Response of northeastern North American forests to climate change: Will soil conditions constrain tree species migration?

2010 ◽  
Vol 18 (NA) ◽  
pp. 279-289 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benoit Lafleur ◽  
David Paré ◽  
Alison D. Munson ◽  
Yves Bergeron
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Soil Properties ◽  
Tree Species ◽  
Environmental Gradients ◽  
Plant Distribution ◽  
Soil Conditions ◽  
Precipitation Regime ◽  
Species Migration ◽  
Continental Scale ◽  
Tree Communities

Plant species distribution and plant community composition vary along environmental gradients. At the continental scale, climate plays a major role in determining plant distribution, while at the local and regional scales vegetation patterns are more strongly related to edaphic and topographic factors. The projected global warming and alteration of the precipitation regime will influence tree physiology and phenology, and is likely to promote northward migration of tree species. However the influence of soil characteristics on tree species migration is not as well understood. Considering the broad tolerance of most tree species to variations in soil factors, soils should not represent a major constraint for the northward shift of tree species. However, locally or regionally, soil properties may constrain species migration. Thus, while climate change has the potential to induce a northward migration of tree species, local or regional soil properties may hinder their migratory response. These antagonistic forces are likely to slow down potential tree migration in response to climate change. Because tree species respond individualistically to climate variables and soil properties, new tree communities are likely to emerge from climate change.

scholarly journals Zuwachs und Klimasensitivität von Baumarten im Ökogramm der kollinen und submontanen Stufe

2015 ◽  
Vol 166 (6) ◽  
pp. 380-388 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pascale Weber ◽  
Caroline Heiri ◽  
Mathieu Lévesque ◽  
Tanja Sanders ◽  
Volodymyr Trotsiuk ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Soil Properties ◽  
Climate Sensitivity ◽  
Tree Species ◽  
Ring Width ◽  
Basal Area ◽  
Growth Potential ◽  
Basal Area Increment ◽  
Tree Ring Data ◽  
Mean Sensitivity

Growth potential and climate sensitivity of tree species in the ecogram for the colline and submontane zone In forestry practice a large amount of empirical knowledge exists about the productivity of individual tree species in relation to site properties. However, so far, only few scientific studies have investigated the influence of soil properties on the growth potential of various tree species along gradients of soil water as well as nutrient availability. Thus, there is a research gap to estimate the productivity and climate sensitivity of tree species under climate change, especially regarding productive sites and forest ad-mixtures in the lower elevations. Using what we call a «growth ecogram», we demonstrate species- and site-specific patterns of mean annual basal area increment and mean sensitivity of ring width (strength of year-to-year variation) for Fagus sylvatica, Quercus spp., Fraxinus excelsior, Picea abies, Abies alba and Pinus sylvestris, based on tree-ring data from 508 (co-)dominant trees on 27 locations. For beech, annual basal area increment ( average 1957–2006) was significantly correlated with tree height of the dominant sampling trees and proved itself as a possible alternative for assessing site quality. The fact that dominant trees of the different tree species showed partly similar growth potential within the same ecotype indicates comparable growth limitation by site conditions. Mean sensitivity of ring width – a measure of climate sensitivity – had decreased for oak and ash, while it had increased in pine. Beech showed diverging reactions with increasing sensitivity at productive sites (as measured by the C:N ratio of the topsoil), suggesting an increasing limitation by climate at these sites. Hence, we derive an important role of soil properties in the response of forests to climate change at lower elevations, which should be taken into account when estimating future forest productivity.

