Quantitative wood anatomy and stable carbon isotopes indicate pronounced drought exposure of Scots pine when growing at the forest edge
Climate change poses a major threat to global forest ecosystems. In particular, rising temperatures and prolonged drought spells have led to increased rates of forest decline and dieback in recent decades. Under this framework, forest edges are particularly prone to drought-induced decline since the...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2023-10-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Forests and Global Change |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/ffgc.2023.1233052/full |
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| author | Allan Buras Allan Buras Romy Rehschuh Marina Fonti Jelena Lange Patrick Fonti Annette Menzel Annette Menzel Arthur Gessler Arthur Gessler Andreas Rigling Andreas Rigling Kerstin Treydte Georg von Arx Georg von Arx |
| author_facet | Allan Buras Allan Buras Romy Rehschuh Marina Fonti Jelena Lange Patrick Fonti Annette Menzel Annette Menzel Arthur Gessler Arthur Gessler Andreas Rigling Andreas Rigling Kerstin Treydte Georg von Arx Georg von Arx |
| author_sort | Allan Buras |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Climate change poses a major threat to global forest ecosystems. In particular, rising temperatures and prolonged drought spells have led to increased rates of forest decline and dieback in recent decades. Under this framework, forest edges are particularly prone to drought-induced decline since they are characterized by warmer and drier micro-climatic conditions amplifying impacts of drought on tree growth and survival. Previous research indicated that forest-edge Scots pine trees have a higher growth sensitivity to water availability compared to the forest interior with consequent reduction of canopy greenness (remotely sensed NDVI) and higher mortality rates. Yet, the underlying physiological mechanisms remain largely unknown. Here, we address this knowledge gap by comparing stable carbon isotope signatures and wood anatomical traits in annual rings of trees growing at the forest edge vs. the forest interior and between trees that either survived or died during the extreme drought of 2015. Our analyses suggest that the exposure to drought of forest-edge Scots pine likely results in a reduction of stomatal conductance, as reflected by a higher δ13C of stem wood, thinner cell walls, and lower mean ring density. Moreover, we found dead trees to feature larger mean hydraulic lumen diameters and a lower cell-wall reinforcement, indicating a higher risk to suffer from cavitation. In conclusion, the typically drier micro-climatic conditions at the forest edge seem to have triggered a larger reduction of stomatal conductance of Scots pine trees, resulting in a lower carbon availability and significantly altered wood anatomical properties under an increasingly drier climate. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T07:58:45Z |
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| id | doaj.art-66c75a12810f408f8b3d88eb12e9c1a8 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2624-893X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T07:58:45Z |
| publishDate | 2023-10-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Forests and Global Change |
| spelling | doaj.art-66c75a12810f408f8b3d88eb12e9c1a82023-11-17T04:48:33ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Forests and Global Change2624-893X2023-10-01610.3389/ffgc.2023.12330521233052Quantitative wood anatomy and stable carbon isotopes indicate pronounced drought exposure of Scots pine when growing at the forest edgeAllan Buras0Allan Buras1Romy Rehschuh2Marina Fonti3Jelena Lange4Patrick Fonti5Annette Menzel6Annette Menzel7Arthur Gessler8Arthur Gessler9Andreas Rigling10Andreas Rigling11Kerstin Treydte12Georg von Arx13Georg von Arx14Land Surface-Atmosphere Interactions, TU Munich, Munich, GermanyEcoclimatology, TU Munich, Munich, GermanyInstitute of General Ecology and Environmental Protection, Chair of Biodiversity and Nature Conservation, TU Dresden, Dresden, GermanyForest Dynamics, Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL, Birmensdorf, SwitzerlandDepartment of Physical Geography and Geoecology, Charles University, Prague, CzechiaForest Dynamics, Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL, Birmensdorf, SwitzerlandEcoclimatology, TU Munich, Munich, GermanyInstitute for Advanced Study, Technical University of Munich, Garching, GermanyForest Dynamics, Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL, Birmensdorf, SwitzerlandInstitute of Terrestrial Ecosystems, ETH Zurich, Zürich, SwitzerlandForest Dynamics, Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL, Birmensdorf, SwitzerlandForest Ecology, Institute of Terrestrial Ecosystems, ETH Zurich, Zürich, SwitzerlandForest Dynamics, Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL, Birmensdorf, SwitzerlandForest Dynamics, Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL, Birmensdorf, SwitzerlandOeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, Bern, SwitzerlandClimate change poses a major threat to global forest ecosystems. In particular, rising temperatures and prolonged drought spells have led to increased rates of forest decline and dieback in recent decades. Under this framework, forest edges are particularly prone to drought-induced decline since they are characterized by warmer and drier micro-climatic conditions amplifying impacts of drought on tree growth and survival. Previous research indicated that forest-edge Scots pine trees have a higher growth sensitivity to water availability compared to the forest interior with consequent reduction of canopy greenness (remotely sensed NDVI) and higher mortality rates. Yet, the underlying physiological mechanisms remain largely unknown. Here, we address this knowledge gap by comparing stable carbon isotope signatures and wood anatomical traits in annual rings of trees growing at the forest edge vs. the forest interior and between trees that either survived or died during the extreme drought of 2015. Our analyses suggest that the exposure to drought of forest-edge Scots pine likely results in a reduction of stomatal conductance, as reflected by a higher δ13C of stem wood, thinner cell walls, and lower mean ring density. Moreover, we found dead trees to feature larger mean hydraulic lumen diameters and a lower cell-wall reinforcement, indicating a higher risk to suffer from cavitation. In conclusion, the typically drier micro-climatic conditions at the forest edge seem to have triggered a larger reduction of stomatal conductance of Scots pine trees, resulting in a lower carbon availability and significantly altered wood anatomical properties under an increasingly drier climate.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/ffgc.2023.1233052/fulltree ringshotter droughtforest microclimatetree physiologydiebackPinus sylvestris |
| spellingShingle | Allan Buras Allan Buras Romy Rehschuh Marina Fonti Jelena Lange Patrick Fonti Annette Menzel Annette Menzel Arthur Gessler Arthur Gessler Andreas Rigling Andreas Rigling Kerstin Treydte Georg von Arx Georg von Arx Quantitative wood anatomy and stable carbon isotopes indicate pronounced drought exposure of Scots pine when growing at the forest edge Frontiers in Forests and Global Change tree rings hotter drought forest microclimate tree physiology dieback Pinus sylvestris |
| title | Quantitative wood anatomy and stable carbon isotopes indicate pronounced drought exposure of Scots pine when growing at the forest edge |
| title_full | Quantitative wood anatomy and stable carbon isotopes indicate pronounced drought exposure of Scots pine when growing at the forest edge |
| title_fullStr | Quantitative wood anatomy and stable carbon isotopes indicate pronounced drought exposure of Scots pine when growing at the forest edge |
| title_full_unstemmed | Quantitative wood anatomy and stable carbon isotopes indicate pronounced drought exposure of Scots pine when growing at the forest edge |
| title_short | Quantitative wood anatomy and stable carbon isotopes indicate pronounced drought exposure of Scots pine when growing at the forest edge |
| title_sort | quantitative wood anatomy and stable carbon isotopes indicate pronounced drought exposure of scots pine when growing at the forest edge |
| topic | tree rings hotter drought forest microclimate tree physiology dieback Pinus sylvestris |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/ffgc.2023.1233052/full |
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