Disparate response to water limitation for vessel area and secondary growth along Fagus sylvatica southwestern distribution range

Olano, JM; Hernández‐Alonso, Héctor; Sangüesa‐Barreda, Gabriel; Rozas, Vicente; García-Cervigón, AI; García‐Hidalgo, Miguel

doi:10.1016/j.agrformet.2022.109082

Cited by 5 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 71 publications

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“…The data that support the findings of this study are openly available at Zenodo: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.8108737 (Olano et al, 2023). Table S1.…”

Section: Co N Fli C T O F I Nte R E S T S Tate M E Ntsupporting

confidence: 68%

“…precipitation. The strong response of secondary growth to previous summer conditions within beech rear-edge populations is well documented (Hacket-Pain et al, 2016;Martinez del Castillo et al, 2019Olano et al, 2022;Rozas et al, 2015) and it has been hypothesized that dry and warm conditions promote beech masting in the next year, draining tree resources for secondary growth (Hacket-Pain et al, 2015;Nussbaumer et al, 2021). In the case of iWUE, our model also shows that this lagged effect is related to a stronger response of iWUE to the previous year's conditions, which is four times higher than in the current year (Table 3).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Moreover, the effect of NSC storage in the previous year might be concurrent with changes in xylem configuration associated with water availability since vessel size and its conductive capacity are directly controlled by water availability during vessel formation (Olano et al, 2022). Under dry conditions, beech produces xylem with higher resistance to embolism and lower conductivity at the expense of a reduction in lagged secondary growth (Herbette et al, 2021) due to higher xylem production costs (Hacke et al, 2001).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We also hypothesized that the previous year's conditions will exert a similar lagged (legacy) effects on tree growth through changes in hydraulic structure and/or resource levels among other factors (Galiano et al, 2011;Huang et al, 2021;Olano et al, 2022;Peltier et al, 2016;Zweifel & Sterck, 2018). Moreover, we expected diverging tree growth responses, dependent on altitude; low-altitude populations will respond more strongly to precipitation and iWUE, whereas high-altitude populations will be more responsive to higher spring temperatures.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In fact, growth declines in rear‐edge populations have already been reported (Jump et al, 2006), and studies have predicted a rapid decline (Martínez del Castillo et al, 2022). Strikingly, despite their vulnerability to drought, beech forests in Spanish rear‐edge populations growing under dry summer conditions show a lower response to growing season precipitation than in core (wet) populations (Muffler et al, 2020), while experiencing a strong legacy effect from the previous summer's precipitation (Hacket‐Pain et al, 2016; Marqués et al, 2022; Olano et al, 2022). iWUE has been reported to favour beech growth (Gonzalez de Andres et al, 2018; Rezaie et al, 2018), so its recent increase associated with higher atmospheric CO 2 concentration may serve to mitigate the adverse effects of warmer and drier conditions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Water use efficiency and climate legacies dominate beech growth at its rear edge

et al. 2023

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Rear‐edge tree populations are experiencing a combination of higher temperatures and more intense droughts that might push individuals beyond their tolerance limits. This trend towards rising atmospheric [CO2] is concurrent with an increase in intrinsic water use efficiency (iWUE), which theoretically enhances photosynthesis and decrease evapotranspiration rates, consequently improving tree resistance to drought. However, it remains unclear whether iWUE is favouring tree growth under current climate conditions, particularly when climate and iWUE legacy effects are simultaneously considered. We evaluated this question with an extensive sampling along Iberian rear‐edge (dry) populations comprising four mountain ranges and two distinct altitudes. We simultaneously examined the effects of climate and iWUE on secondary growth using annually resolved basal area increments (BAIs) for the period 1901–2017. We used linear mixed models including second‐order autocorrelation and 1‐year legacy effects of iWUE and summer drought. BAI and iWUE increased across the studied period. iWUE increase was driven by changes in atmospheric CO2 concentration and water availability during the growing season. Climate and iWUE exerted direct and lagged effects on beech growth. Water availability during growing season was the main driver of tree growth, combining direct and indirect effects through its impact on iWUE. Legacy effects of water availability and iWUE were more important than growing season conditions. The net effect of iWUE shifted when lagged effects were considered, resulting in a net negative impact on tree growth. Synthesis: Our results reveal that climate and iWUE legacy effects must be considered to assess the net iWUE effect on secondary growth. Considering lagged effects, the current increase in iWUE is constraining tree growth. Modelling efforts of tree growth response to climate warming should include climate and iWUE legacy effects to adequately assess terrestrial ecosystem carbon balance.

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“…The data that support the findings of this study are openly available at Zenodo: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.8108737 (Olano et al, 2023). Table S1.…”

Section: Co N Fli C T O F I Nte R E S T S Tate M E Ntsupporting

confidence: 68%