Widespread Increase of Tree Mortality Rates in the Western United States

Mantgem, Phillip J. van; Stephenson, Nathan L.; Byrne, John C.; Daniels, Lori D.; Franklin, Jerry F.; Fulé, Peter Z.; Harmon, Mark E.; Larson, Andrew J.; Smith, Jeremy M.; Taylor, Alan H.; Veblen, Thomas T.

doi:10.1126/science.1165000

Cited by 1,506 publications

(1,120 citation statements)

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“…However, an increasing number of reports demonstrate that retraction of the trailing edge of the distribution of various woody species is now underway in mountains worldwide [3,4,12,[26][27][28][29]. Tree species, including the European beech (Fagus sylvatica) [12,29], trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides) [28], Ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) [4] and red spruce (Picea rubens) [26] are declining at their lower range limits, driven by elevated mortality and reproductive decline, linked to increasing temperatures and drought stress [12,30,31]. The few studies that quantify altitudinal range retractions or entire range shifts indicate range retractions of up to 140 m in species ranging from boreal forest trees to drought-tolerant evergreen shrubs during the past 50 years [26,27].…”

Section: Glossarymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Elevated temperature and drought can directly elevate mortality [4,27,30,31,48,53,55,56], increase the susceptibility of species to attack by pests and pathogens [5,28,49,57], or favour outcompetition owing to reduced reproduction and relative competitive ability [12,26,29,55].…”

Section: Forest Dieback In Lowland Regionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The processes and rates of carbon sequestration are expected to vary as a consequence of the onset and duration of such forest dieback [21,24,78], with the effect of reduced uptake potentially being magnified by increases in carbon released from tree decomposition [31]. Carbon sequestration can be reduced even in the absence of mass mortality events via tree growth decline and elevated mortality rates, as reported recently at the southernmost range edge of beech distribution in Europe [65,66], and in temperate trees across the western USA [31]. Furthermore, such alterations to carbon economy are occurring despite the predicted enhancement of water-use efficiency by increasing CO 2 and its expected fertilization effect (higher atmospheric CO 2 concentrations leading to higher plant productivity) [79].…”

Section: Carbon Sequestrationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Monitoring data should be provided by remote sensing techniques, such as the NDVI [4,5], in combination with a network of local monitoring plots to ensure changes in NDVI can be correctly interpreted [74]. At the local level, tree establishment and vitality should be assessed using ecophysiological [24] and dendroecological methods [12,31,65,66], in addition to current monitoring of forest condition conducted by international programmes such as the International Co-operative Programme on Assessment and Monitoring of Air Pollution Effects on Forests (ICP Forests, www.icp-forests.org). Trailing range-edge populations represent a potentially valuable resource for the future conservation and management of the species range-wide [25,55] (Box 1) and therefore strategies must be developed to conserve the genetic diversity they contain.…”

Section: Future Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The altitude-for-latitude disparity in the range retractions of woody species

