due to a warming climate and that more attention should be devoted to forest management, especially the adverse consequences of summer drought on P. wilsonii.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valerie Trouet ◽  
Tom De Mil ◽  
Matthew Meko ◽  
Jan Van den Bulcke

<p>High-resolution annual precipitation and temperature proxies are largely lacking in Southern Africa, partly due to the scarcely available tree species that are suitable for dendrochronology. Clanwilliam cedar (Widdringtonia cedarbergensis) from Cape Province, South Africa, is a long-lived conifer with distinct tree rings and thus a strong dendroclimatic potential. However, the climatic signal in its tree-ring width (TRW) is weak and other tree-ring parameters such as density need to be explored to extract climatic information from this proxy. Here we investigate the climatic signal of density parameters in 17 Clanwilliam cedar samples (9 trees) collected in 1978 (Dunwiddie & LaMarche, 1980). We use a non-destructive X-ray Computed Tomography facility to develop minimum density (MIND) and maximum density (MXD) chronologies from 1900 until 1977. EPS for both density series exceeded 0.85. For the period 1930-1977 (reliable instrumental records), MIND correlates negatively with early-growing season precipitation (Oct-Nov), whereas MXD correlates negatively with end-of-season (March) temperature. The spatial correlation between MIND and spring precipitation spans the winter rainfall zone of South Africa. Clanwilliam cedar can live to be 356 years old and the current TRW chronology extends to 1564 CE. Full-length density chronologies for this long-lived species could provide a precipitation reconstruction for southern Africa, a region where historical climate observations are limited and where societal vulnerability to future climate change is high.</p><p>References:</p><p>Dunwiddie, P. W., & LaMarche, V. C. (1980). A climatically responsive tree-ring record from Widdringtonia cedarbergensis, Cape Province, South Africa. Nature, 286(5775), 796–797.</p>


2004 ◽  
Vol 34 (4) ◽  
pp. 888-898 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laurent Misson ◽  
Cyrille Rathgeber ◽  
Joël Guiot

A process-based model (MAIDEN, modeling and analysis in dendroecology) is compared with statistical response functions to analyze the climate–growth relationship for two different species (sessile oak (Quercus petraea (Matt.) Liebl.) and Aleppo pine (Pinus halepensis Mill.)) growing in contrasting climates (temperate and Mediterranean). Growth data were obtained using dendroecological sampling procedures. Results obtained with both methods are consistent, but the MAIDEN model provides a more explanatory analysis than classical statistical tools. Analyses with MAIDEN indicate that oak stomatal conductance is sensitive to atmospheric vapor deficit, whereas precipitation and soil water deficit are not limiting factors in the study area. In contrast, the soil water regime is the major controlling factor of bole growth variability for Aleppo pine. The model shows that remobilization of the carbohydrate reserves in spring is of major importance for leaf and root expansion, and it affects the subsequent bole increment of oak. Because the amount of carbon that can be mobilized in spring is linked to carbon stored the previous year, these processes explain how the growth of oak trees is linked in this way from one year to the next. In contrast, the MAIDEN model shows that carbohydrate-reserve dynamics, phenology, and bole growth are less connected for Aleppo pine trees.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 862
Author(s):  
Vittoria Catara ◽  
Jaime Cubero ◽  
Joël F. Pothier ◽  
Eran Bosis ◽  
Claude Bragard ◽  
...  

Bacteria in the genus Xanthomonas infect a wide range of crops and wild plants, with most species responsible for plant diseases that have a global economic and environmental impact on the seed, plant, and food trade. Infections by Xanthomonas spp. cause a wide variety of non-specific symptoms, making their identification difficult. The coexistence of phylogenetically close strains, but drastically different in their phenotype, poses an added challenge to diagnosis. Data on future climate change scenarios predict an increase in the severity of epidemics and a geographical expansion of pathogens, increasing pressure on plant health services. In this context, the effectiveness of integrated disease management strategies strongly depends on the availability of rapid, sensitive, and specific diagnostic methods. The accumulation of genomic information in recent years has facilitated the identification of new DNA markers, a cornerstone for the development of more sensitive and specific methods. Nevertheless, the challenges that the taxonomic complexity of this genus represents in terms of diagnosis together with the fact that within the same bacterial species, groups of strains may interact with distinct host species demonstrate that there is still a long way to go. In this review, we describe and discuss the current molecular-based methods for the diagnosis and detection of regulated Xanthomonas, taxonomic and diversity studies in Xanthomonas and genomic approaches for molecular diagnosis.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan Barichivich ◽  
Philippe Peylin ◽  
Valérie Daux ◽  
Camille Risi ◽  
Jina Jeong ◽  
...  

