Intraspecific Growth Response to Drought of Abies alba in the Southeastern Carpathians

The intensity and frequency of drought have increased considerably during the last decades in southeastern Europe, and projected scenarios suggest that southern and central Europe will be affected by more drought events by the end of the 21st century. In this context, assessing the intraspecific genetic variation of forest tree species and identifying populations expected to be best adapted to future climate conditions is essential for increasing forest productivity and adaptability. Using a tree-ring database from 60 populations of 38-year-old silver fir (Abies alba) in five trial sites established across Romania, we studied the variation of growth and wood characteristics, provenance-specific response to drought, and climate-growth relationships during the period 1997–2018. The drought response of provenances was determined by four drought parameters: resistance, recovery, resilience, and relative resilience. Based on the standardized precipitation index, ten years with extreme and severe drought were identified for all trial sites. Considerable differences in radial growth, wood characteristics, and drought response parameters among silver fir provenances have been found. The provenances’ ranking by resistance, recovery, and resilience revealed that a number of provenances from Bulgaria, Italy, Romania, and Czech Republic placed in the top ranks in almost all sites. Additionally, there are provenances that combine high productivity and drought tolerance. The correlations between drought parameters and wood characters are positive, the most significant correlations being obtained between radial growth and resilience. Correlations between drought parameters and wood density were non-significant, indicating that wood density cannot be used as indicator of drought sensitivity. The negative correlations between radial growth and temperature during the growing season and the positive correlations with precipitation suggest that warming and water deficit could have a negative impact on silver fir growth in climatic marginal sites. Silvicultural practices and adaptive management should rely on selection and planting of forest reproductive material with high drought resilience in current and future reforestation programs.

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Impact of Industrial Pollution on Radial Growth of Conifers in a Former Mining Area in the Eastern Carpathians (Northern Romania)

Forests ◽

10.3390/f12050640 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (5) ◽

pp. 640

Author(s):

Cristian Gheorghe Sidor ◽

Radu Vlad ◽

Ionel Popa ◽

Anca Semeniuc ◽

Ecaterina Apostol ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Air Pollution ◽

Industrial Pollution ◽

Radial Growth ◽

Abies Alba ◽

Mining Operation ◽

Mining Area ◽

Silver Fir ◽

Local Pollution ◽

Eastern Carpathians ◽

The Impact

The research aims to evaluate the impact of local industrial pollution on radial growth in affected Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.) and silver fir (Abies alba Mill.) stands in the Tarnița study area in Suceava. For northeastern Romania, the Tarnița mining operation constituted a hotspot of industrial pollution. The primary processing of non-ferrous ores containing heavy metals in the form of complex sulfides was the main cause of pollution in the Tarnița region from 1968 to 1990. Air pollution of Tarnița induced substantial tree growth reduction from 1978 to 1990, causing a decline in tree health and vitality. Growth decline in stands located over 6 km from the pollution source was weaker or absent. Spruce trees were much less affected by the phenomenon of local pollution than fir trees. We analyzed the dynamics of resilience indices and average radial growth indices and found that the period in which the trees suffered the most from local pollution was between 1978 and 1984. Growth recovery of the intensively polluted stand was observed after the 1990s when the environmental condition improved because of a significant reduction in air pollution.

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Relationship of silver fir (Abies alba Mill.) mortality in the area of Fužine with climatic and structural parameters

Šumarski list ◽

10.31298/sl.145.7-8.1 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 145 (7-8) ◽

pp. 311-321

Author(s):

Damir Ugarković ◽

Nenad Potočić ◽

Marko Orešković ◽

Krešimir Popić ◽

Mladen Ognjenović ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Tree Mortality ◽