Jump

Mátyás

Peñuelas

2009

Trends in Ecology & Evolution

418

369

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Increasing temperatures are driving rapid upward range shifts of species in mountains. An altitudinal range retreat of 10 m is predicted to translate into a $10-km latitudinal retreat based on the rate at which temperatures decline with increasing altitude and latitude, yet reports of latitudinal range retractions are sparse. Here, we examine potential climatic, biological, anthropogenic and methodological explanations for this disparity. We argue that the lack of reported latitudinal range retractions stems more from a lack of research effort, compounded by methodological difficulties, rather than from their absence. Given the predicted negative impacts of increasing temperatures on wide areas of the latitudinal distributions of species, the investigation of range retractions should become a priority in biogeographical research.Climate change and shifting plant distribution The geographical distribution of plants is strongly influenced by climate [1]. Minimum temperatures are particularly important in limiting the poleward (see Glossary) expansion of plant species, whereas limited water availability interacts with high temperatures to exert a direct climatic limitation on their expansion in the opposite, or equatorial, direction in many regions [1][2][3][4][5][6][7]. Changes in climate are, therefore, predicted to alter the geographic distribution of plant species at global to local scales.Contemporary plant range shifts are most frequently reported from mountain regions, with elevational shifts of the mountain treeline being the most commonly documented response to increasing temperatures [8][9][10][11][12]. The distributions of species in mountain regions are typically restricted to relatively narrow and well-delineated altitudinal bands, in comparison with often broad and poorly defined latitudinal distributions in the lowlands. This strong altitudinal zonation of mountain vegetation, and its climatic sensitivity [13], makes mountains ideal 'natural laboratories' and favoured locations for the study of climate change impacts worldwide [13][14][15].The altitudinal compression of montane vegetation zones is due to a rapid decrease in temperature with increasing elevation ($5-6.5 8C per 1000 m) [3,14], which contrasts with a similar temperature decline occurring over $1000 km of latitude (6.9 8C at 458 N or S) [3]. An implication of this altitude-for-latitude temperature model is that general biogeographical patterns resulting from the climatic limitations imposed on plants in mountains should also be observed in neighbouring lowland regions with similar temperature and moisture regimes. Distributional shifts already observed in mountain plants [8,[16][17][18] should, therefore, be mirrored by lowland range changes occurring over distances that are several orders of magnitude larger (Figure 1).Here, we discuss the implications of the altitude-forlatitude model for shifts in plant distributions and examine why lowland range shifts, particularly range retractions, are rarely reported. We discuss potential climati...

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Section: Glossarymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Forest Dieback In Lowland Regionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Carbon Sequestrationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Future Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

The altitude-for-latitude disparity in the range retractions of woody species

Jump

Mátyás

Peñuelas

2009

Trends in Ecology & Evolution

418

369

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“…In many ecosystems, sufficient water availability is needed to sustain plant tissues from summer into autumn. Dry conditions during warm years have led to early senescence and even the death of long-lived plants 21,22 . Elevated CO 2 counteracts the negative effect of warming on water availability 19,23 (Fig.…”

Section: Research Lettermentioning

confidence: 99%

Elevated CO2 further lengthens growing season under warming conditions

Reyes-Fox¹,

Steltzer

Trlica

et al. 2014

Nature

161

119

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Redistribution of forest carbon caused by patch blowdowns in subalpine forests of the Southern Rocky Mountains, USA

Wohl

2013

Global Biogeochemical Cycles

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Patch blowdowns varying in size from 0.1 to 33 ha affected several areas in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, USA, during the winter of 2011–2012. These blowdowns resulted in substantial redistribution of forest carbon by snapping and uprooting trees, thereby increasing instream wood recruitment, recruitment of dead wood to the forest floor, and exposure of organic soil on uprooted tree plates. Estimates of carbon redistribution at five sites in Rocky Mountain National Park range as high as 308 Mg C/ha in high‐severity patches to 106 Mg C/ha in low‐severity patches, of which typically 10–30% is soil C and the remainder is downed wood. Masses of carbon redistributed from living to dead biomass at high‐severity sites represent a substantial portion of average total biomass in old‐growth subalpine forests in the region. Consequently, the potential for increasing frequency and/or severity of blowdowns under a warming climate represents a significant potential source of terrestrial carbon to the atmosphere. The majority of this carbon is in the form of downed wood that becomes a carbon source to the atmosphere, although interactions between downed wood and river processes can locally increase carbon storage in floodplain soil. Predictions of changes in precipitation and wind patterns, and associated changes in wildfire and insect infestation, suggest that blowdowns may become more common in future in the Southern Rockies, but the consequences for carbon dynamics depend on site‐specific interactions between blowdowns and other processes such as floodplain storage of organic matter.

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Widespread Increase of Tree Mortality Rates in the Western United States

Cited by 1,506 publications

References 21 publications

The altitude-for-latitude disparity in the range retractions of woody species

The altitude-for-latitude disparity in the range retractions of woody species

Elevated CO2 further lengthens growing season under warming conditions

Redistribution of forest carbon caused by patch blowdowns in subalpine forests of the Southern Rocky Mountains, USA

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