Case Study “Kranzberger Forst”: Growth and Defence in European Beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) and Norway Spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.)

Häberle, Karl‐Heinz; Weigt, Rosemarie; Nikolova, Petia Simeonova; Reiter, Ilja M.; Čermák, Jan; Wieser, Gerhard; Blaschke, H.; Rötzer, Thomas; Pretzsch, Hans; Matyssek, Rainer

doi:10.1007/978-3-642-30645-7_11

Cited by 15 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 101 publications

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“…In addition, annual diameter growth at breast height was recorded since 1998 with permanent diameter tapes which were equipped with Vernier scales for circumferential recording with 1 mm resolution (UMS, Germany). For further details of measurement and stand characteristics see (Pretzsch et al 1998Häberle et al 2012;Goisser et al 2016).…”

Section: Field Measurementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Drought can favour the growth of small in relation to tall trees in mature stands of Norway spruce and European beech

2018

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Background: Climate change triggered many studies showing that trends and events of environmental conditions can reduce but also accelerate growth at the stand and individual tree level. However, it is still rather unknown how climate change modifies the growth partitioning between the trees in forest stands. Methods: Based on long-term girth-tape measurements in mature monospecific and mixed-species stands of Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.) and European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) we traced the effect of the severe droughts in 2003 and 2015 from the stand down to the tree level. Results: Stand growth of Norway spruce decreased by about 30% in the once-in-a-century drought 2015, while European beech was much more drought resistant. Water availability generally amplified size-asymmetric growth partitioning. Especially in case of Norway spruce water availability primarily fostered the growth of predominant trees, whereas drought favoured the growth of small trees at the expense of the predominant ones. We could not detect significant differences between mixed and monospecific stands in this regard. Conclusions: The drought-induced reallocation of growth in favour of small trees in case of spruce may result from its isohydric character. We hypothesize that as small trees are shaded, they can benefit from the reduced water consumption of their sun-exposed taller neighbours. In case of beech, as an anisohydric species, tall trees suffer less and smaller trees benefit less under drought. The discussion elaborates the consequences of the water dependent growth allocation for forest monitoring, growth modelling, and silviculture.

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Section: Field Measurementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Drought can favour the growth of small in relation to tall trees in mature stands of Norway spruce and European beech

2018

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“…Rectangular plots (~ 8 x 18 m) contained monotypic groupings of spruce trees at one end, and at the opposite end, a monotypic grouping of beech trees (Pretzsch et al 2014). The central portion of each plot contained a "mixed" zone with a high degree of interspecific root mixing (Mainiero et al 2010, Häberle et al 2012. For a map of the research plots and tree distribution, please see Rötzer et al (2017).…”

Section: Experimental Setup and Field Site Conditionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In 2010, clear acrylic minirhizotron tubes (70 cm long, 6 cm outside diameter) were installed at an angle of 60 0 from the horizontal reaching a vertical depth of 50 cm. The vertical depth was chosen based on previous research results at Kranzberger forest, which reported that > 90% of beech and spruce roots grew between 0-50cm (Häberle et al 2012). Each plot contained six minirhizotron tubes: two in each single-species zone, from hereon called "F. sylvatica" and "P. abies" zone, and two within the beech-spruce zone, from hereon called "mixed-species" zone.…”

Section: Root Observationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Specific spatio-temporal dynamics of absorptive fine roots in response to neighbor species identity in a mixed beech–spruce forest

