Climate change and forest decline: A review of the red spruce case

1989 ◽  
Vol 48 (1-2) ◽  
Author(s):  
EdwardR. Cook ◽  
ArthurH. Johnson
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Forest Decline ◽  
Red Spruce

Induction of nitrate reductase activity in red spruce needles by NO2 and HNO3 vapor

1989 ◽  
Vol 19 (7) ◽  
pp. 889-896 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard J. Norby ◽  
Yohan Weerasuriya ◽  
Paul J. Hanson
Keyword(s):  
Nitrate Reductase ◽  
Nitrate Reductase Activity ◽  
Forest Decline ◽  
Reductase Activity ◽  
Control Level ◽  
Red Spruce ◽  
Acid Vapor ◽  
Unexposed Control ◽  
Acid Mist ◽  
Spruce Needles

The induction of the enzyme nitrate reductase in needles may be a prerequisite for the assimilation of foliar-absorbed nitrogen oxide pollutants by red spruce (Picearubens Sarg.) trees. To test for induction of nitrate reductase, 1-year-old red spruce seedlings were exposed to NO2, HNO3 vapor, or acid mist containing nitrate, and the activity of nitrate reductase in needles was measured. One day after exposure to NO2 (75 nL•L−1) began, nitrate reductase activity was three times greater than that of unexposed control plants. One day after exposure ended, the nitrate reductase activity returned to the control level. Older red spruce seedlings that had been excavated from a spruce–fir stand exhibited a similar pattern of response, but the level of nitrate reductase activity was much lower than that of the 1-year-old seedlings. Nitric acid vapor (75 nL•L−1) also induced nitrate reductase in red spruce needles, and the pattern of response was similar to that with NO2, except that the nitrate reductase activity did not return to control levels until 2 days after exposure ended. Exposure of seedlings to acid mist containing nitrate (pH 3.5 and 5.0) did not result in a change in nitrate reductase activity. These results indicate that red spruce is capable of assimilating NO2 and HNO3 vapor and that hypotheses of forest decline based on foliar assimilation of pollutant nitrogen oxides are tenable.

Building the Forest-Climate Bandwagon: REDD+ and the Logic of Problem Amelioration

2011 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 85-103 ◽  
Author(s):  
Constance L. McDermott ◽  
Kelly Levin ◽  
Benjamin Cashore
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Forest Decline ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Forest Degradation ◽  
Social Goals ◽  
Climate Regime ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Forest Stewardship ◽  
Institutional Solution ◽  
Policy Mechanisms

For those championing an international institutional solution to climate change, the forest-climate linkage through reduced emissions from deforestation and forest degradation and forest enhancement (REDD+) may be one of the most promising strategic linkages to date. Following a series of forest-focused interventions that did not live up to their promise, global forest politics have now, through REDD+ deliberations, been institutionally subsumed into the climate regime. We argue that to realize its potential, REDD+ policy mechanisms must be careful to move away from the commodification of forest stewardship that reinforces short-term strategic positions of powerful producing and consuming interests whose current activities are the culprits of global forest decline. To achieve such an outcome, we argue that institutions must develop on the basis of a “logic of problem amelioration” in which the rationale for achieving clearly defined environmental and social goals is rendered transparent. This could be achieved through the formalization of a “dual effectiveness test” in which interventions are evaluated for their potential to simultaneously ameliorate both global climate change and forest degradation.

Waldsterben in Neumexiko: Wie erklären wir dies unseren Kindern? (Essay)

2013 ◽  
Vol 164 (11) ◽  
pp. 315-320
Author(s):  
Michèle Kaennel Dobbertin
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
New Mexico ◽  
General Public ◽  
Forest Decline ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Vegetation Type ◽  
Environmental Issue ◽  
The Media ◽  
Looking Back

Forest decline in New Mexico: what shall we tell the kids? (Essay) Climate change-related drought and higher temperatures may directly or indirectly cause forests to die or to be replaced by another vegetation type. As suggested, among others, by two international scientific articles published in 2010 and 2012, the magnitude of these phenomena may be greater than expected. No matter how relevant these studies are, their potential negative impact on the general public should not be underestimated, in particular if the media overstate or distort the scientists' conclusions. Looking back at the forest decline debate of the 1990s and based on discussions with an American forest ecologist, this article offers positive approaches to communicate to the general public an environmental issue to be taken seriously.

