Dataset Information

Tree species traits but not diversity mitigate stem breakage in a subtropical forest following a rare and extreme ice storm.

ABSTRACT: Future climates are likely to include extreme events, which in turn have great impacts on ecological systems. In this study, we investigated possible effects that could mitigate stem breakage caused by a rare and extreme ice storm in a Chinese subtropical forest across a gradient of forest diversity. We used Bayesian modeling to correct stem breakage for tree size and variance components analysis to quantify the influence of taxon, leaf and wood functional traits, and stand level properties on the probability of stem breakage. We show that the taxon explained four times more variance in individual stem breakage than did stand level properties; trees with higher specific leaf area (SLA) were less susceptible to breakage. However, a large part of the variation at the taxon scale remained unexplained, implying that unmeasured or undefined traits could be used to predict damage caused by ice storms. When aggregated at the plot level, functional diversity and wood density increased after the ice storm. We suggest that for the adaption of forest management to climate change, much can still be learned from looking at functional traits at the taxon level.

SUBMITTER: Nadrowski K

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4039427 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Tree species traits but not diversity mitigate stem breakage in a subtropical forest following a rare and extreme ice storm.

Nadrowski Karin K Pietsch Katherina K Baruffol Martin M Both Sabine S Gutknecht Jessica J Bruelheide Helge H Heklau Heike H Kahl Anja A Kahl Tiemo T Niklaus Pascal P Kröber Wenzel W Liu Xiaojuan X Mi Xiangcheng X Michalski Stefan S von Oheimb Goddert G Purschke Oliver O Schmid Bernhard B Fang Teng T Welk Erik E Wirth Christian C

PloS one 20140530 5

Future climates are likely to include extreme events, which in turn have great impacts on ecological systems. In this study, we investigated possible effects that could mitigate stem breakage caused by a rare and extreme ice storm in a Chinese subtropical forest across a gradient of forest diversity. We used Bayesian modeling to correct stem breakage for tree size and variance components analysis to quantify the influence of taxon, leaf and wood functional traits, and stand level properties on t ...[more]

PMID: 24879434

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Project description:Wood density (WD) is not only an important parameter to estimate aboveground biomass but also an indicator of timber quality and plant adaptation strategies to stressful conditions (i.e., windthrow, pests, and pathogens). This study had three objectives: (1) to compare WD among seven subtropical tree species; (2) to determine how tree growth traits may influence possible differences in WD between the pioneer and shade-tolerant species; and (3) to examine whether or not WD differs by tree social status (dominant vs. suppressed trees) within species. To do this, 70 trees were destructively harvested. From each tree, disks at different stem heights were obtained and subjected to a method of stem analysis to measure whole tree level WD. The results showed that WD differed significantly among the seven species (p < .001). Their average WD was 0.537 g/cm3, ranging from 0.409 g/cm3 for Choerospondias axillaris to 0.691 g/cm3 for Cyclobalanopsis glauca. The average WD of the four pioneer species (0.497 ± 0.13 g/cm3) was significantly lower (p < .01) than that of the three shade-tolerant species (0.589 ± 0.12 g/cm3). The WD of the pioneers had a significant positive correlation with their stem diameter at breast height (DBH), tree height (H), and tree age, but WD had a significant negative correlation with relative growth rate (RGR). In contrast, the WD of the shade-tolerant tree species had no significant relationships with DBH, H, tree age, or RGR. The dominant trees of the pioneer species had a higher WD than the suppressed trees, whereas the shade-tolerant species had a lower WD for dominant trees than the suppressed trees. However, the differences in WD between dominant and suppressed trees were not significant. Taken together, the results suggest that classifying species into pioneer and shade-tolerant groups to examine the effects of tree growth traits and social status could improve our understanding of intra- and interspecific variation in WD among subtropical tree species.

Dataset Information

Tree species traits but not diversity mitigate stem breakage in a subtropical forest following a rare and extreme ice storm.

Publications

Tree species traits but not diversity mitigate stem breakage in a subtropical forest following a rare and extreme ice storm.

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