The importance of phenology for the evaluation of impact of climate change on growth of boreal, temperate and Mediterranean forests ecosystems: an overview

Abstract

An overview is presented of the phenological models relevant for boreal coniferous, temperate-zone deciduous and Mediterranean coniferous forest ecosystems. The phenology of the boreal forests is mainly driven by temperature, affecting the timing of the start of the growing season and thereby its duration, and the level of frost hardiness and thereby the reduction of foliage area and photosynthetic capacity by severe frost events. The phenology of temperate-zone forests is also mainly driven by temperature. Since temperate-zone forests are mostly mixed-species deciduous forests, differences in phenological response may affect competition between tree species. The phenology of Mediterranean coniferous forests is mainly driven by water availability, affecting the development of leaf area, rather than the timing of phenological events. These phenological models were subsequently coupled to the process-based forest model FORGRO to evaluate the effect of different climate change scenarios on growth. The results indicate that the phenology of each of the forest types significantly affects the growth response to a given climate change scenario. The absolute responses presented in this study should, however, be used with caution as there are still uncertainties in the phenological models, the growth models, the parameter values obtained and the climate change scenarios used. Future research should attempt to reduce these uncertainties. It is recommended that phenological models that describe the mechanisms by which seasonality in climatic drivers affects the phenological aspects of trees should be developed and carefully tested. Only by using such models may we make an assessment of the impact of climate change on the functioning and productivity of different forest ecosystems.

Temporal trends in the enhanced vegetation index and spring weather predict seed production in Mediterranean oaks

“…1, negative SPEI9 values for years 2005 and 2007) that may often interrupt a more constant accumulation of resources through the years. These results are consistent with the nature of the Mediterranean climate in which the growth of vegetation is mostly limited by severe shortages of water (Kramer et al 2000). The effect of weather on Mediterranean forests, however, may not only be of relevance for water availability.…”

Effects of experimental warming and drought on biomass accumulation in a Mediterranean shrubland

“…3) as previously reported for shoot length, leaf size or leaf area index in Mediterranean species (Kyparissis et al 1997;Kramer et al 2000;Mutke et al 2003). In addition, autumn stem elongation of G. alypum and P. halepensis, was also related to soil moisture.…”

Temperature Sensitivity of Canopy Photosynthesis Phenology in Northern Ecosystems

“…The higher temperature sensitivity of spring phenology than autumn was primarily due to that irradiances and temperatures are higher, and water is generally less limiting in spring than in autumn (Niu et al 2011). Some previous studies also confirmed that the lengthening of the growing season by a certain number of days in spring stimulates ecosystem C uptake more than a lengthening by the same number of days in the fall (Kramer et al 2000;Piao et al 2007). This has been attributed also to greater radiative inputs and longer days, as well as better moisture availability as the result of snow melt and relative lower evaporative demand in spring than in fall (Black et al 2000;Barr et al 2004).…”