Major Changes in Growth Rate and Growth Variability of Beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) Related to Soil Alteration and Climate Change in Belgium

Abstract

Global change-particularly climate change, forest management, and atmospheric deposition-has significantly altered forest growing conditions in Europe. The influences of these changes on beech growth (Fagus sylvatica L.) were investigated for the past 80 years in Belgium, using non-linear mixed effects models on ring-width chronologies of 149 mature and dominant beech trees (87-186 years old). The effects of the developmental stage (i.e., increasing tree size) were filtered out in order to focus on time-dependent growth changes. Beech radial growth was divided into a low-frequency signal (=growth rate), mainly influenced by forest management and atmospheric deposition, and into a high-frequency variability («mean sensitivity), mainly influenced by climate change. Between 1930 and 2008, major long-term and time-dependent changes were highlighted. The beech growth rate has decreased by about 38% since the 1950-1960s, and growth variability has increased by about 45% since the 1970-1980s. Our results indicate that (1) before the 1980s, beech growth rate was not predominantly impacted by climate change but rather by soil alteration (i.e., soil compaction and/or nitrogen deposition); and (2) since the 1980s, climate change induced more frequent and intense yearly growth reductions that amplified the growth rate decrease. The highlighted changes were similar in the two ecoregions of Belgium, although more pronounced in the lowlands than in the uplands.

Responses of an endangered brown bear population to climate change based on predictable food resource and shelter alterations

“…Current wilderness areas of the Cantabrian Mountains are largely located in mountainous regions, which are expected to experience some of the largest climatic changes (Root et al, ), with montane species being subject to increasing temperatures and changing precipitation regimes (Monzón et al, ). For example, among the recognized effects of global warming, we know that: (a) drought reduces blueberry growth, as well as fruit size and maturation (Bădescu, Asănică, Stănică, Bădescu, & Ungurenuș, ), an effect that is expected to be stronger at the southern limit of its European geographic range, such as in northern Spain (Pato & Obeso, ); (b) beech forests are particularly affected by an increase in periods of drought in summer and heavy rains in autumn and spring, which cause oxygen depletion in the soil, as well as by their limited capability to take advantage of the increasing atmospheric CO 2 content (Latte, Perin, Kint, Lebourgeois, & Claessens, ; Müller‐Haubold et al, ; Rennenberg, Seiler, Matyssek, Gessler, & Kreuzwieser, ). Indeed, the beech is more drought sensitive than other European broadleaved tree species, such as oaks (e.g., Q. petraea and Q. robur ) (Dulamsuren, Hauck, Kopp, Ruff, & Leuschner, ), which supports the extreme beech range contraction predicted by our model.…”

Nitrogen deposition outweighs climatic variability in driving annual growth rate of canopy beech trees: Evidence from long‐term growth reconstruction across a geographic gradient

“…Some studies, however, point in a different direction and suggest climatic variability effects on forest productivity. For example, Latte, Perin, Kint, Lebourgeois, and Claessens () showed major growth rate changes in beech forests of Central Europe were related to climate change; in particular Härdtle et al. () in Luxembourg, and Knutzen, Dulamsuren, Meier, and Leusche () in Central Germany found precipitation to be an important predictor of radial increments, and Dulamsuren, Hauck, Kopp, Ruff, and Leuschner () in south‐western Germany identified moisture and temperature as limiting factors on radial growth.…”

Drought Stress Distribution Responses of Continental Beech Forests at their Xeric Edge in Central Europe

“…The distribution of temperate forests is limited by climate (e.g., temperature and precipitation), topography (e.g., altitude), and site-dependent ecological constraints (e.g., soil, microclimate) [1][2][3][4][5][6][7]. When examining temporal variation of precipitation in a changing climate, it can be more important than temperature in driving the presence and ecological functions of plants [8].…”

“…Beech forests, and in particular, European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) are among the most frequently studied objects of ecological investigations at several scales, as they can teach us a lot about ecological responses [1][2][3][4][5][6][7]10,[12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21]. These forests play a significant role in European forested landscapes, having a high level of spatial variation from west to east as well as a high level of heterogeneity under diverse climatic and local environmental conditions [2,5,13,[15][16][17]22,23].…”