<p>Gradual anthropogenic warming and parallel changes in the major global biogeochemical cycles are slowly pushing forest ecosystems into novel growing conditions, with uncertain consequences for ecosystem dynamics and climate. Short-term forest responses (i.e., years to a decade) to global change factors are relatively well understood and skilfully simulated by land surface models (LSMs). However, confidence on model projections weaken towards longer time scales and to the future, mainly because the long-term responses (i.e., decade to century) of these models remain unconstrained. This issue limits confidence on climate model projections. Annually-resolved tree-ring records, extending back to pre-industrial conditions, have the potential to constrain model responses at interannual to centennial time scales. Here, we constrain the representation of tree growth and physiology in the ORCHIDEE global land surface model using the simulated interannual variability of tree-ring width and carbon (Δ<sup>13</sup>C) and oxygen (δ<sup>18</sup>O) stable isotopes in six sites in boreal and temperate Europe.  The model simulates Δ<sup>13</sup>C (r = 0.31-0.80) and δ<sup>18</sup>O (r = 0.36-0.74) variability better than tree-ring width variability (r < 0.55), with an overall skill similar to that of other state-of-the-art models such as MAIDENiso and LPX-Bern. These results show that growth variability is not well represented, and that the parameterization of leaf-level physiological responses to drought stress in the temperate region can be improved with tree-ring data. The representation of carbon storage and remobilization dynamics is critical to improve the realism of simulated growth variability, temporal carrying over and recovery of forest ecosystems after climate extremes. The simulated physiological response to rising CO2 over the 20th century is consistent with tree-ring data in the temperate region, despite an overestimation of seasonal drought stress and stomatal control on photosynthesis. Photosynthesis correlates directly with isotopic variability, but correlations with δ<sup>18</sup>O combine physiological effects and climate variability impacts on source water signatures. The integration of tree-ring data (i.e. the triple constraint: width, Δ<sup>13</sup>C and δ<sup>18</sup>O) and land surface models as demonstrated here should contribute towards reducing current uncertainties in forest carbon and water cycling.</p>


Author(s):  
Maria Nedealcov ◽  
◽  
Ala Donica ◽  
Ion Agapi ◽  
Nicolae Grigoras ◽  
...  

The forests on the natural distribution area from the silvosteppe zone, under the influence of climate change will experience major changes in their structure and functioning. The analysis of growth parameters for Fraxinus excelsior, Quercus petraea, Q. robur in three experimental areas from center of the Republic of Moldova indicates that the radial growth processes are influenced by the same complex of climatic factors, which differ being dendroclimatic response intensity. It has been shown that between the annual tree growth and forest aridity index - FAI, there are close correlations: the higher FAI values indicate the lower annual growth of the trees, and vice versa, low FAI values identify good development conditions of the stands (higher increases in the annual ring width).


2018 ◽  
Vol 169 (5) ◽  
pp. 269-278
Author(s):  
Barbara Moser ◽  
Christoph Bachofen ◽  
Thomas Wohlgemuth