Recent evidence of Mexican temperate forest decline and the need for ex situ conservation, assisted migration, and translocation of species ensembles as adaptive management to face projected climatic change impacts in a megadiverse country

2020 ◽  
Vol 50 (9) ◽  
pp. 843-854 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cuauhtémoc Sáenz-Romero ◽  
Eduardo Mendoza-Maya ◽  
Erika Gómez-Pineda ◽  
Arnulfo Blanco-García ◽  
Angel R. Endara-Agramont ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Climatic Change ◽  
Temperate Forest ◽  
Forest Decline ◽  
Ex Situ Conservation ◽  
Seedling Recruitment ◽  
Phytophthora Cinnamomi ◽  
Ex Situ ◽  
Climate Change Scenarios ◽  
Assisted Migration

Symptoms of forest decline, apparently due to climate change, have become evident in the last 10 years on the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt and northwestern temperate forest of Mexico, particularly at the xeric (low elevational) limit of several forest tree species. We review and provide recent evidence of massive infestation of timberline Pinus hartwegii Lindl. by the mistletoes Arceuthobium globosum Hawksw. & Wiens and Arceuthobium vaginatum (Humb. & Bonpl. ex Willd.) J.Presl; insufficient Abies religiosa (Kunth) Schltdl. & Cham. seedling recruitment at the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve; indications of inbreeding and defoliation in endangered Picea chihuahuana Martínez, Picea martinezii T.F. Patt., Picea mexicana Martínez, and extreme southern populations of Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco; and the incidence of unusual pest and disease outbreaks (e.g., Dendroctonus Erichson, 1836 spp., Neodiprion autumnalis Smith, and Phytophthora cinnamomi Rands) in several conifer and oak species. We also discuss a difficult question: Is natural genetic variation sufficient to provide populations with the adaptive variation necessary to survive the natural selection imposed by projected climate change scenarios, or will phenotypic plasticity be exhausted and populations decline? Controversial ex situ conservation within natural protected areas, assisted migration, and translocation of species ensembles are discussed as options by which to accommodate projected climatic change impacts on the management and conservation practices of the megadiverse Mexican temperate forest.

Symptoms of forest decline (Waldsterben) on Norway and red spruce.

1988 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Liedeker ◽  
P. Schütt ◽  
R. M. Klein
Keyword(s):  
Forest Decline ◽  
Red Spruce

Drought-induced tree mortality: ecological consequences, causes, and modeling

2012 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 109-121 ◽  
Author(s):  
Weifeng Wang ◽  
Changhui Peng ◽  
Daniel D. Kneeshaw ◽  
Guy R. Larocque ◽  
Zhibin Luo
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Forest Decline ◽  
Tree Mortality ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Species Turnover ◽  
Optimal Growth ◽  
Research Process ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Ecological Consequences ◽  
Carbon Demand

Drought-induced tree mortality, which rapidly alters forest ecosystem composition, structure, and function, as well as the feedbacks between the biosphere and climate, has occurred worldwide over the past few decades, and is expected to increase pervasively as climate change progresses. The objectives of this review are to (1) highlight the likely ecological consequences of drought-induced tree mortality, (2) synthesize the hypotheses related to drought-induced tree mortality, (3) discuss the implications of current knowledge for modeling tree mortality processes under climate change, and (4) highlight future research needs. First, we emphasize the likely ecological consequences of tree mortality from ecosystem to biome to continental scales. We then document and criticize multiple non-exclusive tree mortality hypotheses (e.g., carbon starvation — carbon supply is less than carbon demand; and hydraulic failure — desiccation from failed water transport) from a more comprehensive ecological perspective. Next, we extend a forest decline concept model, Manion’s framework, by considering new emerging environmental conditions, for a more thorough understanding of the effects of climate change on forest decline. We find that an increase in drought frequency and (or) climate-change-type droughts may trigger increased background tree mortality rates and severe forest dieback events, accelerating species turnover and ecological regime shifts. The contribution of CO2 fertilization, rising temperature within the optimal growth range, and increased nitrogen deposition may defer or reduce this trend in tree mortality, but such contributions will vary between locations, species, and tree sizes. Multiple hypotheses proposed for drought-induced tree mortality are discussed, but coupling carbon and water cycles could help resolve the debate. The absence of a physiological understanding of tree mortality mechanisms limits the predictive ability of current models from stand-level process-based models to dynamic global vegetation models. We thus suggest that long-term observations, experiments, and models should be tightly interwoven during the research process to better forecast future climate changes and evaluate their impacts on forests.

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