Extreme mid-winter drought weakens tree hydraulic–carbohydrate systems and slows growth

Rising temperatures and extended periods of drought compromise tree hydraulic and carbohydrate systems, threatening forest health globally. Despite winter’s biological significance to many forests, the effects of warmer and dryer winters on tree hydraulic and carbohydrate status have largely been ov...

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Veröffentlicht in:The New phytologist Jg. 219; H. 1; S. 89 - 97
Hauptverfasser: Earles, J. Mason, Stevens, Jens T., Sperling, Or, Orozco, Jessica, North, Malcolm P., Zwieniecki, Maciej A.
Format: Journal Article
Sprache:Englisch
Veröffentlicht: England New Phytologist Trust 01.07.2018
Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
Schlagworte:
Accumulation
Biological effects
California
Carbohydrates
Climate change
Coniferous trees
conifers
Drought
forest
forest health
Forests
Growth rate
hydraulic conductivity
Hydraulics
Moisture content
Seasonal variations
Seasonality
Spring
Starch
stress
summer
temperature
trees
Vapor pressure
Vapour pressure
water
Water content
Winter
United States > US
California
stress
forest
hydraulics
drought
winter
water
climate change
ISSN:0028-646X, 1469-8137, 1469-8137
Online-Zugang:Volltext
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Zusammenfassung:Rising temperatures and extended periods of drought compromise tree hydraulic and carbohydrate systems, threatening forest health globally. Despite winter’s biological significance to many forests, the effects of warmer and dryer winters on tree hydraulic and carbohydrate status have largely been overlooked. Here we report a sharp and previously unknown decline in stem water content of three conifer species during California’s anomalous 2015 mid-winter drought that was followed by dampened spring starch accumulation. Recent precipitation and seasonal vapor pressure deficit (VPD) anomaly, not absolute VPD, best predicted the hydraulic patterns observed. By linking relative water content and hydraulic conductivity (K h), we estimated that stand-level K h declined by 52% during California’s 2015 mid-winter drought, followed by a 50% reduction in spring starch accumulation. Further examination of tree increment records indicated a concurrent decline of growth with rising mid-winter, but not summer, VPD anomaly. Thus, our findings suggest a seasonality to tree hydraulic and carbohydrate declines, with consequences for annual growth rates, raising novel physiological and ecological questions about how rising winter temperatures will affect forest vitality as climate changes.
Bibliographie:ObjectType-Article-1
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-2
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ISSN:0028-646X
1469-8137
1469-8137
DOI:10.1111/nph.15136