Negative Impact ◽

Structural Parameters ◽

Abies Alba ◽

Extreme Weather Events ◽

Anthropogenic Factors ◽

Silver Fir ◽

Weather Extremes ◽

Causes Of Mortality

Tree dieback is a complex process involving negative impact of various abiotic, biotic and anthropogenic factors. Climate change, comprising all those effects, is generally considered as the largest threat to forest ecosystems in Europe. Although the scale of climate change impacts on forests is not yet fully understood, especially on the regional or species level, significant damage seems to be caused by weather extremes, such as drought and strong winds. With the expected increase in the number, length, and/or intensity of extreme weather events in Croatia, research into the causes of tree mortality is both important and timely. Silver fir is the most damaged and endangered conifer tree species in Croatia. The dieback of silver fir can be attributed to various factors, therefore the goals of this research were to determine the mortality of silver fir trees (by number and volume) for various causes of mortality, among which the climatic and structural parameters were of most interest. The twenty-year data for tree mortality in pure silver fir stands in the area of Fužine (Gorski kotar, Croatia) were collected and analysed. The largest number and volume of dead trees was caused by complex (multiple causes) dieback in the overstorey (0,75 N/ha, 2,35 m3/ha), and the smallest (0,17 N/ha, 0,02 m3/ha) by dieback of supressed trees. No significant differences were determined regarding the timing of tree death for different causes of mortality. Climatic parameters (drought, air temperature, PET) and structural parameters of the stands (tree DBH, social position, crown diameter, shading, physiological maturity) as well as plot inclination were found to be the factors of a significant influence on the mortality of silver fir trees.

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Intraspecific structural signs of curly silver fir (Abies alba Mill.) growing in the Ukrainian Carpathians

Journal of Forest Science ◽

10.17221/79/2020-jfs ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 66 (No. 7) ◽

pp. 299-308

Author(s):

Ivan Sopushynskyy ◽

Ruslan Maksymchuk ◽

Yaroslav Kopolovets ◽

Sezgin Ayan

Keyword(s):

Wood Density ◽

Abies Alba ◽

Subject Area ◽

Wood Products ◽

Silver Fir ◽

Annual Rings ◽

Stem Wood ◽

The Subject ◽

The Aesthetic ◽

The Relationship

The aim of this paper is to present the intraspecific differentiation of the curly silver fir (Abies alba Mill.) by the wood structure growing in the Ukrainian Carpathians. To find the morphological distinctions by using the silvicultural and biometric methods, 50 silver fir trees with anomalous wavy-relief stemwood formations were investigated. The trees aged from 94 to 132 years were characterised by the diameter at breast height of 32–59 cm. The length of the wave-grained stemwood varied from 6 to 11.5 m. The amplitude of the wood fibre waves varied from 4.4 to 24.1 mm. The smallest values of the amplitude of the wave-grained wood corresponded to the smaller wavelengths. The significant differences in the wood density and annual growth between the silver fir trees with the straight-grained and wave-grained stem wood were determined. The number of annual rings in 1 cm of the curly silver fir was 27.1% lower and 22.7% higher than the same characteristics for the straight-grained stem wood. The obtained linear equation described the relationship between the number of annual rings in 1 cm and the basic wood density of the silver fir with the straight-grained wood. The aesthetic features of the curly silver fir stem wood were discussed in the subject area of a new niche of exclusive wood products.

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Mitigating climate change effects on forest growth using planting stock with high adaptive genetic capacity: results from Abies alba (Mill.) provenance trials at the southeastern distribution limit

10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-10851 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Georgeta Mihai ◽

Alin-Madalin Alexandru ◽

Marius-Victor Birsan ◽

Ionel Mirancea ◽

Paula Garbacea ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Radial Growth ◽

Abies Alba ◽

Forest Growth ◽

Silver Fir ◽

Climate Change Scenarios ◽

Planting Stock ◽

Climate Change Effects ◽

Recent Climate ◽

Romanian Carpathians

European silver fir (Abies alba Mill.) is among the most important forestry species in Europe. In Romanian Carpathians, it covers about 5% of the forests area and almost two-thirds of its distribution is located in Eastern Carpathians, which is the southeastern edge of its distribution in Europe. The most recent climate change scenarios for Europe suggest increases in mean annual temperature of 1-4 &#176;C by the end of this century (Meinshausen et al. 2011). In the context of global warming, the populations living at the edge of the species distribution will be the first facing the climate change effects. In these regions, as the southeastern Europe, the main constrains are increasing the temperature, extended drought events and water availability. Forest species are particularly sensitive to climate change because the long life-span of trees does not allow for rapid adaptation to environmental changes (Lindner et al. 2010).&#160; In this context, the aim of this study was to analyze the drought response of 51 European silver fir populations from: Romanian Carpathians (26), Austria (4), Germany (3), France (3), Italy (4), Slovakia (3), Czech Republic (3), Poland (1) and Bulgaria (4) &#160;to strong drought events which have occurred in this region, in the last 30 years. The populations are tested in three provenances trials established in Romania, in 1980; two of them being located outside and one within the optimum climatic of species. The most drought years, with severe or extreme drought periods, have been identified based on the standardized precipitation index (McKee et al. 1993). The growth response of the silver fir populations to the drought events was evaluated by calculating four parameters, namely: resistance, recovery, resilience, relative resilience (Lloret et al. 2011). Results reveled that the general trend was towards decrease the stem radial growth of silver fir during the last 30 years. The provenance x year interaction was not significant which means high provenances stability over time. Significant differences were found among silver fir provenances in terms of ring width, latewood proportion, resistance, recovery and resilience in drought years. There are provenances which have highlighted high productivity and high tolerance to drought, which could be used in reforestation work, breeding and conservation programs. The radial growth of silver fir provenances was negative affected by the temperature increase during vegetation period and positive by previous autumn-spring precipitations. Therefore, the forest management strategy to mitigate negative impacts of climate change should be based on the knowledge of the intraspecific genetic variation and selection of the best performing and adapted planting stock for each region.

