Dataset Information

Different Growth and Physiological Responses of Six Subtropical Tree Species to Warming.

ABSTRACT: Quantifying changes in interspecific plant growth and physiology under climate warming will facilitate explanation of the shifts in community structure in subtropical forest. We evaluated the effects of 3 years climate warming (ca. 1°C, 2012-2015) on plant growth and physiological parameters of six subtropical tree species by translocating seedlings and soil from a higher to a lower elevation site. We found that an increase in soil/air temperature had divergent effects on six co-occurring species. Warming increased the biomass of Schima superba and Pinus massoniana, whereas it decreased their specific leaf area and intrinsic water use efficiency compared to other species. Warming decreased the foliar non-structural carbohydrates for all species. Our findings demonstrated that a warmer climate would have species-specific effects on the physiology and growth of subtropical trees, which may cause changes in the competitive balance and composition of these forests.

SUBMITTER: Li Y

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5583599 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Different Growth and Physiological Responses of Six Subtropical Tree Species to Warming.

Li Yiyong Y Zhou Guoyi G Liu Juxiu J

Frontiers in plant science 20170829

Quantifying changes in interspecific plant growth and physiology under climate warming will facilitate explanation of the shifts in community structure in subtropical forest. We evaluated the effects of 3 years climate warming (ca. 1°C, 2012-2015) on plant growth and physiological parameters of six subtropical tree species by translocating seedlings and soil from a higher to a lower elevation site. We found that an increase in soil/air temperature had divergent effects on six co-occurring specie ...[more]

PMID: 28912795

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Project description:Subtropical tree species may experience severe drought stress due to variable rainfall under future climates. However, the capacity to restore hydraulic function post-drought might differ among co-occurring species with contrasting leaf habits (e.g., evergreen and deciduous) and have implications for future forest composition. Moreover, the links between hydraulic recovery and physiological and morphological traits related to water-carbon availability are still not well understood. Here, potted seedlings of six tree species (four evergreen and two deciduous) were grown outdoors under a rainout shelter. They grew under favorable water conditions until they were experimentally subjected to a soil water deficit leading to losses of ca. 50% of hydraulic conductivity, and then soils were re-watered to field capacity. Traits related to carbon and water relations were measured. There were differences in drought responses and recovery between species, but not as a function of evergreen or deciduous groups. Sapindus mukorossi exhibited the most rapid drought response, which was associated with a suite of physiological and morphological traits (larger plant size, the lowest hydraulic capacitance (C branch), higher minimum conductance (g min) and lower HV (Huber value)). Upon re-watering, xylem water potential exhibited fast recovery in 1-3 days among species, while photosynthesis at saturating light (A sat) and stomatal conductance (g s) recovery lagged behind water potential recovery depending on species, with g s recovery being more delayed than A sat in most species. Furthermore, none of the six species exhibited significant hydraulic recovery during the 7 days re-watering period, indicating that xylem refilling was apparently limited; in addition, NSC availability had a minimal role in facilitating hydraulic recovery during this short-term period. Collectively, if water supply is limited by insignificant hydraulic recovery post-drought, the observed carbon assimilation recovery of seedlings may not be sustained over the longer term, potentially altering seedling regeneration and shifting forest species composition in subtropical China under climate change.

Project description:Plant-plant interactions influence how forests cope with climate and contribute to modulate species response to future climate scenarios. We analysed the functional relationships between growth, climate and competition for Pinus sylvestris, Quercus pyrenaica and Quercus faginea to investigate how stand competition modifies forest sensitivity to climate and simulated how annual growth rates of these species with different drought tolerance would change throughout the 21st century. Dendroecological data from stands subjected to thinning were modelled using a novel multiplicative nonlinear approach to overcome biases related to the general assumption of a linear relationship between covariates and to better mimic the biological relationships involved. Growth always decreased exponentially with increasing competition, which explained more growth variability than climate in Q. faginea and P. sylvestris. The effect of precipitation was asymptotic in all cases, while the relationship between growth and temperature reached an optimum after which growth declined with warmer temperatures. Our growth projections indicate that the less drought-tolerant P. sylvestris would be more negatively affected by climate change than the studied sub-Mediterranean oaks. Q. faginea and P. sylvestris mean growth would decrease under all the climate change scenarios assessed. However, P. sylvestris growth would decline regardless of the competition level, whereas this decrease would be offset by reduced competition in Q. faginea. Conversely, Q. pyrenaica growth would remain similar to current rates, except for the warmest scenario. Our models shed light on the nature of the species-specific interaction between climate and competition and yield important implications for management. Assuming that individual growth is directly related to tree performance, trees under low competition would better withstand the warmer conditions predicted under climate change scenarios but in a variable manner depending on the species. Thinning following an exponential rule may be desirable to ensure long-term conservation of high-density Mediterranean woodlands, particularly in drought-limited sites.

Dataset Information

Different Growth and Physiological Responses of Six Subtropical Tree Species to Warming.

Publications

Different Growth and Physiological Responses of Six Subtropical Tree Species to Warming.

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