Characterizing forest vulnerability and risk to climate‐change hazards

Lecina‐Diaz, Judit; Martínez‐Vilalta, Jordi; Álvarez, Aureli; Banqué, Mireia; Birkmann, Joern; Feldmeyer, Daniel; Vayreda, Jordi; Retana, Javier

doi:10.1002/fee.2278

Cited by 60 publications

(33 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…Rigorous forest climate risk assessment is crucial for climate policies and programs relying on forest carbon uptake and storage, yet continental-scale risk assessment is currently lacking and urgently needed (21,27,28). Spatial quantification of risks can inform forest protocols in climate policy by ensuring that climate risks are adequately considered in program designfor example, through the construction of "buffer pools" and other insurance mechanismsand can guide forest project development and conservation (29).…”

Section: Main Textmentioning

confidence: 99%

Climate risks to carbon sequestration in US forests

Anderegg

Chegwidden

Badgley

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Forests are currently a substantial carbon sink globally. Many climate change mitigation strategies rely on forest preservation and expansion, but the effectiveness of these approaches hinges on forests sequestering carbon for centuries despite anthropogenic climate change. Yet climate-driven disturbances pose critical risks to the long-term stability of forest carbon. We quantify the key climate drivers that fuel wildfire, drought, and insects, for the United States over 1984-2018 and project future disturbance risks over the 21st century. We find that current risks are widespread and projected to increase across different emission scenarios by a factor of 4-14 for fire and 1.3-1.8 for drought and insects. Our results provide insights for carbon cycle modeling, conservation, and climate policy, underscoring the escalating climate risks facing forests and the need for emissions reductions to mitigate climate change.

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Section: Main Textmentioning

confidence: 99%

Climate risks to carbon sequestration in US forests

Anderegg

Chegwidden

Badgley

et al. 2021

Preprint

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“…Climate change-associated drought events are impacting forest ecosystem structure, function and distribution worldwide at a magnitude and speed unparalleled in human history (Allen et al 2015;Anderegg et al 2013a;Batllori et al 2020). In coming years, droughts are predicted to further increase in intensity and frequency in many parts of the world, including temperate regions (Gazol et al 2017;Lecina-Diaz et al 2021;Samaniego et al 2018). The capacity of many forest trees to persist in future environments will be determined by mechanisms that enable them to cope with recurrent and intense drought stress on a regular basis.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Genotypic variation rather than ploidy level determines functional trait expression in a foundation tree species in the presence and absence of environmental stress

Lindroth¹,

Flansburg²,

Giezendanner³

et al. 2022

Preprint

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Background and Aims: At the population level, genetic diversity is a key determinant of a tree species’ capacity to cope with stress. However, little is known about the relative importance of the different components of genetic diversity for tree stress responses. We compared how two sources of genetic diversity, genotype and cytotype (i.e. differences in ploidy levels) influence growth, phytochemical, and physiological traits of Populus tremuloides in the presence and absence of environmental stress. Methods: In a series of field studies, we first assessed variation in traits across diploid and triploid aspen genotypes from Utah and Wisconsin under nonstressed conditions. In two follow-up experiments, we exposed diploid and triploid aspen genotypes from Wisconsin to individual and interactive drought stress and defoliation treatments and quantified trait variations under stress. Key Results: We found that 1) tree growth and associated traits did not differ significantly between ploidy levels under nonstressed conditions. Instead, variation in tree growth and most other traits was driven by genotypic and population differences. 2) Genotypic differences were critical for explaining variation of most of functional traits and their responses to stress. 3) Ploidy level played a subtle role in shaping traits and trait stress responses, as its influence was typically obscured by genotypic differences. 4) As an exception to the third conclusion, we showed that triploid trees expressed minimally higher levels of foliar defenses, photosynthesis, and rubisco activity under well-watered conditions, and displayed slightly greater drought resilience than diploids. Conclusion: Although ploidy level can strongly influence the ecology of tree species, those effects may be relatively small in contrast to the effects of genotypic variation in highly diverse species.

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“…Research has suggested that various bat species, especially those with specific habitat and roosting requirements [ 39 , 74 ], like cavernicolous bats, are negatively affected by anthropogenically-induced landscape changes [ 4 , 15 , 35 , 42 , 43 ]. Most bat species are particularly sensitive to the loss of natural woody vegetation [ 6 ], land-cover types which are vulnerable to land-use change and fragmentation [ 43 , 47 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing the extent of land-use change around important bat-inhabited caves

Pretorius¹,

Markotter²,

Keith³

2021

BMC Zool

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Background Modification and destruction of natural habitats are bringing previously unencountered animal populations into contact with humans, with bats considered important zoonotic transmission vectors. Caves and cave-dwelling bats are under-represented in conservation plans. In South Africa, at least two cavernicolous species are of interest as potential zoonotic hosts: the Natal long-fingered bat Miniopterus natalensis and the Egyptian fruit bat Rousettus aegyptiacus. Little information is available about the anthropogenic pressures these species face around important roost sites. Both bats are numerous and widespread throughout the country; land-use changes and urban expansions are a rising concern for both conservation and increased bat-human contact. Results Our study addressed this shortfall by determining the extent of land-cover change around 47 roosts between 2014 and 2018 using existing land cover datasets. We determined the land-cover composition around important roost sites (including maternity, hibernacula and co-roosts), distances to urban settlements and assessed the current protection levels of roost localities. We detected an overall 4% decrease in natural woody vegetation (trees) within 5 km buffer zones of all roost sites, with a 10% decrease detected at co-roost sites alone. Agricultural land cover increased the most near roost sites, followed by plantations and urban land-cover. Overall, roosts were located 4.15 ± 0.91 km from urban settlements in 2018, the distances decreasing as urban areas expand. According to the South African National Biodiversity Institute Ecosystem Threat Status assessment, 72% of roosts fall outside of well-protected ecosystems. Conclusions The current lack of regulatory protection of cavernicolous bats and their roosts, increasing anthropogenic expansions and proximity to human settlements raises concerns about increased human-bat contact. Furthermore, uncontrolled roost visitation and vandalism are increasing, contributing to bat health risks and population declines, though the extent of roosts affected is yet to be quantified. In an era where pandemics are predicted to become more frequent and severe due to land-use change, our research is an urgent call for the formal protection of bat-inhabited caves to safeguard both bats and humans.

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Characterizing forest vulnerability and risk to climate‐change hazards

Cited by 60 publications

References 36 publications

Climate risks to carbon sequestration in US forests

Climate risks to carbon sequestration in US forests

Genotypic variation rather than ploidy level determines functional trait expression in a foundation tree species in the presence and absence of environmental stress

Assessing the extent of land-use change around important bat-inhabited caves

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