scholarly journals Influence of Warmer and Drier Environmental Conditions on Species-Specific Stem Circumference Dynamics and Water Status of Conifers in Submontane Zone of Central Slovakia

Water ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (10) ◽  
pp. 2945
Author(s):  
Adriana Leštianska ◽  
Peter Fleischer ◽  
Katarína Merganičová ◽  
Peter Fleischer ◽  
Katarína Střelcová
Keyword(s):  
Water Deficit ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Water Status ◽  
Abies Alba ◽  
Growth Patterns ◽  
Forest Growth ◽  
Mature Trees ◽  
Natural Habitats ◽  
Band Dendrometers ◽  
Species Specific

The frequency and intensity of droughts and heatwaves in Europe with notable impact on forest growth are expected to increase due to climate change. Coniferous stands planted outside the natural habitats of species belong to the most threatened forests. In this study, we assess stem circumference response of coniferous species (Larix decidua and Abies alba) to environmental conditions during the years 2015–2019. The study was performed in Arboretum in Zvolen (ca. 300 m a.s.l., Central Slovakia) characterised by a warmer and drier climate when compared to their natural habitats (located above 900 m a.s.l.), where they originated from. Seasonal radial variation, tree water deficit (ΔW), and maximum daily shrinkage (MDS) were derived from the records obtained from band dendrometers installed on five mature trees per species. Monitored species exhibited remarkably different growth patterns under highly above normal temperatures and uneven precipitation distribution. The magnitudes of reversible circumference changes (ΔW, MDS) were species-specific and strongly correlated with environmental factors. The wavelet analysis identified species-specific vulnerability to drought indicated by pronounced diurnal stem variation periodicity in rainless periods. L. decidua exhibited more strained stem water status and higher sensitivity to environmental conditions than A. alba. Tree water deficit and maximum daily shrinkage were found appropriate characteristics to compare water status of different tree species.

scholarly journals Interspecific variation in growth and tree water status of conifers under water-limited conditions

2020 ◽  
Vol 68 (4) ◽  
pp. 368-381
Author(s):  
Adriana Leštianska ◽  
Peter Fleischer ◽  
Peter Fleischer ◽  
Katarína Merganičová ◽  
Katarína Střelcová
Keyword(s):  
Water Deficit ◽  
Tree Species ◽  
Water Status ◽  
Abies Alba ◽  
Interspecific Variation ◽  
Species Tolerance ◽  
Stem Water ◽  
Band Dendrometers ◽  
Species Specific ◽  
Climate Events

AbstractWe monitored seasonal dynamics of stem water status of four coniferous species (Abies alba, Larix decidua, Picea abies and Pinus sylvestris) planted at the Borová hora Arboretum (300 m a.s.l., Zvolen valley, Central Slovakia) beyond their ecological and production optima, in the region with warmer and drier climate compared to the sites of their origin. Species-specific stem water deficit and maximum daily shrinkage were extracted from diurnal band dendrometer records of stem circumference recorded by digital band dendrometers DRL26 installed on five trees per species, and correlations with environmental variables were analysed. The seasonal stem circumference increment of all tree species was higher in 2017 than in the drier and hotter year of 2018. The greatest seasonal stem circumference increment in the observed periods of 2017 and 2018 was observed for A. alba and P. sylvestris, respectively. The highest and lowest values of daily and seasonal stem water deficit were observed for L. decidua and A. alba, respectively. The analysis of trees' short-term response to extreme climate events seems to be the promising and suitable method for detecting tree species tolerance towards drought.

Local testing and calibration of species-specific competition indices in Sierran mixed conifer forests: Application transfer to evolving objectives

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mike Premer ◽  
Sophan Chhin ◽  
Jianwei Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Sierra Nevada ◽  
Pinus Ponderosa ◽  
Growth Patterns ◽  
Forest Growth ◽  
Conifer Forests ◽  
Mixed Conifer ◽  
Competitive Response ◽  
Mixed Conifer Forests ◽  
Species Specific ◽  
Competition Indices

Forest growth processes are driven by site productivity and species functional traits, ultimately constrained by cumulative resource demand, and resulting in competitive dynamics across successional forest communities. Historic efforts to quantify competition utilize density metrics or neighborhood crowding indices for yield modeling and reforestation surveys. These methods have expanded to dendroclimatology and restoration applications that commonly assume similar competitive response across species of various functional types. We assessed competitive indices of two focal species (Pinus lambertiana Douglas and Pinus ponderosa Lawson & C. Lawson) in Sierra Nevada mixed conifer forests to estimate stem radial growth under current stand structure. We ranked correlations of basal area increment of the last 10 years (BAI10) separately across 20 competition indices (CIs). Best ranked CIs were used to test the relative influence of competition, tree size, and site variables on BAI10 with linear mixed models. While crown overlap was a common variable in CIs among both species, BAI10 of P. lambertiana was less impacted by intraspecific competition, and P. ponderosa appeared sensitive to all competing stems. Results suggest that local calibration of CIs with crown parameters may aid in interpreting Pinus species growth patterns, and the relative impact of competition on growth is species-specific.