Pine regeneration: plasticity and acclimation in a dryer climate Increasing summer drought might limit the natural regeneration of Scots pine stands at low elevations of the Rhone valley. Common garden experiments at the forest-steppe ecotone have shown that emergence and establishment of Scots pine primarily depend on spring precipitation and, to a minor degree, on summer drought and rising temperatures. Scots pine seedlings acclimated rapidly to drought periods by favouring root to shoot growth. In the second year, the saplings were already adapted to drought so that most of them survived an extended spring and summer drought, as recorded at Sion twelve times during the last 154 years. Only an extreme summer drought – no water from June to September – killed 14.7% of the Scots pine saplings. Surprisingly, they were even able to acclimate to such extreme drought events: after the same extreme summer drought in the third year, mortality dropped below 5%. In general, the Scots pine was very plastic, i.e. seedlings and saplings changed their phenotype depending on environmental conditions. But we also found genetic adaptation: Scots pine originating from regions with pronounced summer drought, including populations from lower elevations in the Rhone valley, produced more biomass than those from moister regions in all treatment combinations. Black pine reacted similarly to the treatments like Scots pine, but it grew faster and more saplings survived the first extreme summer drought. These results show that Scots pine from low elevations of the Rhone valley is one of the most drought-tolerant provenances in Europe. Thanks to its high phenotypic plasticity and the ability of seedlings and saplings to acclimate to drought on a short time scale, natural regeneration of Scot pine at low elevations of the Rhone valley is likely to occur also under future conditions, but maybe less frequent than today.


Plant Ecology ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 214 (9) ◽  
pp. 1147-1156 ◽  
Author(s):  
Werner Härdtle ◽  
Thomas Niemeyer ◽  
Thorsten Assmann ◽  
Armin Aulinger ◽  
Andreas Fichtner ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giovanna Battipaglia ◽  
Francesco Niccoli ◽  
Arturo Pacheco-Solana

<p>Climate-induced forest mortality is a critical issue in the Mediterranean basin, with major consequences for the functioning of these key ecosystems. Indeed, in Mediterranean ecosystems, where water stress is already the most limiting factor for tree performance, climatic changes are expected to entail an increase in water deficit. In this context, annual growth rings can provide short- (e.g., years) and long-term (e.g., decades) information on how trees respond to drought events. With climate change, <em>Pinus pinaster</em> and <em>Pinus pinea</em> L. are expected to reduce their distribution range in the region, being displaced at low altitudes by more drought tolerant taxa such as sub Mediterranean <em>Quercus</em> spp.</p><p>This study aims was to assess the physiological response of <em>Pinus</em> and <em>Quercus</em> species growing in the Vesuvio National park, located in Southern Italy and where an increase of temperature and drought events has been recorded in the recent years. Our preliminary results underlined the importance of temperature on the tree ring width of all the analyses species. The high temperatures can cause a change in the constant kinetics of the RuBisCo, leading to a consequent decrease in carboxylation rate and thus to a reduction in tree growth. On the other hand, also precipitation seemed to affect the growth of the sampled trees: indeed, in all the chronologies a reduction in growth was found after particular dry years: for example, the low rainfall in 1999 (455 mm/year) determined a drastic decline in growth in 2000 in all the species. In addition to the climatic factors, competition can also play an important role in the growth rate: dendrochronological analyzes have highlighted how stand specific properties (i.e. density, structure and composition) can influence individual tree responses to drought events. The knowledge of those researches should be integrated into sustainable forest management strategies to minimize the potential impacts of climate change on forest ecosystems.</p>


Radiocarbon ◽  
1992 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 792-797 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven W. Leavitt ◽  
Robert M. Kalin

We have made isotopic and dendrochronologic measurements on material collected from the Two Creeks site. Radiocarbon dating of outside wood of four logs yielded an average age of 11,760 ± 100 BP, in good agreement with results of Broecker and Farrand (1963) over 25 years ago. The range of 11,640 ± 160 to 11,900 ± 160 BP suggests a period of forest growth of 200–300 years, consistent with a ring-width chronology established by Kaiser (1987). Ring counting of five specimens gave a range of individual tree ages from 110 to 182 years, and width measurements indicate very low year-to-year variation in ring size. However, preliminary cross-dating of five samples produced a 202-year floating chronology. Stable-carbon isotope chronologies on cellulose from five-year ring groups show δ13C scatter among trees typical of that found within modern sites, with some matches of isotopic maxima and minima. Some downward δ13C trends may result from physiological response to rising lake levels (and/or cooling temperatures) at the site, which also produced very narrow rings in the outer ca. 50 ± 20 years.


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