Environmental and Historical Influences on the Vegetation of Central Europe

Leuschner, Christoph; Ellenberg, Heinz

doi:10.1007/978-3-319-43042-3_1

Cited by 29 publications

(52 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…For example, it is difficult to assess in general if either broad-leaved or needle-leaved tree species will cope more successfully with an increasing frequency and severity of droughts 25 . In general, increasing the broad-leaved tree fraction may be most beneficial in regions, where natural broadleaved forests have been replaced by non-native coniferous plantations 17 , 56 , 57 , but not in those regions where conifers tend to be become dominant over broad-leaved trees under harsh environmental conditions as, e.g., in subalpine forests 58 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Increasing the broad-leaved tree fraction in European forests mitigates hot temperature extremes

Schwaab

Davin

Bebi³

et al. 2020

Sci Rep

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Forests influence climate through a myriad of chemical, physical and biological processes and are an essential lever in the efforts to counter climate change. The majority of studies investigating potential climate benefits from forests have focused on forest area changes, while changes to forest management, in particular those affecting species composition, have received much less attention. Using a statistical model based on remote sensing observations over europe, we show that broadleaved tree species locally reduce land surface temperatures in summer compared to needle-leaved species. The summer mean cooling effect related to an increase in broad-leaved tree fraction of 80% is relatively modest (~ 0.3-0.75 K), but is amplified during exceptionally warm periods. The reduction of daily maximum temperatures during the hottest days reaches up to 1.8 K in the Atlantic region and up to 1.5 K in Continental and Mediterranean regions. Hot temperature extremes adversely affect humans and ecosystems and are expected to become more frequent in a future climate. thus, forest management strategies aiming to increase the fraction of broad-leaved species could help to reduce some of the adverse local impacts caused by hot temperature extremes. However, the overall benefits and trade-offs related to an increase in the broad-leaved tree fraction in European forests needs to be further investigated and assessed carefully when adapting forest management strategies. Forests are expected to play an essential role in climate change mitigation as they can generally sequester more carbon than non-forested ecosystems 1-3. In addition, forests affect water and energy fluxes at the earth surface through biogeophysical processes including changes in evapotranspiration, albedo, and surface roughness 4,5. Various observation-based studies have shown that forests, through these biogeophysical processes, either reduce or increase local temperatures depending on location and time of observation 6-9. In contrast to a comparison of forested and non-forested ecosystems, the potential impacts on temperatures of forest management or more generally changes in forest characteristics are less well documented 10-12. Facilitating an increase of the broad-leaved tree fraction (BTF) in forests is a promising management strategy to enhance the provision of ecosystem services and to adapt to climate change 13-16. For example, increasing the BTF can lead to reduced risk of fires, wind throw and bark beetle outbreaks 15,17. However, the potential benefits of broad-leaved trees through their biogeophysical influence on temperature, in particular on extreme temperatures, have not yet been investigated beyond the site-level scale 18 even though changes on extreme temperatures are highly relevant in terms of impacts on humans and ecosystems 19,20. To investigate how an increase in the BTF in Europe would influence local land surface temperature (LST) we linked observed patterns of LST with patterns of the BTF. In contrast to previous studies, we use remote sens...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Increasing the broad-leaved tree fraction in European forests mitigates hot temperature extremes

Schwaab

Davin

Bebi³

et al. 2020

Sci Rep

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“…In nature, beech can form closed stands even on the poorest geological substrates, thus, demonstrating large ecological amplitude for nutritional conditions ( Leuschner and Ellenberg, 2017 ). Therefore, the diagnosis of nutrient deficiencies is difficult.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Beech ( Fagus sylvatica L.) forests are the most important forest type in Central European Lowland ( Leuschner and Ellenberg, 2017 ). As the potentially natural vegetation they are of immense ecological significance ( Leuschner and Ellenberg, 2017 ). Beech trees produce valuable timber and are therefore also of economic relevance ( von Wühlisch and Muhs, 2011 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Forest Soil Phosphorus Resources and Fertilization Affect Ectomycorrhizal Community Composition, Beech P Uptake Efficiency, and Photosynthesis