Linking physiological and genetic analyses of the control of leaf growth under changing environmental conditions

2005 ◽  
Vol 56 (9) ◽  
pp. 937 ◽  
Author(s):  
François Tardieu ◽  
Matthieu Reymond ◽  
Bertrand Muller ◽  
Christine Granier ◽  
Thierry Simonneau ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Growth Rate ◽  
Water Deficit ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Leaf Growth ◽  
Water Status ◽  
Recombinant Inbred Lines ◽  
Vapour Pressure Deficit ◽  
Leaf Elongation ◽  
Response Curves ◽  
Division Rate

Decrease in leaf growth rate under water deficit can be seen as an adaptive process. The analysis of its genetic variability is therefore important in the context of drought tolerance. Several mechanisms are widely believed to drive the reduction in leaf growth rate under water deficit, namely leaf carbon balance, incomplete turgor maintenance, and decrease in cell wall plasticity or in cell division rate, with contributions from hormones such as abscisic acid or ethylene. Each of these mechanisms is still controversial, and involves several families of genes. It is argued that gene regulatory networks are not feasible for modelling such complex systems. Leaf growth can be modelled via response curves to environmental conditions, which are considered as ‘meta-mechanisms’ at a higher degree of organisation. Response curves of leaf elongation rate to meristem temperature, atmospheric vapour pressure deficit, and soil water status were established in recombinant inbred lines (RILs) of maize in experiments carried out in the field and in the greenhouse. A quantitative trait locus (QTL) analysis was conducted on the slopes of these responses. Each parameter of the ecophysiological model could then be computed as the sum of QTL effects, allowing calculation of parameters of new RILs, either virtual or existing. Leaf elongation rates of new RILS were simulated and were similar to measurements in a growth chamber experiment. This opens the way to the simulation of virtual genotypes, known only by their alleles, in any climatic scenario. Each genotype is therefore represented by a set of response parameters, valid in a large range of conditions and deduced from the alleles at QTLs.

scholarly journals Collective growth patterns reveal the high growing potential of older silver fir trees in a primeval forest in Romania’s Southern Carpathians

2020 ◽  
Vol 48 (2) ◽  
pp. 1085-1099
Author(s):  
Sergiu A. HORODNIC ◽  
Cătălin C. ROIBU
Keyword(s):  
Abies Alba ◽  
Growth Patterns ◽  
Forest Growth ◽  
Silver Fir ◽  
Intraspecific Interactions ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Old Growth Forest ◽  
Study Results ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Southern Carpathians

The trees’ ability to respond and adjust to very different growing conditions during their lifespans varies depending on tree species and the site-specific situations. Identifying the underlying mechanisms and the individual drivers that may affect the patterns of tree growth is crucial in ecological and economic terms. How long can forest trees grow and sustain biomass accumulation, with increasing age, is still under debate. In order to determine the factors that influence growth releases for silver fir (Abies alba Mill.) trees in a temperate old-growth forest of Romania's Southern Carpathians, an analysis of radial and basal area growth patterns was initiated. Dendroecological methods were used to reconstruct radial growth both at the individual level, but especially at the group level, in four clusters obtained by a prior k-cluster analysis depending on social status. The study results showed that the growth rate of older trees increases continuously for this species at stand level, even after the typical harvesting age in managed forests. Although the direction and intensity of the climate-growth correlations at individual level were very different, the considered climatic variables explaining little to none of the growth variation, the cumulative response of the analysed trees to climate change is directly correlated with the mean July-August temperature, confirming the capacity of the silver fir to tolerate drought. Our results demonstrate that the trees of the same species are able to obtain together a temporal plasticity in strategies, exceeding the adaptability of individuals considered separately and suggest the positive impact of facilitative intraspecific interactions on forest growth.

scholarly journals Screening for Salt and Water Stress Tolerance in Fir (Abies alba) Populations

