Variation in the Climate Sensitivity Dependent on Neighbourhood Composition in a Secondary Mixed Forest

Abstract

Understanding the vulnerability of individual trees to climate requires moving from population to individual level. This study evaluates individual tree response in a mixed forest by assessing how size and neighbourhood density modulated growth responses to climate among coexisting tree species. To understand the complete variation in growth responses to climate, it is necessary to consider intrapopulation variability. Trees respond as individual entities, and their response is modulated by their characteristics and neighbourhood context. To assess the individual climate sensitivity, all living Iberian birches, European beeches, and pedunculate oaks trees located in a temperate mixed forest were cored in four 40 m × 40 m plots. Standard ring-width chronologies were built at tree and species level for the 1977-2007 period. Chronologies were related to climatic variables (monthly precipitation, hailstorm and mean temperature, and summer (June-August) precipitation). Growth response to climate varied among species and individual trees. Differences in climate-growth relationship among species could be partially attributed to the different xylem anatomy, since secondary growth of ring-porous pedunculate oak (Quercus robur L.) was mainly dependent on the previous-winter climatic conditions (January temperature), while for the diffuse-porous Iberian birch (Betula celtiberica Rothm. and Vasc.) and European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.), spring temperature and summer precipitation were the major constraining factors of growth. Tree features and identity of neighbourhood modulated climatic response, especially for Iberian birch and pedunculate oak. Dominant trees in less crowded neighbourhoods responded more intensely to climate factors. Understanding the individual variability of growth responses to climate will provide more realistic predictions of forests response to climate change.

Regeneración de los pinsapares béticos. Análisis de tendencia interanual y estacional del NDVI

“…El pinsapo es una especie sensible al estrés hídrico que cierra los estomas rápidamente cuando existe poca disponibilidad de agua en el suelo (Sánchez-Salguero et al, 2015). En cualquier caso, hay que considerar las limitaciones que impone la escala espacial para determinar el fenómeno con exactitud, pues sería necesario contrastar los resultados estudiando la variabilidad a nivel de individuos (Laskurain et al, 2018).…”

Species and Competition Interact to Influence Seasonal Stem Growth in Temperate Eucalypts

“…Trees in uncompetitive environments can have stronger seasonality in stem growth due to their greater sensitivity to climate conditions [81,82]. This does not mean that trees in more competitive environments are not affected by climatic conditions, just that their growth is chronically constrained by other limiting factors.…”

Nuevas aportaciones a la flora alóctona y nativa en hábitats riparios de la Cuenca Cantábrica (Norte de España)

“…ThissedgeisfoundinmuchofEurope,the CaucasusandnorthernIran (Laskurain& al., 2003)butitisaveryrareplantintheIberian Peninsula. It is characteristic of the Alnion incanae alliance (Rivas-Martínez, 2011), though we report it from a Cantabrian alder forest of the Hyperico androsaemi-Alnetum glutinosae association included in the Hyperico-Alnion alliance .…”

“…Aizpuru & al. (2001) reported this species for the first time in the Iberian Peninsulafromamixed-alderforestinUsurbil (Gipuzkoa),whichresultedinthistaxonbeing included in the Atlas and Red Book of the ThreatenedVascularFloraofSpain (Laskurain & al.,2003)asacriticallyendangeredspecies. Afterwards,JiménezMejíaset al(2007)provided a new locality from the Bidasoa river basininLesaka(Navarra)andpointedoutthat the localities from Asturias and Gipuzkoa reportedinAllorge&Allorge(1941)werenot taken into account for the Iberian Peninsula cataloguesincenoherbariumsheetwasfound.…”