et al. 2018

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Phosphorus (P) is an important nutrient, whose plant-available form phosphate is often low in natural forest ecosystems. Mycorrhizal fungi mine the soil for P and supply their host with this resource. It is unknown how ectomycorrhizal communities respond to changes in P availability. Here, we used young beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) trees in natural forest soil from a P-rich and P-poor site to investigate the impact of P amendment on soil microbes, mycorrhizas, beech P nutrition, and photosynthesis. We hypothesized that addition of P to forest soil increased P availability, thereby, leading to enhanced microbial biomass and mycorrhizal diversity in P-poor but not in P-rich soil. We expected that P amendment resulted in increased plant P uptake and enhanced photosynthesis in both soil types. Young beech trees with intact soil cores from a P-rich and a P-poor forest were kept in a common garden experiment and supplied once in fall with triple superphosphate. In the following summer, labile P in the organic layer, but not in the mineral top soil, was significantly increased in response to fertilizer treatment. P-rich soil contained higher microbial biomass than P-poor soil. P treatment had no effect on microbial biomass but influenced the mycorrhizal communities in P-poor soil and shifted their composition toward higher similarities to those in P-rich soil. Plant uptake efficiency was negatively correlated with the diversity of mycorrhizal communities and highest for trees in P-poor soil and lowest for fertilized trees. In both soil types, radioactive P tracing (H333PO4) revealed preferential aboveground allocation of new P in fertilized trees, resulting in increased bound P in xylem tissue and enhanced soluble P in bark, indicating increased storage and transport. Fertilized beeches from P-poor soil showed a strong increase in leaf P concentrations from deficient to luxurious conditions along with increased photosynthesis. Based on the divergent behavior of beech in P-poor and P-rich forest soil, we conclude that acclimation of beech to low P stocks involves dedicated mycorrhizal community structures, low P reserves in storage tissues and photosynthetic inhibition, while storage and aboveground allocation of additional P occurs regardless of the P nutritional status.

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“…However, as in many other temperate forests, light proved to be the dominant driver for sapling performance. On the one side, light is considered to be the decisive factor of plant development (Lambers et al, 2008; Leuschner and Ellenberg, 2017). On the other side, responses to a certain level of light in situ always also reflect a cumulated effect of other factors (Beaudet and Messier, 1998) that vary among the microsites with differing canopy openness and light regimes (Collins et al, 1985).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Several studies were able to measure the light availability and show its effects on the sapling performance (e.g., Beaudet and Messier, 1998; Williams et al, 1999; Drever and Lertzman, 2001; Claveau et al, 2002; Ammer, 2003; Delagrange et al, 2004; Messier and Nikinmaa, 2016; Annighöfer et al, 2017). Plants in general also compete for other resources above- and belowground, including water, nutrients and growing space (Casper and Jackson, 1997; Leuschner and Ellenberg, 2017). Effects of belowground competition on sapling performance induced by mature trees have been shown by exclusionary experimental setups, e.g., root-trenching experiments (Leuschner et al, 2001; Ammer, 2002; Petriţan et al, 2011), even though still comparably little is known about belowground competition.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Advanced Aboveground Spatial Analysis as Proxy for the Competitive Environment Affecting Sapling Development

et al. 2019

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Tree saplings are exposed to a competitive growth environment in which resources are limited and the ability to adapt determines general vitality and specific growth performance. In this study we analyzed the aboveground spatial neighborhood of oak [ Quercus petraea (Matt.) Liebl.] and beech ( Fagus sylvatica L.) saplings growing in Germany, by using hemispherical photography and terrestrial laser scanning as proxy for the competitive pressure saplings were exposed to. The hemispherical images were used to analyze the light availability and the three-dimensional (3D) point clouds from the laser scanning were used to assess the space and forest structure around the saplings. The aim was to increase the precision with which the biomass allocation, growth, and morphology of the saplings could be predicted by including more detailed information of their environment. The predictive strength of the models was especially increased through direct neighborhood variables (e.g., relative space filling), next to the light availability being the most important predictor variable. The biomass allocation patterns within the more light demanding oak were strongly driven by the space availability around the saplings. Diameter and height growth variables of both species reacted significantly to changes in light availability, and partly also to the neighborhood variables. The leaf morphology [as leaf-area ratio (LAR)] was also driven by light availability and decreased with increasing light availability. However, the branch morphology (as mean branch weight) could not be explained for oak and the model outcome for beech was hard to interpret. The results could show that individuals of the same species perform differently under constant light conditions but differing neighborhoods. Assessing the neighborhood of trees with highly precise measurement devices, like terrestrial laser scanners, proved to be useful. However, the primary response to a dense neighborhood seemed to be coping with a reduction of the lateral light availability aboveground, rather than responding to an increase of competition belowground. The results suggest continuing efforts to increase the precision with which plant environments can be described through innovative and efficient methods, like terrestrial laser scanning.

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Environmental and Historical Influences on the Vegetation of Central Europe

Cited by 29 publications

References 13 publications

Increasing the broad-leaved tree fraction in European forests mitigates hot temperature extremes

Increasing the broad-leaved tree fraction in European forests mitigates hot temperature extremes

Forest Soil Phosphorus Resources and Fertilization Affect Ectomycorrhizal Community Composition, Beech P Uptake Efficiency, and Photosynthesis

Advanced Aboveground Spatial Analysis as Proxy for the Competitive Environment Affecting Sapling Development

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