2019 ◽  
Vol 47 (4) ◽  
pp. 1063-1072 ◽  
Author(s):  
Irina M. TODEA (MORAR) ◽  
Sara GONZÁLEZ-ORENGA ◽  
Mariola PLAZAS ◽  
Adriana F. SESTRAS ◽  
Jaime PROHENS ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Stress ◽  
Water Deficit ◽  
Stem Elongation ◽  
Abies Alba ◽  
Digital Object Identifier ◽  
Relative Reduction ◽  
Silver Fir ◽  
Limited Information ◽  
Natural Habitats ◽  
Water Stress Tolerance

Drought periods are becoming more frequent and intense, due to the effects of climate change, threatening natural habitats worldwide, including European forests. Forest trees can also be affected by high soil salinity, because of the common practice of de-icing of mountain roads with NaCl in winter. We have evaluated the responses to salt and water stress of silver fir (Abies alba), an important forest species for which very limited information is available. One-year-old fir seedlings, with origin in seven different locations in Romania, were subjected to salt (watering with NaCl solutions of increasing concentrations) and water deficit (complete withholding of irrigation) treatments in the greenhouse. After one month, plant material was harvested and different morphological parameters were determined in the stressed and control plants. Both stress treatments inhibited growth of fir seedlings from all seven provenances, although quantitative differences in the responses to stress were observed between populations. Growth inhibition was established by the relative reduction – as compared to the non-stressed controls - in several parameters, such as stem elongation, root length, number of needles, or fresh weight and water content of roots and needles. Statistical multivariate analysis of the results suggested that seedlings from Valea Morii (population 6) were the most tolerant to both, water deficit and high (300 mM NaCl) salt concentrations. These results support the possibility to screen a large number of individuals from different populations, at the seedling stage, to select Abies alba genotypes with enhanced drought and/or salinity tolerance.   ********* In press - Online First. Article has been peer reviewed, accepted for publication and published online without pagination. It will receive pagination when the issue will be ready for publishing as a complete number (Volume 47, Issue 4, 2019). The article is searchable and citable by Digital Object Identifier (DOI). DOI link will become active after the article will be included in the complete issue. *********

Occupancy of two forest specialist birds in the Southern Mistbelt Forests of KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape, South Africa

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-16
Author(s):  
S. THOBEKA GUMEDE ◽  
DAVID A. EHLERS SMITH ◽  
YVETTE C. EHLERS SMITH ◽  
SAMUKELISIWE P. NGCOBO ◽  
MBALENHLE T. SOSIBO ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Camera Trap ◽  
Habitat Requirements ◽  
Stem Density ◽  
Grass Cover ◽  
Eastern Cape ◽  
Wet Season ◽  
Mature Trees ◽  
Natural Habitats ◽  
Kwazulu Natal

Summary Establishing the specific habitat requirements of forest specialists in fragmented natural habitats is vital for their conservation. We used camera-trap surveys and microhabitat-scale covariates to assess the habitat requirements, probability of occupancy and detection of two terrestrial forest specialist species, the Orange Ground-thrush Geokichla gurneyi and the Lemon Dove Aplopelia larvata during the breeding and non-breeding seasons of 2018–2019 in selected Southern Mistbelt Forests of KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape, South Africa. A series of camera-trap surveys over 21 days were conducted in conjunction with surveys of microhabitat structural covariates. During the wet season, percentage of leaf litter cover, short grass cover, short herb cover, tall herb cover and saplings 0–2 m, stem density of trees 6–10 m and trees 16–20 m were significant structural covariates for influencing Lemon Dove occupancy. In the dry season, stem density of 2–5 m and 10–15 m trees, percentage tall herb cover, short herb cover and 0–2 m saplings were significant covariates influencing Lemon Dove occupancy. Stem density of trees 2–5 m and 11–15 m, percentage of short grass cover and short herb cover were important site covariates influencing Orange Ground-thrush occupancy in the wet season. Our study highlighted the importance of a diverse habitat structure for both forest species. A high density of tall/mature trees was an essential microhabitat covariate, particularly for sufficient cover and food for these ground-dwelling birds. Avian forest specialists play a vital role in providing ecosystem services perpetuating forest habitat functioning. Conservation of the natural heterogeneity of their habitat is integral to management plans to prevent the decline of such species.

scholarly journals Using GEDI lidar data and airborne laser scanning to assess height growth dynamics in fast-growing species: a showcase in Spain

