Contrasting Response to Drought and Climate of Planted and Natural Pinus pinaster Aiton Forests in Southern Spain

Abstract

Extreme drought events and increasing aridity are leading to forest decline and tree mortality, particularly in populations near the limits of the species distribution. Therefore, a better understanding of the growth response to drought and climate change could show the vulnerability of forests and enable predictions of future dieback. In this study, we used a dendrochronological approach to assess the response to drought in natural and planted forests of the maritime pine (Pinus pinaster Aiton) located in its southernmost distribution (south of Spain). In addition, we investigated how environmental variables (climatic and site conditions) and structural factors drive radial growth along the biogeographic and ecological gradients. Our results showed contrasting growth responses to drought of natural and planted stands, but these differences were not significant after repeated drought periods. Additionally, we found differences in the climate–growth relationships when comparing more inland sites (wet previous winter and late spring precipitation) and sites located closer to the coast (early spring precipitation). Response functions emphasized the negative effect of defoliation and drought, expressed as the June standard precipitation-evapotranspiration index calculated for the 12-month temporal scale and the mean temperature in the current February, on growth. The strong relationship between climatic variables and growth enabled acceptable results to be obtained in a modeling approach. The study and characterization of this tree species’ response to drought will help to improve the adaptive management of forests under climate change.

Planted or Natural Pine Forests, Which One Will Better Recover after Drought? Insights from Tree Growth and Stable C and H Isotopes

“…Regardless of these uncertainties, an important reduction in tree growth is forecasted in Mediterranean pine forests, mainly due to climate change projections [5]. In fact, such aridification trends have already been aggravated during the last decade leading to raised mortality rates across pine stands [5,6]. Here we will hypothesize that this scenario will be particularly intense in planted as compared to natural pine stands.…”

Using harvester data from on-board computers: a review of key findings, opportunities and challenges

“…Forest ecosystems are being exposed to a changing climate that entails a higher frequency and severity of wind storms and drought periods (Gregow et al 2017;Hogan et al 2018;Rodriguez-Vallejo and Navarro-Cerrillo 2019). Winters are also increasing in temperature (IPCC 2007;Lindner et al 2010), thus often removing the natural barrier that could be relied upon to mitigate the further expansion of certain pest outbreaks.…”

Will drought exacerbate the decline in the sustainability of plantation forests relative to natural forests?

“…Significant differences in forest characteristics and site environments between plantations and natural forests have been revealed, and they perform differently under climate‐driven disturbance (Domec et al, 2015; Rodriguez‐Vallejo & Navarro‐Cerrillo, 2019). Plantation forests are considered more vulnerable to drought than natural forests due to their simple forest structure regarding age and species and their unsuitable site environments (Li et al, 2011; Navarro‐Cerrillo et al, 2018; Zhong et al, 2021).…”

“…Significant differences in forest characteristics and site environments between plantations and natural forests have been revealed, and they perform differently under climate-driven disturbance (Domec et al, 2015;Rodriguez-Vallejo & Navarro-Cerrillo, 2019).…”