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Post-glacial re-colonization and natural selection have shaped growth responses of silver fir across Europe

10.5194/egusphere-egu21-12650 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Elisabet Martínez-Sancho ◽

Christian Rellstab ◽

Frédéric Guillaume ◽

Christof Bigler ◽

Patrick Fonti ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Natural Selection ◽

Ring Width ◽

Abies Alba ◽

Least Square ◽

Extreme Drought ◽

Silver Fir ◽

Severe Drought ◽

Growth Responses ◽

Bioclimatic Variables ◽

The Impact

Warmer climate and more frequent extreme droughts will pose major threats to forest ecosystems. Persistence of intra-specific populations of tree species will depend on their tolerance and adaptive capacities to forthcoming climate conditions. However, past demography processes due to post-glacial recolonization can also contribute to the genetic-based differences in growth responses among provenances. In this study, we investigated the impact of climatic conditions on growth traits among 18 provenances of silver fir (Abies alba Mill.) from west, south and eastern Europe growing in two provenance trials established in Switzerland in 1980s. We further assessed whether the differences in growth-related traits across provenances were linked to their genetic differences due to recolonization history and natural selection processes.In total 250 individuals were measured and cored for dendrochronological analyses, and different growth-related traits were calculated: i) total tree height and diameter at breast height (DBH), ii) growth-climate relationships using correlations between tree-ring width and monthly climate parameters as well as levels of autocorrelation, and iii) short-term responses to extreme drought using resilience components (resilience, resistance, and recovery) to the severe drought that occurred in the study area in 2003. We also genotyped all the individuals in 150 putatively neutral single nucleotide polymorphisms to define the neutral genetic structure of the population, the neutral genetic differentiation among provenances (FST) and the genetic variation among provenances in relation to the total genetic variance in a trait (QST). Signs of natural selection were assessed by two approaches: i) Pearson correlations between the least-square means of provenances of the traits and bioclimatic variables from the seed origin, and ii) QST-FST comparison.The studied provenances grouped into three longitudinal clusters reassembling the genetic lineages of refugia from the last glacial maximum: the provenance of the Pyrenees as a sole member of the westernmost cluster, the Central European provenances representing the central cluster and all the eastern European provenances forming the eastern cluster. These three lineages showed differences in growth performance traits (height and DBH), with the trees from the eastern cluster being the top performers. The Pyrenees cluster showed significantly lower recovery and resilience to the extreme drought of 2003 as well as lower values of growth autocorrelation. A QST-FST and correlation analyses with climate of provenance origin suggest that the differences among provenances found in some traits result from natural selection. Our study suggests that post-glacial re-colonization and natural selection are the major drivers explaining the intra-specific variability in growth of silver fir across Europe. These findings provide insights to support assisted gene flow to ensure the persistence of the species in European forests.

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Relationships Between Climatic Variables and Tree-Ring Width of Silver Fir (Abies alba Mill.) in Kozara National Park (Bosnia and Herzegovina)

South-east European forestry ◽

10.15177/seefor.20-05 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

pp. 17-27

Author(s):

Jelena Subotić ◽

Vojislav Dukić ◽

Tatjana Popov ◽

Goran Trbić ◽

Zoran Maunaga ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Correlation Analysis ◽

