Drought limitation on tree growth at the Northern Hemisphere’s highest tree line

Lyu, Lixin; Zhang, Qi-Bin; Pellatt, Marlow G.; Büntgen, Ulf; Li, Mai‐He; Cherubini, Paolo

doi:10.1016/j.dendro.2018.11.006

Cited by 30 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…On the other hand, precipitation and surface water during summers are the major source of moisture for tree growth in arid locations (Littell et al 2008), supporting our main findings. Similar cases of growth-climate relationships have been reported for the cold and arid regions of the northeastern Tibetan Plateau (Chen et al 2011;Yang et al 2013;Lyu et al 2019).…”

Section: Climate-growth Relationshipssupporting

confidence: 82%

Growth response of Abies spectabilis to climate along an elevation gradient of the Manang valley in the central Himalayas

et al. 2019

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The Himalayas are characterized by a broad gradient of bioclimatic zones along their elevation. However, less is known how forest growth responds to climatic change along elevation. In this study, four standard treering width chronologies of Himalayan fir (Abies spectabilis) were developed, spanning 142-649 years along an elevation gradient of 3076-3900 m a.s.l. Principal component analysis classified the four chronologies into two groups; the ones at lower elevations (M1 and M2) and higher elevations (M3 and M4) show two distinct growth trends. Radial growth is limited by summer (June-August) precipitation at M3, and by precipitation during spring (March-May) and summer at M4. It is limited by spring temperatures and winter precipitation (December-February) at M1. Tree-ring width chronologies also significantly correlate with winter and spring Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI) at M1, and with summer PDSI at M3 and M4. Thus, Himalayan fir growth at high elevations is mainly limited by moisture stress rather than by low temperatures. Furthermore, the occurrence of missing rings coincides with dry periods, providing additional evidence for moisture limitation of Himalayan fir growth.

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Section: Climate-growth Relationshipssupporting

confidence: 82%

Growth response of Abies spectabilis to climate along an elevation gradient of the Manang valley in the central Himalayas

et al. 2019

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“…Because of climate warming, the length of winter dormancy is commonly becoming shorter and the vegetative period longer (Chmielewski and Rötzer, 2001), determining a global trend of current treeline shifts towards higher latitudes and altitudes (Kullman, 1998; Körner and Paulsen, 2004; Harsch et al , 2009). However, increasing air temperatures may also become limiting for plant survival and recruitment in cold environments with reduced water availability, as increasing air dryness determines higher evaporation rates from soil and leaf evapotranspiration, as recently observed in the southern Tibetan Plateau (Lyu et al , 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 91%

Effects of climate change on treeline trees in Sagarmatha (Mt. Everest, Central Himalaya)

Pandey

Cherubini

Saurer

et al. 2020

J Vegetation Science

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Question Tree growth at high altitude in the Himalayan region is limited by cold temperatures and also strongly influenced by the seasonality of the Asian monsoon. Understanding whether the ongoing increase in temperatures and changes in precipitation regimes in the Himalayan region can stimulate or limit tree growth is of particular importance to predict the local treeline dynamics. Location Altitudinal treeline (~4000 m a.s.l.) in the Sagarmatha (Mt. Everest) National Park (Central Himalaya, Eastern Nepal). Methods We assessed the relationships between ring widths and monthly precipitations and mean temperatures, and analysed cellulose stable isotopes (δ13C and δ18O) and their derived C discrimination (Δ13C), and intrinsic water use efficiency (iWUE) in Abies spectabilis and Betula utilis at the Himalayan treeline. Results Growth of A. spectabilis strongly depended on summer temperatures, whereas that of B. utilis on spring precipitation. δ13C and iWUE increased with time in both species, especially in A. spectabilis. The long‐term decrease in Δ13C was accompanied by an increase in δ18O in both species, thus suggesting an increase in photosynthetic efficiency rather than a stronger stomatal control of transpiration. Conclusions Climate change is progressively reducing the physiological limitations due to low temperatures and low spring precipitations at the Central Himalayan treeline, thus potentially facilitating a further altitudinal forest advance.

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“…This variation can be explained by a complex suite of interacting drivers of species' distributions and abundances, including variation in species' demography and physiological responses to changing climate, interactions among species, and the physical environment (17). Notably, climate warming effects on vegetation are frequently superimposed by landuse changes in Eurasian mountains and downward range shifts can occur as climate change alters water availability, especially in more arid (18) and subtropical (19) mountain regions.…”

Section: Elevation Shifts Of Mountain Vegetationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Above- and belowground linkages shape responses of mountain vegetation to climate change

Hagedorn

Gavazov

Alexander

2019

Science

142

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Upward shifts of mountain vegetation lag behind rates of climate warming, partly related to interconnected changes belowground. Here, we unravel above- and belowground linkages by drawing insights from short-term experimental manipulations and elevation gradient studies. Soils will likely gain carbon in early successional ecosystems, while losing carbon as forest expands upward, and the slow, high-elevation soil development will constrain warming-induced vegetation shifts. Current approaches fail to predict the pace of these changes and how much they will be modified by interactions among plants and soil biota. Integrating mountain soils and their biota into monitoring programs, combined with innovative comparative and experimental approaches, will be crucial to overcome the paucity of belowground data and to better understand mountain ecosystem dynamics and their feedbacks to climate.

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Drought limitation on tree growth at the Northern Hemisphere’s highest tree line

Cited by 30 publications

References 41 publications

Growth response of Abies spectabilis to climate along an elevation gradient of the Manang valley in the central Himalayas

Growth response of Abies spectabilis to climate along an elevation gradient of the Manang valley in the central Himalayas

Effects of climate change on treeline trees in Sagarmatha (Mt. Everest, Central Himalaya)

Above- and belowground linkages shape responses of mountain vegetation to climate change

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