Comparative drought sensitivity of co‐occurring white spruce and paper birch in interior Alaska

Sullivan, Patrick F.; Brownlee, Annalis H.; Ellison, Sarah B. Z.; Cahoon, Sean M. P.

doi:10.1111/1365-2745.13654

Cited by 10 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 52 publications

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“…More precisely, our experimental conditions triggered neither a drought acclimation nor a stress accumulation response in this species, but high drought tolerance was observed. Such drought tolerance from white spruce was not expected since several studies have shown that decreasing soil water availability tends to decrease growth and increase mortality rates at various stages of development (Gagne et al, 2020; Hogg et al, 2017; Sullivan et al, 2021). Better drought tolerance than expected could be due to the colonization of mycorrhizal fungi from the tree nursery.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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No stress memory pattern was detected in sugar maple and white spruce seedlings subjected to experimental droughts

2022

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An increase in the frequency and magnitude of drought events threatens the health of forests and the economic, ecological, and societal services they provide. It has been widely demonstrated that trees undergoing a succession of stresses may accumulate lesions that in turn lead to a decrease in their vigor and eventually to death. However, recent studies have shown that a nonlethal stress should also initiate a stress memory, which triggers a faster and stronger plant defensive response when a new stress occurs. Although this mechanism is well understood in many herbaceous plants, a better understanding in trees is needed. The aim of our study was to explore the capacity of two forest tree species to develop a stress memory. A greenhouse experiment was conducted to evaluate the tree seedlings' vigor after one or two consecutive droughts separate from a rehydration period during the same growing season. No stress memory pattern was observed for the two tree species as, on the contrary, we even observed a stress accumulation pattern in sugar maple. It remains possible that some individuals in our study developed stress memory, but that we were not able to detect it. The fine‐tuning of experimental parameters and the conducting of longitudinal studies would be helpful to detect individual capacity in stress memory activation.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…See Figure 1 and Methods for the meaning of treatments. Sullivan et al, 2021). Better drought tolerance than expected could be due to the colonization of mycorrhizal fungi from the tree nursery.…”

Section: Responses Of White Spruce and Sugar Maple To Drought And Hea...mentioning

confidence: 98%

No stress memory pattern was detected in sugar maple and white spruce seedlings subjected to experimental droughts

2022

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“…; Wagner & Doak, 2013, Cahoon et al, 2018, Boyd et al, 2021) and mortality from a fungal pathogen ( Neodothiora populina Crous; Ruess et al, 2021). Meanwhile, birch gas exchange physiology and growth may be more limited under warm and dry conditions than white spruce (Sullivan et al, 2021). Thus, the phase of rapid C accumulation in deciduous stands following severe wildfire may be somewhat tenuous under warmer and drier conditions.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…; Wagner & Doak, 2013, Boyd et al, 2021 and mortality from a fungal pathogen (Neodothiora populina Crous; Ruess et al, 2021). Meanwhile, birch gas exchange physiology and growth may be more limited under warm and dry conditions than white spruce (Sullivan et al, 2021).…”

Section: The Effects Of Fire On Ecosystem C Stocks and Distributionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interactions among wildfire, forest type and landscape position are key determinants of boreal forest carbon stocks

2022

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Boreal forest soils contain large stocks of soil carbon (C) that may be sensitive to changes in climate and disturbance. Destablization of boreal forest soil C through changes in C inputs, belowground C pools and/or wildfire could feedback to accelerate rising atmospheric CO2 concentration. Additionally, increasing frequency of severe fires may be changing the dominant forest types and reshaping aboveground C stocks. Although controls on ecosystem C pools have received considerable attention, many studies have been limited to locations near the road system, leading to uncertainty in current and future C stocks across boreal Alaska. Here, we leveraged 545 randomly selected and spatially balanced Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) plots across ~13.5 million hectares in interior Alaska to examine the factors governing soil and live tree C pools. Forest type mediated the effects of mean summer air temperature and the probability of near‐surface permafrost on soil C. Meanwhile, forest type, stand age and aspect were the primary drivers of live tree C. Overall, plots with a known history of wildfire during the past 70 years did not have significantly different soil C stocks than plots without a known history of fire, likely due to the historical predominance of low severity fires. Where wildfire likely initiated a transition to deciduous trees (19% of plots), live tree and soil C pools were reduced by 16% and 20%, respectively. Ecosystem C likely recovered over time, as maturing deciduous stands rapidly gained C in live trees. Deciduous stands without a known fire had comparatively very large live tree C stocks, suggesting a significant change in the distribution of ecosystem C following severe fire. Synthesis. Our results highlight the nuanced interactions among wildfire, landscape position and forest type that will play important roles in shaping future boreal ecosystem C stocks.

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“…Boreal forests are widespread, accounting for approximately one-third of the global forest area ( Sullivan et al, 2021 ) and play a key role in the global carbon cycle, water cycle and climate change ( Gauthier et al, 2015 ). Especially they are experiencing the most significant warming of any forest biome ( IPCC, 2021 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Radial Growth of Trees Rather Than Shrubs in Boreal Forests Is Inhibited by Drought

Yang

Zhang²,

Song³

et al. 2022

Front. Plant Sci.

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Of all forest biomes, boreal forests are experiencing the most significant warming. Drought caused by warming has a dramatic impact on species in boreal forests. However, little is known about whether the growth of trees and shrubs in boreal forests responds consistently to warming and drought. We obtained the tree-ring width data of 308 trees (Larix gmelinii and Pinus sylvestris var. mongolica) and 133 shrubs (Pinus pumila) from 26 sites in northeastern China. According to the climate data from 1950 to 2014, we determined three extreme drought years (1954, 1967, and 2008). The response difference of radial growth of trees and shrubs in boreal forests to drought was compared using resilience index, moving correlation and response analysis. The results showed that high temperature (mean and maximum temperature) in previous and current growing seasons promoted the growth of P. pumila, but inhibited the growth of trees. On the contrary, wetter conditions (higher PDSI) promoted tree growth but were not conducive to P. pumila growth in high latitudes. Moving correlation analysis showed similar results. In addition, water deficit was more likely to inhibit P. pumila growth in low latitudes. The drought resistance of P. pumila was stronger than that of L. gmelinii and P. sylvestris var. mongolica. Therefore, the growth loss and recovery time of P. pumila during drought was less than those of trees. We concluded that L. gmelinii and P. sylvestris var. mongolica are more prone to growth decline than P. pumila after the drought caused by climate warming. In the future climate warming, shrub growth may benefit more than trees. Our findings are of great significance in predicting the future changes in ecosystem composition and species distribution dynamics in extreme climate susceptible areas.

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Comparative drought sensitivity of co‐occurring white spruce and paper birch in interior Alaska

Cited by 10 publications

References 52 publications

No stress memory pattern was detected in sugar maple and white spruce seedlings subjected to experimental droughts

No stress memory pattern was detected in sugar maple and white spruce seedlings subjected to experimental droughts

Interactions among wildfire, forest type and landscape position are key determinants of boreal forest carbon stocks

Radial Growth of Trees Rather Than Shrubs in Boreal Forests Is Inhibited by Drought

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