From the comfort zone to crown dieback: Sequence of physiological stress thresholds in mature European beech trees across progressive drought

Walthert, Lorenz; Ganthaler, Andrea; Mayr, Stefan; Saurer, Matthias; Waldner, Peter; Walser, Marco; Zweifel, Roman; Arx, Georg von

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.141792

Cited by 99 publications

(108 citation statements)

References 103 publications

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“…Predicted R. pseudoacacia range expansion raises the question of whether this non‐native species can be considered as an alternative to European, drought‐sensitive species, mainly Fagus sylvatica and Picea abies (Bosela et al, 2020; Li et al, 2018; Thurm et al, 2018; Walthert et al, 2020). R. pseudoacacia is cultivated as a multipurpose tree (e.g., timber and energy production, amelioration, and reclamation of severely disturbed sites, honey, forage, and ornamental reasons; Nicolescu et al, 2018; Vítková et al, 2020); therefore a future increased interest in its cultivation can be expected, especially in Central and Northern European regions.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia L.) range contraction and expansion in Europe under changing climate

Puchałka

Dyderski

Vítková

et al. 2021

Global Change Biology

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Robinia pseudoacacia is one of the most frequent non‐native species in Europe. It is a fast‐growing tree of high economic and cultural importance. On the other hand, it is an invasive species, causing changes in soil chemistry and light regime, and consequently altering the plant communities. Previously published models developed for the potential distribution of R. pseudoacacia concerned 2070, and were based mainly on data from Western and Central Europe; here we extended these findings and included additional data from Eastern Europe. To fill the gap in current knowledge of R. pseudoacacia distribution and improve the reliability of forecasts, we aimed to (i) determine the extent to which the outcome of range modeling will be affected by complementing R. pseudoacacia occurrence data with sites from Central, Southeastern, and Eastern Europe, (ii) identify and quantify the changes in the availability of climate niches for 2050 and 2070, and discuss their impacts on forest management and nature conservation. We showed that the majority of the range changes expected in 2070 will occur as early as 2050. In comparison to previous studies, we demonstrated a greater eastward shift of potential niches of this species and a greater decline of potential niches in Southern Europe. Consequently, future climatic conditions will likely favor the occurrence of R. pseudoacacia in Central and Northeastern Europe where this species is still absent or relatively rare. There, controlling the spread of R. pseudoacacia will require monitoring sources of invasion in the landscape and reducing the occurrence of this species. The expected effects of climate change will likely be observed 20 years earlier than previously forecasted. Hence we highlighted the urgent need for acceleration of policies aimed at climate change mitigation in Europe. Also, our results showed the need for using more complete distribution data to analyze potential niche models.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia L.) range contraction and expansion in Europe under changing climate

Puchałka

Dyderski

Vítková

et al. 2021

Global Change Biology

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“…In particular in the deep soil layers, the soil water potential reached values of −850 to −984 kPa. For young European beech trees in the oak stands, such low water potentials could be critical, as their leaves begin to drop at about −800 kPa (Walthert et al, 2021). Furthermore, such critical soil water potentials could also lead to the death of fine roots, which can then stimulate microbial activity and thereby increase soil organic matter (SOM) degradation (referred to as the rhizosphere priming effect; Adamczyk et al, 2019a).…”

Section: Life In Deep and Dry Soilsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Switzerland hosts some regions where European beech faces its physiological limits due to dry climatic and extreme edaphic conditions such as low soil water holding capacity (Walthert et al, 2021). Many of these dry sites are located in the Rhone Valley and the Jura Mountains.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Deep Soil Layers of Drought-Exposed Forests Harbor Poorly Known Bacterial and Fungal Communities

