Coupled ecohydrology and plant hydraulics modeling predicts ponderosa pine seedling mortality and lower treeline in the US Northern Rocky Mountains

• We modeled hydraulic stress in ponderosa pine seedlings at multiple scales to examine its influence on mortality and forest extent at the lower treeline in the northern Rockies. • We combined a mechanistic ecohydrologic model with a vegetation dynamic stress index incorporating intensity, duration...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The New phytologist Vol. 221; no. 4; pp. 1814 - 1830
Main Authors: Simeone, Caelan, Maneta, Marco P., Holden, Zachary A., Sapes, Gerard, Sala, Anna, Dobrowski, Solomon Z.
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: England Wiley 01.03.2019
Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
Subjects:
Altitude
Calibration
Computational fluid dynamics
Computer simulation
conifer seedlings
Coniferous forests
Current distribution
Distribution
Duration
Ecohydrology
Elevation
energy
Fluid flow
fluid mechanics
Forests
Greenhouses
hydraulic conductivity
hydraulic stress
Hydraulics
Hydrology
landscapes
lower treeline
Mathematical models
Modelling
monitoring
Montana
Mortality
Mountains
Pine trees
Pinus ponderosa
Pinus ponderosa - physiology
Plant Transpiration
ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa)
Reforestation
Rivers
Rocky Mountain region
Seedlings
Seedlings - physiology
Spatial distribution
Stress, Physiological
Subsidies
Test systems
topography
Treeline
Water availability
Watersheds
Montana
Rocky Mountain region
hydraulic conductivity
ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa)
ecohydrology
hydraulic stress
mortality
conifer seedlings
lower treeline
ISSN:0028-646X, 1469-8137, 1469-8137
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:• We modeled hydraulic stress in ponderosa pine seedlings at multiple scales to examine its influence on mortality and forest extent at the lower treeline in the northern Rockies. • We combined a mechanistic ecohydrologic model with a vegetation dynamic stress index incorporating intensity, duration and frequency of hydraulic stress events, to examine mortality from loss of hydraulic conductivity. We calibrated our model using a glasshouse dry-down experiment and tested it using in situ monitoring data on seedling mortality from reforestation efforts. We then simulated hydraulic stress and mortality in seedlings within the Bitterroot River watershed of Montana. • We show that cumulative hydraulic stress, its legacy and its consequences for mortality are predictable and can be modeled at local to landscape scales. We demonstrate that topographic controls on the distribution and availability of water and energy drive spatial patterns of hydraulic stress. Low-elevation, south-facing, nonconvergent locations with limited upslope water subsidies experienced the highest rates of modeled mortality. • Simulated mortality in seedlings from 2001 to 2015 correlated with the current distribution of forest cover near the lower treeline, suggesting that hydraulic stress limits recruitment and ultimately constrains the low-elevation extent of conifer forests within the region.
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ISSN:0028-646X
1469-8137
1469-8137
DOI:10.1111/nph.15499