Evaluating the Adaptation of Chinese Torreya Plantations to Climate Change

Abstract

Studying the capacity of some plant species to adapt to climate change is essential for ecological research and agricultural policy development. Chinese Torreya (Torreya grandis 'Merrillii') has been an important crop tree in subtropical China for over a thousand years. It is necessary to characterize its adaptation to climate change. In this study, the average monthly temperature and precipitation from 1901 to 2017 in the six regions with Chinese Torreya plantations at different provinces were analyzed. The results indicated that the average annual air temperature across these regions had increased by about 2.0 • C, but no general trend in the annual precipitation and incidence of drought was found. The annual air temperature that Chinese Torreya plantations had experienced was 12.96-18.23 • C; the highest and the lowest average monthly air temperatures were 30.1 • C and −0.8 • C, respectively. The lowest and the highest annual precipitation were 874.56 mm and 2501.88 mm, respectively. Chinese Torreya trees endured a severe drought period in the 1920s. The monthly air temperature at Zhuji, which is the central production region, showed a significant correlation with the air temperature in the other five regions. The monthly precipitation in Hunan and Guizhou had no significant correlation with that of Zhuji. Chinese Torreya plantations have been grown in the regions with a similar climate distance index of air temperatures but different precipitation. This tree has a high capacity to adapt to climate change based on the climate dynamics across its range. This approach may provide a way to evaluate climate adaptation in other tree species. These results may provide helpful information for the development of Chinese Torreya plantations.

Development of Precise Indices for Assessing the Potential Impacts of Climate Change

“…Grid-based computations, cloud-based imagery analysis, and many more fields may bring new indices to Figure 3. The Climate Distance Index (CDI) for air temperature between Zhuji and other regions (Anhui, Jiangxi, Fujian, Hunan, and Guizhou) from China (adapted from [7]).…”

“…Chen and Niu [7] studied climate change adaption for Chinese Torreya (Torreya grandis ''Merrillii'', a thousand old crops tree in China) from 1901 to 2017. The annual temperature increased by ~2 °C over six regions in southern China, while precipitation did not show any such trend.…”

“…Figure 3. The Climate Distance Index (CDI) for air temperature between Zhuji and other regions (Anhui, Jiangxi, Fujian, Hunan, and Guizhou) from China (adapted from[7]). …”

Variation of Fruit Size and Its Frequency Distribution in Chinese Torreya

“…The tree ages varied from about 20 years to 80 years. The regional climate is subtropical monsoon with an annual air temperature of around 16°C and precipitation about 1400 mm (Chen, 2020;Chen and Niu, 2020).…”

Current Standing of Longleaf Pine Trees under Climate Change

“…Moreover, changing climate can affect plant communities on both short-term and long-term scales [1] . However, each taxon responds differently to changes in each variable, and much is still not understood about how a globally changing climate will affect every plant species [1,[7][8][9] . More genetically or spatially malleable species may adapt or experience range shifts, while more constrained species may face extinction [7,10] .Vincent et al [11] supported that rarer (i.e., less widespread) wild plant species were less resilient to changing temperatures and precipitation than their more common counterparts, possibly due to their inherently more constrained niche.…”