Resist, recover or both? Growth plasticity in response to drought is geographically structured and linked to intraspecific variability in Pinus pinaster

Abstract

Aim We investigate the effects of the environmental and geographical processes driving growth resilience and recovery in response to drought in Mediterranean Pinus pinaster forests. We explicitly consider how intraspecific variability modulates growth resilience to drought. Location Western Mediterranean basin. Methods We analysed tree rings from a large network of 48 forests (836 trees) encompassing wide ecological and climatic gradients, including six provenances. To characterize the major constraints of P. pinaster growth under extremely dry conditions, we simulated growth responses to temperature and soil moisture using a process‐based growth model coupled with the quantification of climate–growth relationships. Then, we related growth–resilience indices to provenance and site variables considering different drought events. Results Pinus pinaster displayed strong variation in growth resilience across its distributional range, but common patterns were found within each provenance. Post‐drought resilience increased with elevation and drier conditions but decreased with spring precipitation. Trees from dry sites were less resistant to drought but recovered faster than trees from wet sites. Main conclusions Resilience strategies differed among tree provenances: wet forests showed higher growth resistance to drought, while dry forests presented faster growth recovery, suggesting different impacts of climate warming on forest productivity. We detected geographically structured resilience patterns corresponding to different provenances, confirming high intraspecific variability in response to drought. This information should be included in species distribution models to simulate forest responses to climate warming and forecasted aridification.

Local adaptation mediates floral responses to water limitation in an annual wildflower

“…We outline two possibilities. First, phenotypic responses of plants to drought often differ along environmental gradients (Carvajal et al, 2017;Sánchez-Salguero et al, 2018). However, most studies that examined how nectar characteristics relate to moisture level focused on populations from only one geographic area (Teuber and Barnes, 1979;Carroll et al, 2001;Halpern et al, 2010;Waser and Price, 2016).…”

Stem Circadian Phenology of Four Pine Species in Naturally Contrasting Climates from Sky-Island Forests of the Western USA

“…At the same time, more severe and frequent droughts have been identified as main drivers of reduced tree growth [71,72] and extensive forest die-off, often associated with increased fire frequency and insect outbreaks [73,74]. A trade-off between drought resistance and post-drought recovery has been observed in conifers growing under contrasting climatic conditions, with trees from mesic sites showing higher resistance and trees from xeric conditions showing higher resilience [75]. However, analyses of drought response patterns in relation to stem size variations measured by dendrometers are still scarce in the western US [76].…”

Drought legacies are short, prevail in dry conifer forests and depend on growth variability

“…wood density, wood anatomy, leaf features, etc. ), and local adaptations (Anderegg et al, 2015;Greenwood et al, 2017;Peltier, Barber, & Ogle, 2017;Peltier, Fell, & Ogle, 2016;Sánchez-Salguero et al, 2018). Anderegg et al (2015) found more prevalent drought legacies in gymnosperms when considering tree growth responses to drought world-wide.…”