Significant gaps remain in understanding the response of plant reproduction to environmental change. This is partly because measuring reproduction in long-lived plants requires direct observation over many years and such datasets have rarely been made publicly available. Here we introduce MASTREE+, a data set that collates reproductive time-series data from across the globe and makes these data freely available to the community. MASTREE+ includes 73,828 georeferenced observations of annual reproduction (e.g. seed and fruit counts) in perennial plant populations worldwide.These observations consist of 5971 population-level time-series from 974 species in 66 countries. The mean and median time-series length is 12.4 and 10 years respectively, and the data set includes 1122 series that extend over at least two decades (≥20 years of observations). For a subset of well-studied species, MASTREE+ includes extensive replication of time-series across geographical and climatic gradients. Herewe describe the open-access data set, available as a.csv file, and we introduce an associated web-based app for data exploration. MASTREE+ will provide the basis for improved understanding of the response of long-lived plant reproduction to environmental change. Additionally, MASTREE+ will enable investigation of the ecology and evolution of reproductive strategies in perennial plants, and the role of plant reproduction as a driver of ecosystem dynamics.

Forests play an important role in water and carbon cycles in semiarid regions such as the Mediterranean ecosystems. Previous research in the Chilean Mediterranean forests revealed a break point in 1980 in regional tree-ring chronologies linked to climate change. However, it is still unclear which populations and age classes are more affected by recent increases in drought conditions. In this study, we investigated the influence of recent variations in precipitation, temperature, and CO2 concentrations on tree growth of various populations and age classes of Nothofagus macrocarpa trees in Central Chile. We sampled 10 populations from five sites of N. macrocarpa through its whole geographic distribution in both Coastal and Andes ranges. We used standard dendrochronological methods to (i) group populations using principal component analysis, (ii) separate age classes (young, mature, and old trees), (iii) evaluate linear growth trends based on the basal area increment (BAI), and (iv) analyze the link between BAI and atmospheric changes using linear mixed-effects models. Results showed that young trees are more sensitive to climate variability. Regarding population grouping, we observed that all population clusters were sensitive to winter-spring precipitation, but only the Andes and Coastal populations were negatively correlated with temperature. The results of CO2 fertilization analyses were controversial and unclear. Since young trees from all population clusters reacted positively in the phase with an increase of atmospheric CO2 between 1980 and 2014, this behavior was not translated into growth for the last 15 years (2000–2014). However, it should be noted that the young trees of the highest elevation populations did not have a negative growth trend, so it seems that CO2 counteracted the negative effect of recent regional climate change (increase in temperature and precipitation decrease) in these population trees. Further studies are needed to assess the effects of climate variability over other ecological and physiological processes.

Efecto de la concentración de fósforo y calcio sobre atributos morfo-fisiológicos y potencial de crecimiento radical en plantas de Aextoxicon punctatum producidas a raíz cubierta en la etapa de endurecimiento Effect of phosphorous and calcium concentration on morpho-physiological attributes and root growth potential of Aextoxicon punctatum plants produced by covered root during hardening stage

Beilschmiedia miersii (belloto del norte) es un árbol siempreverde de la familia Lauraceae, endémico de Chile central. Para conocer su arquitectura de raíces, hasta ahora desconocida, se realizó la exploración del sistema radical en árboles adultos autorizados por el Servicio de Evaluación Ambiental (SEA) para ser trasplantados bajo la resolución de calificación ambiental. La evaluación se realizó en los sectores Infiernillo y Los Coiles, en la proximidad de la mina de cobre El Soldado (Anglo American, Chile), en la Región de Valparaíso. Se midió la altura, el DAP y el radio de copa en siete árboles. Posteriormente, se analizó el sistema radical, registrando la longitud, distancia geométrica, profundidad y orientación de las raíces de cada árbol. Las raíces alcanzaron profundidades medias entre 35 y 110 cm, similar a otras especies arbóreas que exploran volúmenes superficiales del suelo. La distancia geométrica y la longitud de las raíces se correlacionó mejor con el DAP (R2=0,97) y con la altura (R2=0,94). El belloto del norte más grande medido (68,6 cm de DAP y 21 m de altura), presentó la distancia máxima de raíz de 27 m y la longitud máxima de 36 m. Se detectó que las raíces más profundas crecieron en dirección al curso de agua en la mayoría de los árboles. Las raíces más largas se orientaban en la dirección opuesta o paralelas al curso de agua. Los resultados son aplicables para definir zonas de protección de raíces y requerimientos de hábitat donde crece belloto del norte; también como referencia para otras especies sin antecedentes en esta materia.