Frost as a Factor Influencing the Growth and Distribution of Subalpine Eucalypts

Davidson, NJ; Reid, JB

doi:10.1071/bt9850657

Cited by 58 publications

(50 citation statements)

References 16 publications

(27 reference statements)

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“…Thus, in a world with high [CO 2 ], a 2°C increase in temperature minima will not necessarily decrease the incidence of frost damage. Given the importance of freezing temperatures in determining tree species distributions (Davidson & Reid 1985;Woodward 1987) and interactions with grass (Ball et al 1997), these results have far reaching implications for forest/grassland dynamics in areas subject to frost. …”

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confidence: 99%

Elevated atmospheric [CO₂] promotes frost damage in evergreen tree seedlings

Lutze

Roden

Holly

et al. 1998

Plant Cell & Environment

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Growth under elevated [CO 2 ] promoted spring frost damage in field grown seedlings of snow gum (Eucalyptus pauciflora Sieb. ex Spreng.), one of the most frost tolerant of eucalypts. Freezing began in the leaf midvein, consistent with it being a major site of frost damage under field conditions. The average ice nucleation temperature was higher in leaves grown under elevated [CO 2 ] (-5·7°C versus -4·3°C), consistent with the greater incidence of frost damage in these leaves (34% versus 68% of leaves damaged). These results have major implications for agriculture, forestry and vegetation dynamics, as an increase in frost susceptibility may reduce potential gains in productivity from CO 2 fertilization and may affect predictions of vegetation change based on increasing temperature. [CO 2 ]; freeze-induced damage; global climate change; ice nucleation; open-top chambers. Key-words: Eucalyptus pauciflora; elevated atmospheric INTRODUCTIONAtmospheric CO 2 concentrations have been increasing since the industrial revolution, and are predicted to reach twice present levels late next century (Boden et al. 1994). It is thought that temperature will increase as [CO 2 ] rises, and that warming may be greater in winter than in summer (Plummer, Lin & Torok 1996). This could lengthen the growing season if evergreen species were able to take advantage of warm conditions earlier in spring when below-ground resources are relatively abundant. However, predictions of plant responses to global climate and atmospheric change are complicated by weather variability (Katz & Brown 1992) and the extent to which elevated [CO 2 ] might affect plant responses to temperature (Long 1991), particularly low temperatures. Some studies have predicted that frost damage may increase for trees that break dormancy too early in spring (Cannell & Smith 1986;Repo, Hänninen & Kellomäki 1996) Here we report the results of a serendipitous experiment. The experiment naturally occurred during a larger fieldbased study aimed at understanding the effects of elevated [CO 2 ] on the interactions between grass and trees during spring. The results were unexpected and showed that one of the most frost-hardy of broadleaved, evergreen species suffered greater frost damage when grown under elevated than ambient [CO 2 ]. MATERIALS AND METHODS Plant material and growth conditionsSeeds of Eucalyptus pauciflora Sieb. ex Spreng. were collected from three trees growing along the floor of the Orroral Valley at an elevation of 850 m in New South Wales, Australia. The seeds were cold stratified under moist conditions at 3°C for 4 weeks before germinating on sand flats in a mist house. Seedlings of similar size were transferred to individual containers (5 cm diameter, 25 cm deep) and grown out of doors for 6 months before the start of the experiment.In a pasture near Bungendore in southeastern Australia (35°15' S, 149°27' E; elevation 700 m), 10 open-top chambers were installed as five replicate pairs, flushed with air containing either ambient or elevated CO 2 conce...

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confidence: 99%

Elevated atmospheric [CO₂] promotes frost damage in evergreen tree seedlings

Lutze

Roden

Holly

et al. 1998

Plant Cell & Environment

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“…Eucalyptus patens and E. wandoo are generally confined to valley bottoms, which, combined with their observed tolerance to frost, helps explain the findings from the landscape-level study that showed valley bottoms are less likely to experience damage. Since minimum temperatures in frost pockets can reach tens of degrees less than the surrounding area (Waco 1968), climatic conditions conducive to frost pocket formation can be ecologically important in shaping the vegetation communities (Davidson and Reid 1985;Dy and Payette 2007). Although no formal follow-up investigation was conducted, observations made in the period following frost suggest foliage damage resulted in dieback and resprouting in established trees.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The widespread damage is similar to frost events documented in southeast Australia (O'Brien 1989), where severe frost events occur every 10-20 years (Banks and Paton 1993). These frost events signify an ecologically significant disturbance, influencing species composition (Paton 1988) and ecosystem structure (Davidson and Reid 1985). Frost, however, has not previously been regarded as an important disturbance factor in the Mediterranean-type forests of southwest Australia.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Topography influences the distribution of autumn frost damage on trees in a Mediterranean-type Eucalyptus forest

