Managing climate change adaptation in forests: a case study from the U.S. Southwest

1. Forest mortality related to climate change is an increasingly common global phenomenon. We provide a case study of the U.S. Southwest to investigate the interactions among forest restoration treatments that alter stand density, tree growth and drought resistance in trees of different size classes...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of applied ecology Vol. 50; no. 6; pp. 1311 - 1320
Main Authors: Kerhoulas, Lucy P., Kolb, Thomas E., Hurteau, Matthew D., Koch, George W.
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Oxford John Wiley & Sons Ltd 01.12.2013
Blackwell
Blackwell Publishing Ltd
Subjects:
Animal, plant and microbial ecology
Applied ecology
Arizona
Biological and medical sciences
Breasts
carbon allocation
Case studies
Climate adaptation
Climate change
Climatology. Bioclimatology. Climate change
Conservation and climate change
Conservation, protection and management of environment and wildlife
dendrochronology
Drought
Drought resistance
Earth, ocean, space
Environmental degradation: ecosystems survey and restoration
Environmental management
Environmental restoration
Exact sciences and technology
External geophysics
Forest ecology
Forest thinning
Forestry
Forests
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
General aspects
General forest ecology
Generalities. Production, biomass. Quality of wood and forest products. General forest ecology
Meteorology
Physical growth
Pine trees
Plant thinning
ponderosa pine
restoration
Roots
stand density
Thinning
Tree growth
tree ring
Trees
United States
North America
Arizona
America
United States > US
USA
Forests
Stand density
Environmental factor
Carbon
Dendrochronology
Dynamical climatology
Case study
Climate change
Tree ring
thinning
Pinus ponderosa
Gymnospermae
ponderosa pine
Coniferales
Spermatophyta
Ecological recovery
Drought
carbon allocation
Arizona
restoration
Adaptation
ISSN:0021-8901, 1365-2664
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:1. Forest mortality related to climate change is an increasingly common global phenomenon. We provide a case study of the U.S. Southwest to investigate the interactions among forest restoration treatments that alter stand density, tree growth and drought resistance in trees of different size classes. 2. Using cores taken from five positions in large trees (coarse roots, breast height, base of live crown, midcrown branch and treetop) and breast height in small trees, we investigated how radial growth response to thinning and precipitation availability varied in 72 ponderosa pines Pinus ponderosa Dougl. in northern Arizona. 3. Ten years after thinning, growth of small trees did not respond significantly to thinning, whereas growth of large trees increased following moderate and heaving thinning, and this response was similar across within-tree core sample positions. 4. The intensity of thinning treatment did not significantly affect dry-year growth in small trees. In large trees, dry-year growth after thinning was maintained at pre-thinning levels in moderate and heavy thinning treatments but decreased in the light thinning and control treatments. 5. Synthesis and applications. Our findings indicate that more aggressive thinning treatments used for forest restoration stimulate growth throughout large residual trees from coarse roots to branches and also improve drought resistance, providing a greater resilience to future climate-related stress. These responses to treatment are more pronounced in large trees than small trees. Forest thinning is therefore recommended in systems that are likely to experience increased temperature and decreased precipitation as a result of climate change.
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ISSN:0021-8901
1365-2664
DOI:10.1111/1365-2664.12139