Impact of climate change on cold hardiness of Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii): environmental and genetic considerations

2015 ◽  
Vol 21 (10) ◽  
pp. 3814-3826 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sheel Bansal ◽  
J. Bradley St. Clair ◽  
Constance A. Harrington ◽  
Peter J. Gould
2012 ◽  
Vol 163 (3) ◽  
pp. 70-78 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aaron R. Weiskittel ◽  
Nicholas L. Crookston ◽  
Gerald E. Rehfeldt

Projected future suitable habitat and productivity of Douglas-fir in western North America Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii [Mirb.] Franco) is one of the most common and commercially important species in western North America. The species can occupy a range of habitats, is long-lived (up to 500 years), and highly productive. However, the future of Douglas-fir in western North America is highly uncertain due to the expected changes in climate conditions. This analysis presents a summary of work that utilizes an extensive network of inventory plots to project potential future changes in Douglas-fir habitat and productivity. By 2090, the amount of potential Douglas-fir habitat is projected to change little in terms of area (−4%). However, the habitat is expected to shift from coastal areas of North America to the interior. Corresponding changes in productivity are also projected as coastal areas experience reductions, while interior areas experience modest increases in productivity. Overall, the analysis indicates a sensitivity of Douglas-fir to climate and suggests that significant changes in North America are to be expected under climate change.


1979 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 576-582
Author(s):  
John Blake ◽  
Joe Zaerr ◽  
Stephen Hee

Abstract Nursery-grown seedlings of Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) were subjected to three levels of moisture stress between late July and the end of August. Measurements in October and December showed that mild stress of -5 to -10 bars significantly improved cold hardiness. In a second experiment, the effectiveness of the mild stress treatment decreased as the onset of the stress was delayed from mid-July until September 1. Furthermore, the earlier onset of stress decreased the height and shoot/root ratio, but increased the root weight and nitrogen content of the needles. For seedlings lifted in October, mild stress also decreased mortality from cold storage. Forest Sci. 25:576-582.


2005 ◽  
Vol 81 (3) ◽  
pp. 369-374 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeremy S Littell ◽  
David L Peterson

Borrowing from landscape ecology, atmospheric science, and integrated assessment, we aim to understand the complex interactions that determine productivity in montane forests and utilize such relationships to forecast montane forest vulnerability under global climate change. Specifically, we identify relationships for precipitation and temperature that govern the spatiotemporal variability in Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco) growth by seeking similarities in patterns of growth/climate models across a significant portion of the climatological range of the species. In the 21st century and beyond, sustainable forestry will depend on successful adaptation to the impacts of climate change and climate variability on forest structure and function. The combination of these foci will allow improved prediction of the fate of montane forests over a wide range of biogeoclimatic conditions in western North America and thus allow improved management strategies for adapting to climate change. We describe a multi-disciplinary strategy for analyzing growth variability as a function of climate over a broad range of local-to-regional influences and demonstrate the efficacy of this sampling method in defining regional gradients of growth-limiting factors. Key words: Douglas-fir, Pseudotsuga menziesii, climate variability, climate impacts, mechanism-response, tree rings, growth-climate relationships


2011 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 139-150 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter J. Gould ◽  
Constance A. Harrington ◽  
J. Bradley St. Clair

Models to predict budburst and other phenological events in plants are needed to forecast how climate change may impact ecosystems and for the development of mitigation strategies. Differences among genotypes are important to predicting phenological events in species that show strong clinal variation in adaptive traits. We present a model that incorporates the effects of temperature and differences among genotypes to predict the timing of budburst of coast Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii var. menziesii (Mirb.) Franco). The main components of the model are (i) functions to calculate the accumulation of chilling units (CU) and forcing units (FU) during dormancy and (ii) a function defining the combinations of CU and FU needed for budburst (the possibility line). The possibility line was fit to data from 59 populations subjected to eight different winter environments. Differences among populations were incorporated into the possibility line using population coefficients that vary the FU required for budburst. Correlations among the population coefficients and variables describing local environments supported the hypothesis that genetic variation in budburst is largely an adaptation to summer drought. The new model can be used to test potential seed transfers as a strategy to mitigate some of the effects of climate change.


2000 ◽  
Vol 30 (5) ◽  
pp. 837-840 ◽  
Author(s):  
T S Anekonda ◽  
W T Adams ◽  
S N Aitken ◽  
D B Neale ◽  
K D Jermstad ◽  
...  

Variation in cold-hardiness traits, and their extent of genetic control and interrelationships, were investigated among individuals (clones) within a single large full-sib family of coastal Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii var. menziesii (Mirb.) Franco) from Oregon. Cold injury to needle, stem, and bud tissues was evaluated in fall 1996 and spring 1997 following artificial freeze testing of detached shoots collected from 4-year-old ramets (rooted cuttings). Variation among clones in cold-injury scores was significant (p < 0.01) for all shoot tissues in both fall and spring and averaged about three times the magnitude previously observed among open-pollinated families of this species. Thus, improving cold hardiness by within-family selection appears to hold much promise. Striking similarities in relative magnitudes of heritability estimates and genetic correlations in the full-sib family, compared with breeding populations, support the following hypotheses about the quantitative genetics of cold hardiness in this species: (i) heritability of cold hardiness (both broad-and-narrow-sense) is stronger in the spring than in the fall; (ii) cold hardiness of different shoot tissues in the same season is controlled by many of the same genes; and (iii) genetic control of fall cold hardiness is largely independent of cold hardiness in the spring.


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