Mapping change in key soil properties due to climate change over south-eastern Australia

Soil Research ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 57 (5) ◽  
pp. 467 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan M. Gray ◽  
Thomas F. A. Bishop
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Soil Properties ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Climate Models ◽  
Carbon Accounting ◽  
Depth Interval ◽  
Soil Conditions ◽  
South Eastern ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
South Eastern Australia

Climate change will lead to altered soil conditions that will impact on plant growth in both agricultural and native ecosystems. Additionally, changes in soil carbon storage will influence carbon accounting schemes that may play a role in climate change mitigation programs. We applied a digital soil mapping approach to examine and map (at 100-m resolution) potential changes in three important soil properties – soil organic carbon (SOC), pH and sum-of-bases (common macro-nutrients) – resulting from projected climate change over south-eastern Australia until ~2070. Four global climate models were downscaled with three regional models to give 12 climate models, which were used to derive changes for the three properties across the province, at 0–30 and 30–100 cm depth intervals. The SOC stocks were projected to decline over the province, while pH and sum-of-bases were projected to increase; however, the extent of change varied throughout the province and with different climate models. The average changes primarily reflected the complex interplay of changing temperatures and rainfall throughout the province. The changes were also influenced by the operating environmental conditions, with a uniform pattern of change particularly demonstrated for SOC over 36 combinations of current climate, parent material and land use. For example, the mean decline of SOC predicted for the upper depth interval was 15.6 Mg ha–1 for wet–mafic–native vegetation regimes but only 3.1 Mg ha–1 for dry–highly siliceous–cropping regimes. The predicted changes reflected only those attributable to the projected climate change and did not consider the influence of ongoing and changing land management practices.

scholarly journals Are Secondary Forests Ready for Climate Change? It Depends on Magnitude of Climate Change, Landscape Diversity and Ecosystem Legacies

Forests ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 965
Author(s):  
Lee E. Frelich ◽  
Kalev Jõgiste ◽  
John Stanturf ◽  
Aris Jansons ◽  
Floortje Vodde
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Tree Species ◽  
Landscape Diversity ◽  
Transient Dynamics ◽  
Soil Conditions ◽  
Secondary Forests ◽  
Novel Ecosystem ◽  
Changing Climate ◽  
Continuous Forest ◽  
Forest Biome

In this review and synthesis paper, we review the resilience of secondary forests to climate change through the lenses of ecosystem legacies and landscape diversity. Ecosystem legacy of secondary forests was categorized as continuous forest, non-continuous forest, reassembled after conversion to other land uses, and novel reassembled forests of non-native species. Landscape diversity, including landforms that create varied local climatic and soil conditions, can buffer changing climate to some extent by allowing species from warmer climates to exist on warm microsites, while also providing refugial locations for species that grow in cool climates. We present five frames that allow forest managers to visualize a trajectory of change in the context of projected regional climate change, which are: Frame 1 (persistence), keep the same dominant tree species with little change; Frame 2 (moderate change), keep the same tree species with large changes in relative abundance; Frame 3 (forest biome change), major turnover in dominant tree species to a different forest biome; Frame 4 (forest loss), change from a forest to a non-forest biome; and Frame 5 (planted novel ecosystem), establish a novel ecosystem to maintain forest. These frames interact with ecosystem legacies and landscape diversity to determine levels of ecosystem resilience in a changing climate. Although forest readiness to adapt to Frame 1 and 2 scenarios, which would occur with reduced greenhouse gas emissions, is high, a business as usual climate change scenario would likely overwhelm the capacity of ecosystem legacies to buffer forest response, so that many forests would change to warmer forest biomes or non-forested biomes. Furthermore, the interactions among frames, legacies, and landscape diversity influence the transient dynamics of forest change; only Frame 1 leads to stable endpoints, while the other frames would have transient dynamics of change for the remainder of the 21st century.

scholarly journals Variation in floristic and trait composition along environmental gradients in the herb layer of temperate forests in the transition zone between Central and SE Europe

Plant Ecology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janez Kermavnar ◽  
Lado Kutnar ◽  
Aleksander Marinšek
Keyword(s):  
Species Composition ◽  
Soil Properties ◽  
Tree Species ◽  
Floristic Composition ◽  
Soil Conditions ◽  
Mean Annual Temperature ◽  
Herb Layer ◽  
Climatic Parameters ◽  
Tree Layer ◽  
Plant Growth Habit