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan Guerra-Hernández ◽  
Adrián Pascual
Keyword(s):  
Pinus Radiata ◽  
Pinus Pinaster ◽  
Laser Scanning ◽  
Forest Ecosystems ◽  
Height Growth ◽  
Growth Patterns ◽  
Forest Growth ◽  
Airborne Laser Scanning ◽  
Fast Growing ◽  
Airborne Laser

Abstract Background The NASA’s Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation (GEDI) satellite mission aims at scanning forest ecosystems on a multi-temporal short-rotation basis. The GEDI data can validate and update statistics from nationwide airborne laser scanning (ALS). We present a case in the Northwest of Spain using GEDI statistics and nationwide ALS surveys to estimate forest dynamics in three fast-growing forest ecosystems comprising 211,346 ha. The objectives were: i) to analyze the potential of GEDI to detect disturbances, ii) to investigate uncertainty source regarding non-positive height increments from the 2015–2017 ALS data to the 2019 GEDI laser shots and iii) to estimate height growth using polygons from the Forest Map of Spain (FMS). A set of 258 National Forest Inventory plots were used to validate the observed height dynamics. Results The spatio-temporal assessment from ALS surveying to GEDI scanning allowed the large-scale detection of harvests. The mean annual height growths were 0.79 (SD = 0.63), 0.60 (SD = 0.42) and 0.94 (SD = 0.75) m for Pinus pinaster, Pinus radiata and Eucalyptus spp., respectively. The median annual values from the ALS-GEDI positive increments were close to NFI-based growth values computed for Pinus pinaster and Pinus radiata, respectively. The effect of edge border, spatial co-registration of GEDI shots and the influence of forest cover in the observed dynamics were important factors to considering when processing ALS data and GEDI shots. Discussion The use of GEDI laser data provides valuable insights for forest industry operations especially when accounting for fast changes. However, errors derived from positioning, ground finder and canopy structure can introduce uncertainty to understand the detected growth patterns as documented in this study. The analysis of forest growth using ALS and GEDI would benefit from the generalization of common rules and data processing schemes as the GEDI mission is increasingly being utilized in the forest remote sensing community.

Water deficit in plant communities

1970 ◽  
Vol 48 (6) ◽  
pp. 1199-1201 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Gračanin ◽  
Lj. Ilijanić ◽  
V. Gaži ◽  
N. Hulina
Keyword(s):  
Water Deficit ◽  
Plant Communities ◽  
Water Regime ◽  
Water Status

Comparative investigations within the two different plant communities of Croatia (Fagetum silvaticae croaticum abietetosum Ht and Querco-Carpinetum croaticum erythronietosum Ht) indicate that (1) the two communities have their own range of water deficit values, (2) the Dw values are dependent on the capability of the species to regulate their water regime, (3) the same species behave differently within the two communities, (4) water deficit of leaves can be used as an indication of the water status of the site and plants, and consequently may have a significant place in the synecology and synchorology of plant communities.

Single hyperspectral bands are highly sensitive to water stress in adult mandarin trees

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pablo Berríos ◽  
Abdelmalek Temnani ◽  
Susana Zapata ◽  
Manuel Forcén ◽  
Sandra Martínez-Pedreño ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Stress ◽  
Water Deficit ◽  
Phase Ii ◽  
Irrigation Water ◽  
Water Status ◽  
Irrigation Scheduling ◽  
Plant Water Status ◽  
Phase Iii ◽  
Plant Water ◽  
Severe Water Stress