Tree Ring ◽

Bosnia And Herzegovina ◽

Radial Growth ◽

National Park ◽

Sampling Site ◽

Ring Width ◽

Abies Alba ◽

Silver Fir ◽

Tree Ring Width

Silver fir (Abies alba Mill.) is the most common conifer species in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The paper describes the development of a silver fir master tree-ring chronology from Kozara National Park and analyzes the influence of the climate conditions on tree-ring widths. The knowledge concerning the effect of climate on cambium activity and, as a result, on tree growth is of great importance for silviculture, which is particularly complex in terms of deterioration of health condition. Four sites were selected for sampling at Kozara National Park. At each sampling site, 15 dominant trees were drilled with Pressler’s increment borer at breast height. The development of chronology included three steps: i) cross-dating of a series of tree-ring width and checking of their quality using the COFECHA program, ii) data standardization in the ARSTAN program, and iii) master chronology development. Correlation analysis was performed in order to determine the links between tree-ring width and climate (primarily temperature and precipitation). In the 88-year-long master chronology, pointer years analysis identified five positive and nine negative years. Correlation analysis revealed that precipitation had stronger and more significant impact on silver fir radial growth, particularly at the beginning of the growing season, in April and May (r=0.175 and r=0.318, respectively), and in the crucial July−September period (r in the range of 0.143−0.222). The highest negative correlation coefficient with temperature was determined for September of the previous year (r=-0.282) and then for summer months (July and August) of the current year (r=-0.184 and r=-0.272, respectively). In addition, statistically significant correlation between radial growth and the Forestry Aridity Index was determined (r=-0.390). The results of tree-ring width climate analysis obtained in this study are in accordance with other studies carried out in Bosnia and Herzegovina and in the surrounding area.

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Dendroindication of drought in Rogatica region (Eastern Bosnia)

Archives of Biological Sciences ◽

10.2298/abs141114025d ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 67 (1) ◽

pp. 201-211 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Vladan Ducic ◽

Rade Ivanovic ◽

Jovan Mihajlovic ◽

Rajko Gnjato ◽

Goran Trbic ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Tree Rings ◽

Moving Average ◽

Standardized Precipitation Index ◽

Abies Alba ◽

Autoregressive Moving Average ◽

Silver Fir ◽

Radial Increment ◽

Core Samples ◽

Drought Prediction ◽

The Standardized Precipitation Index

The aim of this study was to investigate the possibility of using the dendrochronological method in drought prediction in eastern Bosnia. As an indicator of drought, the standardized precipitation index (SPI) was used. In the wider area of Rogatica (eastern Bosnia), 11 core samples from trees were taken. The best connection between the width of tree rings and drought was shown by the sample of a 67-year-old European silver fir (Abies alba) from the mountain Boksanica. Removal of the biological trend (standardization) was performed by the autoregressive-moving-average (ARMA) method. Calculations showed that precipitation, i.e. drought in the summer months, is crucial for radial increment of the sample. The obtained results of our research have been confirmed in examples in the region and further.

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Effect of climate and air pollution on radial growth of mixed forests: Abies alba Mill. vs. Picea abies (L.) Karst.

Central European Forestry Journal ◽

10.2478/forj-2019-0026 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 66 (1) ◽

pp. 23-36 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Petr Mikulenka ◽

Anna Prokůpková ◽

Zdeněk Vacek ◽

Stanislav Vacek ◽

Daniel Bulušek ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Air Pollution ◽

Picea Abies ◽

Norway Spruce ◽

Tree Species ◽

Tropospheric Ozone ◽

Radial Growth ◽

Climatic Factors ◽

Abies Alba ◽

Silver Fir ◽

Pollution Load

AbstractNorway spruce (Picea abies [L.] Karst.) and silver fir (Abies alba Mill.) are main tree species of Central Europe that are currently highly vulnerable in times of global climate change. The research deals with the effect of climate and air pollution on radial growth of silver fir and Norway spruce in mixed age-varied (56 – 146 years) forests in the Jeseníky Protected Landscape Area, the Czech Republic. The objectives were to evaluate biodiversity, structure and production, specifically interaction of radial growth of fir and spruce to air pollution (SO2, NOX, tropospheric ozone) and climatic factors (precipitation, air temperature). Concentration of SO2 and NOX had negative effect on radial growth of fir, while radial growth of spruce was more negatively influenced by tropospheric ozone. Fir showed higher variability in radial growth and was more sensitive to climatic factors compared to spruce. On the other hand, fir was relatively adaptable tree species that regenerated very well when the pressure of stress factors subsided (air pollution load, Caucasian bark beetle, frost damage). Low temperature was a limiting factor of radial growth in the study mountainous area, especially for fir. Fir was significantly sensitive to late frost, respectively, spruce to winter desiccation and spring droughts with synergism of air pollution load. Generally, older forest stands were more negatively influenced by air pollution load and climatic extremes compared to young trees.

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