Jet stream position explains regional anomalies in European beech forest productivity and tree growth

Abstract

The mechanistic pathways connecting ocean-atmosphere variability and terrestrial productivity are well-established theoretically, but remain challenging to quantify empirically. Such quantification will greatly improve the assessment and prediction of changes in terrestrial carbon sequestration in response to dynamically induced climatic extremes. The jet stream latitude (JSL) over the North Atlantic-European domain provides a synthetic and robust physical framework that integrates climate variability not accounted for by atmospheric circulation patterns alone. Surface climate impacts of north-south summer JSL displacements are not uniform across Europe, but rather create a northwestern-southeastern dipole in forest productivity and radial-growth anomalies. Summer JSL variability over the eastern North Atlantic-European domain (5-40E) exerts the strongest impact on European beech, inducing anomalies of up to 30% in modelled gross primary productivity and 50% in radial tree growth. The net effects of JSL movements on terrestrial carbon fluxes depend on forest density, carbon stocks, and productivity imbalances across biogeographic regions.

The Response of Beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) Populations to Climate in the Easternmost Sites of Its European Distribution

“…Interestingly, although we analyzed marginal beech populations, our results contradict previous records showing that beech has poor climatic sensitivity in the Southern distribution edge [ 27 , 38 ]. However, our findings are in line with several other studies which have found that water availability is the main growth driver of beech in Europe [ 18 , 27 , 36 , 37 , 39 , 45 , 51 , 52 ]. Furthermore, the temperatures expressed a stronger relationship with beech growth [ 18 , 32 , 36 , 51 , 53 , 54 ], in some cases even higher than precipitation [ 28 , 39 ].…”

“…The present results contrast with other dendroecological studies, which have mentioned the beech growth declining in the core area [ 17 , 27 ], in high-altitude Central European forests [ 17 ], or other range-edge sites [ 35 , 40 , 41 , 42 ]. These faster accumulation rates can be the consequence of (i) CO 2 fertilization in the last decades that induced growth stimulation [ 43 , 44 ]; (ii) the net effect of the large-scale atmospheric circulation (e.g., the jet stream latitude dipole) on beech radial growth and carbon uptake [ 45 ] and (iii) genetic and local environmental factors that act as drivers for locally adapted populations, especially in range-edge sites [ 27 , 39 , 46 , 47 ].…”

Enhanced growth resistance but no decline in growth resilience under long‐term extreme droughts

“…Further exploration of the effects of long‐lasting consecutive droughts and the underlying ecophysiological processes based on field experiments with rainfall reduction is urgently needed in the future. What is more, recent studies has reported the increasingly important effects of atmospheric circulations on the tree growth globally (Cai et al., 2022; Fang et al., 2021), particularly the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) (Dorado‐Liñán et al., 2022) and El Niño Southern‐Oscillation (ENSO) (St. George, 2014). For example, ENSO corresponds to a positive anomaly of sea surface temperature across the east‐central equatorial Pacific (Cai et al., 2021).…”

Contrasting patterns of water use efficiency and annual radial growth among European beech forests along the Italian peninsula

“…In conclusion, in this study, our goal was to advance the early prediction of mortality risk in healthy beech stands without, apparently, visible declining symptoms across the Italian Peninsula. The aforementioned is especially pertinent considering the recent growth decline observed in this species (Piovesan et al ., 2008; Martinez del Castillo et al ., 2022; Dorado-Liñan et al ., 2022), although the available evidence is not yet conclusive (Tognetti et al ., 2014).…”