<p>Mandarin is one of the most important Citrus cultivated in Spain and the sustainability of the crop is subject to a constant pressure for water resources among the productive sectors and to a high climatic demand conditions and low rainfall (about 250 mm per year). The availability of irrigation water in the Murcia Region is generally close to 3,500 m<sup>3</sup> per ha and year, so it is only possible to satisfy 50 - 60% of the late mandarin ETc, which requires about 5,500 m<sup>3</sup> per ha. For this reason, it is necessary to provide tools to farmers in order to control the water applied in each phenological phase without promoting levels of severe water stress to the crop that negatively affect the sustainability of farms located in semi-arid conditions. Stem water potential (SWP) is a plant water status indicator very sensitive to water deficit, although its measurement is manual, discontinuous and on a small-scale.  In this way, indicators measured on a larger scale are necessary to achieve integrating the water status of the crop throughout the farm. Thus, the aim of this study was to determine the sensitivity to water deficit of different hyperspectral single bands (HSB) and their relationship with the midday SWP in mandarin trees submitted to severe water stress in different phenological phases. Four different irrigation treatments were assessed: i) a control (CTL), irrigated at 100% of the ETc throughout the growing season to satisfy plant water requirements and three water stress treatments that were irrigated at 60% of ETc throughout the season – corresponding to the real irrigation water availability – except  during: ii) the end of phase I and beginning of phase II (IS IIa), iii) the first half of phase II (IS IIb) and iv) phase III of fruit growth (IS III), which irrigation was withheld until values of -1.8 MPa of SWP or a water stress integral of 60 MPa day<sup>-1</sup>. When these threshold values were reached, the spectral reflectance values were measured between 350 and 2500 nm using a leaf level spectroradiometer to 20 mature and sunny leaves on 4 trees per treatment. Twenty-four HVI and HSB were calculated and a linear correlation was made between each of them with SWP, where the ρ940 and ρ1250 nm single bands reflectance presented r-Pearson values of -0.78** and -0.83***, respectively. Two linear regression curves fitting were made: SWP (MPa) = -11.05 ∙ ρ940 + 7.8014 (R<sup>2</sup> =0.61) and SWP (MPa) = -13.043 ∙ ρ1250 + 8.9757 (R<sup>2</sup> =0.69). These relationships were obtained with three different fruit diameters (35, 50 and 65 mm) and in a range between -0.7 and -1.6 MPa of SWP. Results obtained show the possibility of using these single bands in the detection of water stress in adult mandarin trees, and thus propose a sustainable and efficient irrigation scheduling by means of unmanned aerial vehicles equipped with sensors to carry out an automated control of the plant water status and with a suitable temporal and spatial scale to apply precision irrigation.</p>

scholarly journals Environmental and taxonomic controls of carbon and oxygen stable isotope composition in <i>Sphagnum</i> across broad climatic and geographic ranges

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (16) ◽  
pp. 5189-5202 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gustaf Granath ◽  
Håkan Rydin ◽  
Jennifer L. Baltzer ◽  
Fia Bengtsson ◽  
Nicholas Boncek ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Net Primary Productivity ◽  
Isotope Composition ◽  
Explanatory Power ◽  
Isotopic Signature ◽  
Co2 Uptake ◽  
Δ13c Values ◽  
Site Variation ◽  
Species Specific

Abstract. Rain-fed peatlands are dominated by peat mosses (Sphagnum sp.), which for their growth depend on nutrients, water and CO2 uptake from the atmosphere. As the isotopic composition of carbon (12,13C) and oxygen (16,18O) of these Sphagnum mosses are affected by environmental conditions, Sphagnum tissue accumulated in peat constitutes a potential long-term archive that can be used for climate reconstruction. However, there is inadequate understanding of how isotope values are influenced by environmental conditions, which restricts their current use as environmental and palaeoenvironmental indicators. Here we tested (i) to what extent C and O isotopic variation in living tissue of Sphagnum is species-specific and associated with local hydrological gradients, climatic gradients (evapotranspiration, temperature, precipitation) and elevation; (ii) whether the C isotopic signature can be a proxy for net primary productivity (NPP) of Sphagnum; and (iii) to what extent Sphagnum tissue δ18O tracks the δ18O isotope signature of precipitation. In total, we analysed 337 samples from 93 sites across North America and Eurasia using two important peat-forming Sphagnum species (S. magellanicum, S. fuscum) common to the Holarctic realm. There were differences in δ13C values between species. For S. magellanicum δ13C decreased with increasing height above the water table (HWT, R2=17 %) and was positively correlated to productivity (R2=7 %). Together these two variables explained 46 % of the between-site variation in δ13C values. For S. fuscum, productivity was the only significant predictor of δ13C but had low explanatory power (total R2=6 %). For δ18O values, approximately 90 % of the variation was found between sites. Globally modelled annual δ18O values in precipitation explained 69 % of the between-site variation in tissue δ18O. S. magellanicum showed lower δ18O enrichment than S. fuscum (−0.83 ‰ lower). Elevation and climatic variables were weak predictors of tissue δ18O values after controlling for δ18O values of the precipitation. To summarize, our study provides evidence for (a) good predictability of tissue δ18O values from modelled annual δ18O values in precipitation, and (b) the possibility of relating tissue δ13C values to HWT and NPP, but this appears to be species-dependent. These results suggest that isotope composition can be used on a large scale for climatic reconstructions but that such models should be species-specific.

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