Biotic factors and increasing aridity shape the altitudinal shifts of marginal Pyrenean silver fir populations in Europe

Hernández, Laura; Camarero, J. Julio; Gil-Peregrín, Eustaquio; Sánchez, Miguel Ángel Saz; Cañellas, Isabel; Montes, Fernando

doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2018.09.037

Cited by 21 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…Because of their multiple protection functions and ecosystem services, mountain forests demand high attention by global change research and require climate-smart forest management practices (Bowditch et al 2020). Due to the strong elevation gradients, many mountain regions provide unique opportunities to detect and analyse global change processes and phenomena (Becker and Bugmann 2001;Hernández et al 2019). European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.; hereafter referred to as beech) is one of the most important and successful tree species in Europe (Leuschner et al 2006) and contributes a high economic and ecological value across lowland, upland and mountain regions (Eurostat 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

European beech stem diameter grows better in mixed than in mono-specific stands at the edge of its distribution in mountain forests

et al. 2020

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Recent studies show that several tree species are spreading to higher latitudes and elevations due to climate change. European beech, presently dominating from the colline to the subalpine vegetation belt, is already present in upper montane subalpine forests and has a high potential to further advance to higher elevations in European mountain forests, where the temperature is predicted to further increase in the near future. Although essential for adaptive silviculture, it remains unknown whether the upward shift of beech could be assisted when it is mixed with Norway spruce or silver fir compared with mono-specific stands, as the species interactions under such conditions are hardly known. In this study, we posed the general hypotheses that the growth depending on age of European beech in mountain forests was similar in mono-specific and mixed-species stands and remained stable over time and space in the last two centuries. The scrutiny of these hypotheses was based on increment coring of 1240 dominant beech trees in 45 plots in mono-specific stands of beech and in 46 mixed mountain forests. We found that (i) on average, mean tree diameter increased linearly with age. The age trend was linear in both forest types, but the slope of the age–growth relationship was higher in mono-specific than in mixed mountain forests. (ii) Beech growth in mono-specific stands was stronger reduced with increasing elevation than that in mixed-species stands. (iii) Beech growth in mono-specific stands was on average higher than beech growth in mixed stands. However, at elevations > 1200 m, growth of beech in mixed stands was higher than that in mono-specific stands. Differences in the growth patterns among elevation zones are less pronounced now than in the past, in both mono-specific and mixed stands. As the higher and longer persisting growth rates extend the flexibility of suitable ages or size for tree harvest and removal, the longer-lasting growth may be of special relevance for multi-aged silviculture concepts. On top of their function for structure and habitat improvement, the remaining old trees may grow more in mass and value than assumed so far.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

European beech stem diameter grows better in mixed than in mono-specific stands at the edge of its distribution in mountain forests

et al. 2020

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“…Here, we try to reconcile both approaches by: (i) focusing on rear-edge Pyrenean populations showing dieback in response to 20thcentury hotter summer droughts, and (ii) explicitly considering historical changes in land use (e.g., logging). Recent climate warming and the changes in land use (e.g., less extensive logging; Cabrera, 2001) have contributed to promote an upward shift of Silver fir across the Pyrenees, whereas some low-elevation montane stands have shown dieback, a loss of vigor and increasing mortality (Camarero, 2017;Hernández et al, 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Forecasting Forest Vulnerability to Drought in Pyrenean Silver Fir Forests Showing Dieback

Gazol

Sangüesa‐Barreda

Camarero

2020

Front. For. Glob. Change

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Forest dieback is manifested as widespread loss of tree vigor, growth decline and high mortality rates. Forest dieback is becoming increasingly frequent and extended, particularly in drought-prone regions. This is the case of the southwestern Spanish Pyrenees, where keystone species such as Silver fir reach their xeric and southern distribution limits. While dieback of this species has been widely documented in this area, we still lack methodologies to forecast the vulnerability of these forests in response to increasing drought stress so as to anticipate their potential dieback in the future. Here we study multiple features of Silver fir forests and trees to evaluate whether previous growth rates and their growth trends are valid predictors of forest dieback. Further, we validate our methodology revisiting two Silver fir sites sampled two decades ago. The defoliation degree was strongly related with radial growth, and growth trends differed between moderately to highly defoliated trees and non-defoliated trees. Forests showing dieback, i.e., those in which 25% of the sampled trees showed defoliation > 50%, were located at low elevation and received less rainfall in summer than forests showing no dieback. Trees showing high defoliation presented lower growth rates than nondefoliated trees. Moreover, we ratified that defoliation has increased considerably over the last two decades in one of the two revisited sites, but we were unable to accurately forecast growth trends in both sites, particularly in the site not showing dieback. The retrospective assessment of growth rates and trends offers valuable information on the vulnerability of Silver fir trees to drought. However, we are still far from being able to forecast the vulnerability of Silver fir forests to increasing drought. A systematic monitoring of growth across a wide tree-ring network of sites might provide valuable information to advance in this direction.

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“…Under the forecasted global change conditions, high‐mountain habitats will become warmer and dryer (Bellard et al ) resulting in the loss of microhabitats (Walther et al ). Many recent studies provide evidences of the ongoing redistribution of mountain vegetation in Europe (Hernández et al ) mainly driven by water availability, in combination with other environmental factors such the increasing temperatures (Thuiller et al ). The communities that inhabit the mountain peaks have limited altitude movements and will be forced to face the new environmental conditions in situ (Dullinger et al ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Strategies for severe drought survival and recovery in a Pyrenean relict species

Cotado

Munné‐Bosch

Pintó‐Marijuan

2020

Physiologia Plantarum

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In the context of future climate change new habitats will be threatened and unique species will be forced to develop different strategies to survive. Saxifraga longifolia Lapeyr. is an endemic species from the Pyrenees with a very particular habitat. We explored the capacity and strategies of S. longifolia plants to face different severities of drought stress under both natural conditions and controlled water stress followed by a re‐watering period of 20 days. Our results showed a role for abscisic acid (ABA), salicylic acid (SA) and cytokinins (CKs) in plant survival from drought stress, and as the stress increased, ABA lost significance and SA appeared to be more associated with the response mechanisms. Moreover, photo‐oxidative stress markers revealed that both xanthophyll cycles played a photoprotection role with a stronger participation of the lutein epoxide cycle as the stress was more intense. Severe drought decreased the maximum efficiency of photosystem II (Fv/Fm) below 0.45, being this the limit to survive upon rewatering. Overall, our results proved different strategies of S. longifolia plants to cope with drought stress and suggested a Fv/Fm threshold to predict plant survival in high‐mountain environments.

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Biotic factors and increasing aridity shape the altitudinal shifts of marginal Pyrenean silver fir populations in Europe

Cited by 21 publications

References 41 publications

European beech stem diameter grows better in mixed than in mono-specific stands at the edge of its distribution in mountain forests

European beech stem diameter grows better in mixed than in mono-specific stands at the edge of its distribution in mountain forests

Forecasting Forest Vulnerability to Drought in Pyrenean Silver Fir Forests Showing Dieback

Strategies for severe drought survival and recovery in a Pyrenean relict species

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