Unexpected resilience in relict Abies pinsapo Boiss forests to dieback and mortality induced by climate change
Acute and early symptoms of forest dieback linked to climate warming and drought episodes have been reported for relict Abies pinsapo Boiss. fir forests from Southern Spain, particularly at their lower ecotone. Satellite, orthoimages, and field data were used to assess forest decline, tree mortality...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2022-12-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Plant Science |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2022.991720/full |
| _version_ | 1797978411958796288 |
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| author | Álvaro Cortés-Molino Álvaro Cortés-Molino Juan Carlos Linares Benjamín Viñegla Víctor Lechuga A. Enrique Salvo-Tierra Antonio Flores-Moya Ismael Fernández-Luque Jose A. Carreira |
| author_facet | Álvaro Cortés-Molino Álvaro Cortés-Molino Juan Carlos Linares Benjamín Viñegla Víctor Lechuga A. Enrique Salvo-Tierra Antonio Flores-Moya Ismael Fernández-Luque Jose A. Carreira |
| author_sort | Álvaro Cortés-Molino |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Acute and early symptoms of forest dieback linked to climate warming and drought episodes have been reported for relict Abies pinsapo Boiss. fir forests from Southern Spain, particularly at their lower ecotone. Satellite, orthoimages, and field data were used to assess forest decline, tree mortality, and gap formation and recolonization in the lower half of the altitudinal range of A. pinsapo forests (850-1550 m) for the last 36 years (1985-2020). Field surveys were carried out in 2003 and in 2020 to characterize changes in stand canopy structure and mortality rates across the altitudinal range. Time series of the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) at the end of the dry season (derived from Landsat 5 and 7 imagery) were used for a Dynamic Factor Analysis to detect common trends across altitudinal bands and topographic solar incidence gradients (SI). Historical canopy cover changes were analyzed through aerial orthoimages classification. Here we show that extensive decline and mortality contrast to the almost steady alive basal area for 17 years, as well as the rising photosynthetic activity derived from NDVI since the mid-2000s and an increase in the forest canopy cover in the late years at mid and high altitudes. We hypothesized that these results suggest an unexpected resilience in A. pinsapo forests to climate change-induced dieback, that might be promoted by compensation mechanisms such as (i) recruitment of new A. pinsapo individuals; (ii) facilitative effects on such recruitment mediated by revegetation with other species; and (iii) a ‘release effect’ in which surviving trees can thrive with fewer resource competition. Future research is needed to understand these compensation mechanisms and their scope in future climate change scenarios. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T05:22:35Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-3e410dc76518416485ead7e551143883 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1664-462X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T05:22:35Z |
| publishDate | 2022-12-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Plant Science |
| spelling | doaj.art-3e410dc76518416485ead7e5511438832022-12-23T15:12:48ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Plant Science1664-462X2022-12-011310.3389/fpls.2022.991720991720Unexpected resilience in relict Abies pinsapo Boiss forests to dieback and mortality induced by climate changeÁlvaro Cortés-Molino0Álvaro Cortés-Molino1Juan Carlos Linares2Benjamín Viñegla3Víctor Lechuga4A. Enrique Salvo-Tierra5Antonio Flores-Moya6Ismael Fernández-Luque7Jose A. Carreira8Centro de Estudios Avanzados en Ciencias de la Tierra, Energía y Medio Ambiente (CEACTEMA), Universidad de Jaén, Jaén, SpainDepartamento de Botánica y Fisiología Vegetal, Universidad de Málaga, Málaga, SpainDepartamento de Sistemas Físicos, Químicos y Naturales, Universidad de Pablo Olavide, Sevilla, SpainCentro de Estudios Avanzados en Ciencias de la Tierra, Energía y Medio Ambiente (CEACTEMA), Universidad de Jaén, Jaén, SpainCentro de Estudios Avanzados en Ciencias de la Tierra, Energía y Medio Ambiente (CEACTEMA), Universidad de Jaén, Jaén, SpainDepartamento de Botánica y Fisiología Vegetal, Universidad de Málaga, Málaga, SpainDepartamento de Botánica y Fisiología Vegetal, Universidad de Málaga, Málaga, SpainDepartamento de Botánica y Fisiología Vegetal, Universidad de Málaga, Málaga, SpainCentro de Estudios Avanzados en Ciencias de la Tierra, Energía y Medio Ambiente (CEACTEMA), Universidad de Jaén, Jaén, SpainAcute and early symptoms of forest dieback linked to climate warming and drought episodes have been reported for relict Abies pinsapo Boiss. fir forests from Southern Spain, particularly at their lower ecotone. Satellite, orthoimages, and field data were used to assess forest decline, tree mortality, and gap formation and recolonization in the lower half of the altitudinal range of A. pinsapo forests (850-1550 m) for the last 36 years (1985-2020). Field surveys were carried out in 2003 and in 2020 to characterize changes in stand canopy structure and mortality rates across the altitudinal range. Time series of the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) at the end of the dry season (derived from Landsat 5 and 7 imagery) were used for a Dynamic Factor Analysis to detect common trends across altitudinal bands and topographic solar incidence gradients (SI). Historical canopy cover changes were analyzed through aerial orthoimages classification. Here we show that extensive decline and mortality contrast to the almost steady alive basal area for 17 years, as well as the rising photosynthetic activity derived from NDVI since the mid-2000s and an increase in the forest canopy cover in the late years at mid and high altitudes. We hypothesized that these results suggest an unexpected resilience in A. pinsapo forests to climate change-induced dieback, that might be promoted by compensation mechanisms such as (i) recruitment of new A. pinsapo individuals; (ii) facilitative effects on such recruitment mediated by revegetation with other species; and (iii) a ‘release effect’ in which surviving trees can thrive with fewer resource competition. Future research is needed to understand these compensation mechanisms and their scope in future climate change scenarios.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2022.991720/fullclimate changeforest resilienceecosystem dynamicsremote sensingmultitemporal analysis |
| spellingShingle | Álvaro Cortés-Molino Álvaro Cortés-Molino Juan Carlos Linares Benjamín Viñegla Víctor Lechuga A. Enrique Salvo-Tierra Antonio Flores-Moya Ismael Fernández-Luque Jose A. Carreira Unexpected resilience in relict Abies pinsapo Boiss forests to dieback and mortality induced by climate change Frontiers in Plant Science climate change forest resilience ecosystem dynamics remote sensing multitemporal analysis |
| title | Unexpected resilience in relict Abies pinsapo Boiss forests to dieback and mortality induced by climate change |
| title_full | Unexpected resilience in relict Abies pinsapo Boiss forests to dieback and mortality induced by climate change |
| title_fullStr | Unexpected resilience in relict Abies pinsapo Boiss forests to dieback and mortality induced by climate change |
| title_full_unstemmed | Unexpected resilience in relict Abies pinsapo Boiss forests to dieback and mortality induced by climate change |
| title_short | Unexpected resilience in relict Abies pinsapo Boiss forests to dieback and mortality induced by climate change |
| title_sort | unexpected resilience in relict abies pinsapo boiss forests to dieback and mortality induced by climate change |
| topic | climate change forest resilience ecosystem dynamics remote sensing multitemporal analysis |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2022.991720/full |
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