AbstractSpecies- and trait-environment linkages in forest plant communities continue to be a frequent topic in ecological research. We studied the dependence of floristic and functional trait composition on environmental factors, namely local soil properties, overstory characteristics, climatic parameters and other abiotic and biotic variables. The study area comprised 50 monitoring plots across Slovenia, belonging to the EU ICP Forests monitoring network. Vegetation was surveyed in accordance with harmonized protocols, and environmental variables were either measured or estimated during vegetation sampling. Significant predictors of species composition were identified by canonical correspondence analysis. Correlations between plant traits, i.e. plant growth habit, life form, flowering features and CSR signature, were examined with fourth-corner analysis and linear regressions. Our results show that variation in floristic composition was mainly explained by climatic parameters (mean annual temperature, mean annual precipitation), soil properties (pH) and tree layer-dependent light conditions. Trait composition was most closely related with tree layer characteristics, such as shade-casting ability (SCA, a proxy for light availability in the understory layer), tree species richness and tree species composition. Amongst soil properties, total nitrogen content and soil texture (proportion of clay) were most frequently correlated with different species traits or trait states. The CSR signature of herb communities was associated with tree layer SCA, soil pH and mean annual temperature. The floristic composition of the studied herb-layer vegetation depended on temperature and precipitation, which are likely to be influenced by ongoing climate change (warming and drying). Trait composition exhibited significant links to tree layer characteristics and soil conditions, which are in turn directly modified by forest management interventions.

Corrigendum to: Mapping change in key soil properties due to climate change over south-eastern Australia

Soil Research ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 57 (7) ◽  
pp. 805
Author(s):  
Jonathan M. Gray ◽  
Thomas F. A. Bishop
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Soil Properties ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Climate Models ◽  
Carbon Accounting ◽  
Depth Interval ◽  
Soil Conditions ◽  
South Eastern ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
South Eastern Australia

Climate change will lead to altered soil conditions that will impact on plant growth in both agricultural and native ecosystems. Additionally, changes in soil carbon storage will influence carbon accounting schemes that may play a role in climate change mitigation programs. We applied a digital soil mapping approach to examine and map (at 100-m resolution) potential changes in three important soil properties – soil organic carbon (SOC), pH and sum-of-bases (common macro-nutrients) – resulting from projected climate change over south-eastern Australia until ~2070. Four global climate models were downscaled with three regional models to give 12 climate models, which were used to derive changes for the three properties across the province, at 0–30 and 30–100 cm depth intervals. The SOC stocks were projected to decline over the province, while pH and sum-of-bases were projected to increase; however, the extent of change varied throughout the province and with different climate models. The average changes primarily reflected the complex interplay of changing temperatures and rainfall throughout the province. The changes were also influenced by the operating environmental conditions, with a uniform pattern of change particularly demonstrated for SOC over 36 combinations of current climate, parent material and land use. For example, the mean decline of SOC predicted for the upper depth interval was 15.6 Mg ha–1 for wet–mafic–native vegetation regimes but only 3.1 Mg ha–1 for dry–highly siliceous–cropping regimes. The predicted changes reflected only those attributable to the projected climate change and did not consider the influence of ongoing and changing land management practices.

Climate- and soil-based models of site productivity in eastern US tree species

2015 ◽  
Vol 45 (3) ◽  
pp. 325-342 ◽  
Author(s):  
Huiquan Jiang ◽  
Philip J. Radtke ◽  
Aaron R. Weiskittel ◽  
John W. Coulston ◽  
Patrick J. Guertin
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Soil Properties ◽  
Tree Species ◽  
Prediction Models ◽  
Forest Productivity ◽  
Site Index ◽  
Soil Survey ◽  
Specific Site ◽  
Ensemble Prediction ◽  
Species Specific