et al. 2021

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Soil microorganisms such as bacteria and fungi play important roles in the biogeochemical cycling of soil nutrients, because they act as decomposers or are mutualistic or antagonistic symbionts, thereby influencing plant growth and health. In the present study, we investigated the vertical distribution of the soil microbiome to a depth of 2 m in Swiss drought-exposed forests of European beech and oaks on calcareous bedrock. We aimed to disentangle the effects of soil depth, tree (beech, oak), and substrate (soil, roots) on microbial abundance, diversity, and community structure. With increasing soil depth, organic carbon, nitrogen, and clay content decreased significantly. Similarly, fine root biomass, microbial biomass (DNA content, fungal abundance), and microbial alpha-diversity decreased and were consequently significantly related to these physicochemical parameters. In contrast, bacterial abundance tended to increase with soil depth, and the bacteria to fungi ratio increased significantly with greater depth. Tree species was only significantly related to the fungal Shannon index but not to the bacterial Shannon index. Microbial community analyses revealed that bacterial and fungal communities varied significantly across the soil layers, more strongly for bacteria than for fungi. Both communities were also significantly affected by tree species and substrate. In deep soil layers, poorly known bacterial taxa from Nitrospirae, Chloroflexi, Rokubacteria, Gemmatimonadetes, Firmicutes and GAL 15 were overrepresented. Furthermore, archaeal phyla such as Thaumarchaeota and Euryarchaeota were more abundant in subsoils than topsoils. Fungal taxa that were predominantly found in deep soil layers belong to the ectomycorrhizal Boletus luridus and Hydnum vesterholtii. Both taxa are reported for the first time in such deep soil layers. Saprotrophic fungal taxa predominantly recorded in deep soil layers were unknown species of Xylaria. Finally, our results show that the microbial community structure found in fine roots was well represented in the bulk soil. Overall, we recorded poorly known bacterial and archaeal phyla, as well as ectomycorrhizal fungi that were not previously known to colonize deep soil layers. Our study contributes to an integrated perspective on the vertical distribution of the soil microbiome at a fine spatial scale in drought-exposed forests.

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“…Although crown transparency assessment has been criticized vehemently because it is highly subjective and not causespecific [29], European forest health has been assessed for the past 30 years using this indicator [12]. This wealth of data has shown that most of the variability associated with crown transparency assessments is the result of methodological differences, differences in tree age, and some climatic factors, mainly drought [30], rather than air pollution [8]. Crown transparency is therefore not a good indicator of tree vitality, although it continues to be recommended as an indicator when used in association with other indices of crown condition [31][32][33].…”

Section: Crown Transparencymentioning

confidence: 99%

Tree Vitality and Forest Health: Can Tree-Ring Stable Isotopes Be Used as Indicators?

2021

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Purpose of Review Society is concerned about the long-term condition of the forests. Although a clear definition of forest health is still missing, to evaluate forest health, monitoring efforts in the past 40 years have concentrated on the assessment of tree vitality, trying to estimate tree photosynthesis rates and productivity. Used in monitoring forest decline in Central Europe since the 1980s, crown foliage transparency has been commonly believed to be the best indicator of tree condition in relation to air pollution, although annual variations appear more closely related to water stress. Although crown transparency is not a good indicator of tree photosynthesis rates, defoliation is still one of the most used indicators of tree vitality. Tree rings have been often used as indicators of past productivity. However, long-term tree growth trends are difficult to interpret because of sampling bias, and ring width patterns do not provide any information about tree physiological processes. Recent Findings In the past two decades, tree-ring stable isotopes have been used not only to reconstruct the impact of past climatic events, such as drought, but also in the study of forest decline induced by air pollution episodes, and other natural disturbances and environmental stress, such as pest outbreaks and wildfires. They have proven to be useful tools for understanding physiological processes and tree response to such stress factors. Summary Tree-ring stable isotopes integrate crown transpiration rates and photosynthesis rates and may enhance our understanding of tree vitality. They are promising indicators of tree vitality. We call for the use of tree-ring stable isotopes in future monitoring programmes.

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From the comfort zone to crown dieback: Sequence of physiological stress thresholds in mature European beech trees across progressive drought

Cited by 99 publications

References 103 publications

Black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia L.) range contraction and expansion in Europe under changing climate

Black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia L.) range contraction and expansion in Europe under changing climate

Deep Soil Layers of Drought-Exposed Forests Harbor Poorly Known Bacterial and Fungal Communities

Tree Vitality and Forest Health: Can Tree-Ring Stable Isotopes Be Used as Indicators?

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