Matusick

Ruthrof

Brouwers

et al. 2014

Trees

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Key messageExtreme temperatures are causing forest dieback in a Mediterranean-type forest. Topography and cold-air pooling explain the geographic distribution of frost dieback in susceptible tree species. AbstractAlterations to the frequency and intensity of extreme temperatures, predicted with climate change, pose a threat to the health of many forests. Some Mediterranean climate regions are experiencing higher temperature variability, including more extreme low and high temperature events. Following one such low-temperature event in autumn 2012, we conducted landscape-and site-level studies to examine the impact of frost on trees and the interaction between topography, temperature, and dieback in a forest ecosystem in the Mediterranean climate region of southwest Australia. Canopy damage was widespread across the survey area and occurred in distinct patches, with sizes ranging between 4.1 and 2,518.0 ha. In affected forest, Eucalyptus marginata and Corymbia calophylla experienced nearly complete crown dieback, while E. patens and E. wandoo were undamaged. Canopy damage was found more frequently in valleys and lower to mid-slope positions, and site-level studies confirmed that crown dieback generally increased with decreasing elevation. Low temperatures were strongly correlated with elevation along damaged forest transects and cold-air pooling explained the pattern of forest damage. By regressing temperatures from damaged sites against those collected from the nearest meteorological station, projected minimum air temperatures ranged from −0.1 to −2.7 °C at valley bottom when the dieback occurred. Insufficient tissue hardening is suspected to have predisposed trees to this autumn frost. The interaction between shifting temperature regimes with climate change and frost damage is discussed. With continued increases in temperature variability, we can expect to see more temperature-driven disturbance events and associated reductions in forest health.

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“…For example, accumulation of snow during winter reduces runoff in that season with snow melt during early spring dramatically increasing runoff [Schreider et al, 1997]. In addition, the greater altitudinal range of the Upper Murray and Murrumbidgee River catchments means that low temperatures and severe frosts limit tree growth during winter in highelevation ash forests [Davidson and Reid, 1985;Keenan and Candy, 1983]. Evaporative demand and transpiration are also low during the austral winter (May to September) [Honeysett et al, 1992;Pfautsch et al, 2010].…”

Section: Prefire Flow Calibrationmentioning

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The impact of bushfires on water yield from south‐east Australia's ash forests

Brookhouse

Farquhar

Roderick

2013

Water Resources Research

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[1] Widespread disturbance within forested catchments typically increases runoff. However, following widespread fire in 1939 throughout south-east Australia, Kuczera (1987) reported persistent reductions in runoff that were attributed to increased evapotranspiration from regenerating ''ash'' forests. Kuczera projected ongoing reductions of water yield for $150 years. In 2003, widespread fire in the headwaters of the MurrayDarling Basin (MDB) again stimulated extensive regeneration of ash forests, raising the prospect of subsequent water yield reductions. To understand the potential impact of the 2003 bushfires, we re-evaluated yield reductions from three of the catchments originally studied by Kuczera using the same calibration period. We also used an expanded prefire calibration period ) based on data not originally available to Kuczera. The trend of postfire water yield that we observed in 1939-affected catchments is qualitatively consistent with Kuczera's projections, but the quantitative details were, as expected, sensitive to the prefire calibration period used. We then used a simplified method to examine a further five ash-dominated catchments affected by the 2003 fires. We report relative reductions in mean annual stream flow in all five catchments and a statistically significant ( ¼ 0.05) postfire reduction in one of five catchments. Postfire yield reductions during the austral summer (October to April) were greater in relative magnitude in all five catchments and were statistically significant ( ¼ 0.05) in three of five catchments. We conclude that a postbushfire Kuczera-type response may be widespread in regenerating ash forests. On that basis, we anticipate postfire yield reductions in ash forests elsewhere and conclude that further reductions in stream flow are likely in the MDB for at least another decade.

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Frost as a Factor Influencing the Growth and Distribution of Subalpine Eucalypts

Cited by 58 publications

References 16 publications

Elevated atmospheric [CO₂] promotes frost damage in evergreen tree seedlings

Elevated atmospheric [CO₂] promotes frost damage in evergreen tree seedlings

Topography influences the distribution of autumn frost damage on trees in a Mediterranean-type Eucalyptus forest

The impact of bushfires on water yield from south‐east Australia's ash forests

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Frost as a Factor Influencing the Growth and Distribution of Subalpine Eucalypts

Cited by 58 publications

References 16 publications

Elevated atmospheric [CO2] promotes frost damage in evergreen tree seedlings

Elevated atmospheric [CO2] promotes frost damage in evergreen tree seedlings

Topography influences the distribution of autumn frost damage on trees in a Mediterranean-type Eucalyptus forest

The impact of bushfires on water yield from south‐east Australia's ash forests

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Elevated atmospheric [CO₂] promotes frost damage in evergreen tree seedlings

Elevated atmospheric [CO₂] promotes frost damage in evergreen tree seedlings