As concerns rise over potential effects of greenhouse gas related climate change on terrestrial ecosystems, forest managers require growth and yield modeling capabilities responsive to changing climate conditions. Our goal was to develop prediction models of site index for eastern US forest tree species with climate and soil properties as predictors for use in predicting potential responses of forest productivity to climate change. Species-specific site index data from the USDA Forest Service Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program were linked to contemporary climate data and soil properties mapped in the USDA Soil Survey Geographic (SSURGO) database. Random forest regression tree based ensemble prediction models of site index were constructed based on 37 climate-related and 15 soil attributes. In addition to a species-specific site index, aggregate models were developed for species grouped into two broad categories: conifer (softwood) and hardwood (broadleaved) species groups. Species-specific models based on climate and soil predictors explained the most variation in site index of any models tested (R2= 62.5%, RMSE = 3.2 m). Comparable results were found when grouping species into conifer and hardwood groups (R2= 63.9%, RMSE = 4.6 m for conifers; R2= 35.9%, RMSE = 4.2 m for hardwoods). Model predictions based on multiple global circulation models (GCMs) and Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) development scenarios were tested for statistical significance using bootstrap resampling methods. Results showed significant increases over the 21st century in mean site index for conifers between +0.5 and +2.4 m. Over the same time period, mean hardwood site index showed decreases of as much as −1.7 m for the scenarios tested. The results demonstrate the utility of using climate and soils data in predicting site index across a large geographic region, and the potential of climate change to alter forest productivity in the eastern US. Additional investigation is needed to interpret spatial patterns and ecological relationships related to predictions from this type of model.

Evaluation of land cover effects on soil-moisture dynamics: adaptation measures from the territory (Bidasoa catchment, Western Pyrenees).

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
María Valiente ◽  
Ane Zabaleta ◽  
Maite Meaurio ◽  
Jesus A. Uriarte ◽  
Iñaki Antigüedad
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Land Cover ◽  
Soil Properties ◽  
Hydrological Modelling ◽  
Soil Conditions ◽  
Adaptation Measures ◽  
Soil Moisture Dynamics ◽  
Land Covers ◽  
Moisture Dynamics

<p>The Pyrenees mountain range is the main source of water resources for a large surrounding region, extending from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean. This area is particularly vulnerable to the consequences of climate change. The PIRAGUA project (Interreg-POCTEFA) evaluates the components of the hydrological cycle in the Pyrenees, with the central objective of improving the adaptation of territories to climate change. One of its tasks focuses on the analysis of the effect that land cover and associated soil properties have on different hydrological services. Indeed, land use and its management directly affect soil hydrology, which is a key factor in streamflow temporal distribution. A better understanding of the water-soil-vegetation system is essential for a reliable hydrological modelling which results should be considered in adaptation strategies to climate change.</p><p>To this aim, chemical and physical characterization of soil properties is being conducted at the 681 km<sup>2</sup> humid Bidasoa catchment (Pyrenees). In order to understand the soil-moisture dynamics, a monitoring network was established in July 2019 in a 0.4 km<sup>2</sup> experimental site within the catchment. Four soil-moisture stations and a meteorological one were installed within the same geological setting, same rainfall conditions and similar soil texture characteristics (silt-loamy texture and about one meter deep), but different land covers (pine forest, oak forest, grassland and fernery). Continuous soil-moisture data obtained to date show that upper soil layers (0-20 cm) are deeply influenced by top vegetation cover. Grassland has the highest soil-moisture variations, ranging from 16.2 to 36.6 %, as they closely mirror precipitation patterns. Pine and oak forests present similar variation trend, varying from 33.9 to 42.8 % and from 35.3 to 41.9 %, respectively. Soil-moisture at fernery goes from 30.5 to 36 %. Minimum soil-moisture values coincide in all plots with the end of the dry period (end of September). Maximum values, occurring during very heavy and continuous precipitation in November (647 mm registered from 1 to 24 November), are considered as a proxy for saturated soil conditions. In all the plots, fluctuations in soil-moisture diminish significantly with increasing soil depth. However, considerable differences are found in the vertical soil-moisture profile across land covers. In both forest plots, a decreasing trend of soil-moisture within the profile is observed, while grassland and fernery show an increasing trend. Preliminary results show that soil water infiltration is different among different land covers, which give some insight into the hydrological functionality of soil under different vegetation types. Longer records of soil-moisture dynamics in the area would contribute to better assess the linkages between water, soil and vegetation and, in turn, to improve hydrological modelling in humid mountainous areas. This knowledge is necessary for a better consideration of the adaptation measures that should be taken from the territory.</p>

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