et al. 2019

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Absorptive fine roots are an important driver of soil biogeochemical cycles. Yet, the spatio-temporal dynamics of those roots in the presence of neighboring species remain poorly understood. The aim of this study was to analyze shifts in absorptive fine-root traits in monoculture or mixtures of Fagus sylvatica [L.] and Picea abies [L.] Karst. We hypothesized that root competition would be higher under single-species than mixed-species interactions, leading to changes in (i) root survivorship, diameter and respiration and (ii) spatio-temporal patterns of root growth and death. Using minirhizotron methods, we monitored the timing and location of absorptive fine-root growth and death at an experimental forest in southern Germany from 2011 to 2013. We also measured root respiration in the spring and fall seasons of 2012 and 2013. Our findings show that the absorptive fine roots of F. sylvatica had a 50% higher risk of root mortality and higher respiration rates in the single-species compared to mixed-species zones. These results support our hypothesis that root competition is less intense for F. sylvatica in mixture versus monoculture. We were unable to find confirmation for the same hypothesis for P. abies. To analyze spatio-temporal patterns of absorptive fine-root production and mortality, we used a mixed-effects model considering root depth (space) and seasons (time) simultaneously. This analysis showed that F. sylvatica shifts root production towards shallower soil layers in mixed-species stands, besides significant seasonal fluctuations in root production depths for both species. Ultimately, the impact of neighbor species identity on root traits observed in this study has important implications for where, when and how fast root-facilitated carbon cycling takes place in single-species versus mixed-species forests. In addition, our study highlights the need for inclusion of absorptive fine-root spatio-temporal dynamics when examining belowground plant interactions and biogeochemical cycles.

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“…Below, layers of silty (Lu) and sandy loams (Ls3, Göttlein et al 2012) follow, respectively. Because these layers were very dense and difficult for roots to penetrate, most of the roots grow within the first meter of the soil (Häberle et al 2012). The experimental site consists primarily of Norway spruce and European beech trees that were planted in 1951 AE 2 AD and 1931 AE 4 AD, respectively (Pretzsch et al 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Kroof experiment: realization and efficacy of a recurrent drought experiment plus recovery in a beech/spruce forest

et al. 2021

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Forest ecosystems play a central role in global water and carbon cycles, yet the impact of global climate change, in particular drought, on trees and forests is poorly understood. Therefore, there is an urgent need for forest-scale experiments in improving our understanding of trees' responses to extreme drought events and subsequent recovery under field conditions. Here, we present the design and efficacy of a novel throughfall exclusion experiment with retractable roofs in a mature forest allowing for flexible drought and recovery periods. A total of 12 plots (144 AE 26 m 2 on average) with 3-7 European beech and Norway spruce trees each were established by root trenching to a depth of one meter, four years prior to the experiment. Subsequent installation of roofs (n = 6) allowed for the removal of throughfall precipitation and almost a complete non-availability of soil water in the upper 70 cm during five subsequent growing seasons, that is, 2014-2018. This reduction in available soil water resulted in pre-dawn leaf water potentials down to −1.8 MPa in mature trees. Stem diameter growth decreased by 30% in beech and 70% in spruce, and fine root abundance was reduced by 57% in beech and 73% in spruce compared with controls. After only one growing season, the mycorrhizal community composition changed in response to drought. Careful watering of hydrophobic forest soils in early summer of 2019 resulted in recovered pre-dawn leaf water potentials of drought-stressed trees within one week. Recovery of stem diameter growth, however, did not occur within the same growing season and remained reduced by 33% in beech and 69% in spruce compared with controls. The implemented throughfall exclusion system imposed recurrent seasonal drought events on a mature beech/spruce forest with high efficacy. Shifts in community composition of mycorrhizae in parallel to tree growth decline advocate for a more holistic view on forest-scale drought and watering experiments, particularly in light of more frequently predicted drought events in future. The perennial nature of mature trees and their subsequent slow recovery from drought, that is, over multiple growing seasons, argues for more long-term experiments that span several years.

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Case Study “Kranzberger Forst”: Growth and Defence in European Beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) and Norway Spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.)

Cited by 15 publications

References 101 publications

Drought can favour the growth of small in relation to tall trees in mature stands of Norway spruce and European beech

Drought can favour the growth of small in relation to tall trees in mature stands of Norway spruce and European beech

Specific spatio-temporal dynamics of absorptive fine roots in response to neighbor species identity in a mixed beech–spruce forest

The Kroof experiment: realization and efficacy of a recurrent drought experiment plus recovery in a beech/spruce forest

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