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Adaptive and plastic responses of Quercus petraea populations to climate across Europe.

ABSTRACT: How temperate forests will respond to climate change is uncertain; projections range from severe decline to increased growth. We conducted field tests of sessile oak (Quercus petraea), a widespread keystone European forest tree species, including more than 150 000 trees sourced from 116 geographically diverse populations. The tests were planted on 23 field sites in six European countries, in order to expose them to a wide range of climates, including sites reflecting future warmer and drier climates. By assessing tree height and survival, our objectives were twofold: (i) to identify the source of differential population responses to climate (genetic differentiation due to past divergent climatic selection vs. plastic responses to ongoing climate change) and (ii) to explore which climatic variables (temperature or precipitation) trigger the population responses. Tree growth and survival were modeled for contemporary climate and then projected using data from four regional climate models for years 2071-2100, using two greenhouse gas concentration trajectory scenarios each. Overall, results indicated a moderate response of tree height and survival to climate variation, with changes in dryness (either annual or during the growing season) explaining the major part of the response. While, on average, populations exhibited local adaptation, there was significant clinal population differentiation for height growth with winter temperature at the site of origin. The most moderate climate model (HIRHAM5-EC; rcp4.5) predicted minor decreases in height and survival, while the most extreme model (CCLM4-GEM2-ES; rcp8.5) predicted large decreases in survival and growth for southern and southeastern edge populations (Hungary and Turkey). Other nonmarginal populations with continental climates were predicted to be severely and negatively affected (Bercé, France), while populations at the contemporary northern limit (colder and humid maritime regions; Denmark and Norway) will probably not show large changes in growth and survival in response to climate change.

SUBMITTER: Saenz-Romero C

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5624497 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Adaptive and plastic responses of Quercus petraea populations to climate across Europe.

Sáenz-Romero Cuauhtémoc C Lamy Jean-Baptiste JB Ducousso Alexis A Musch Brigitte B Ehrenmann François F Delzon Sylvain S Cavers Stephen S Chałupka Władysław W Dağdaş Said S Hansen Jon Kehlet JK Lee Steve J SJ Liesebach Mirko M Rau Hans-Martin HM Psomas Achilleas A Schneck Volker V Steiner Wilfried W Zimmermann Niklaus E NE Kremer Antoine A

Global change biology 20170125 7

How temperate forests will respond to climate change is uncertain; projections range from severe decline to increased growth. We conducted field tests of sessile oak (Quercus petraea), a widespread keystone European forest tree species, including more than 150 000 trees sourced from 116 geographically diverse populations. The tests were planted on 23 field sites in six European countries, in order to expose them to a wide range of climates, including sites reflecting future warmer and drier clim ...[more]

PMID: 27885754

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Project description:Abstract Oak regeneration is jeopardized by purple moor grass, a well-known competitive perennial grass in the temperate forests of Western Europe. Below-ground interactions regarding resource acquisition and interference have been demonstrated and have led to new questions about the negative impact of purple moor grass on ectomycorrhizal colonization. The objective was to examine the effects of moor grass on root system size and ectomycorrhization rate of oak seedlings as well as consequences on nitrogen (N) content in oak and soil. Oak seedlings and moor grass tufts were planted together or separately in pots under semi-controlled conditions (irrigated and natural light) and harvested 1 year after planting. Biomass, N content in shoot and root in oak and moor grass as well as number of lateral roots and ectomycorrhizal rate in oak were measured. Biomass in both oak shoot and root was reduced when planting with moor grass. Concurrently, oak lateral roots number and ectomycorrhization rate decreased, along with a reduction in N content in mixed-grown oak. An interference mechanism of moor grass is affecting oak seedlings performance through reduction in oak lateral roots number and its ectomycorrhization, observed in conjunction with a lower growth and N content in oak. By altering both oak roots and mycorrhizas, moor grass appears to be a species with a high allelopathic potential. More broadly, these results show the complexity of interspecific interactions that involve various ecological processes involving the soil microbial community and need to be explored in situ. Interactions between plants can involve a wide variety of mechanisms. Oak regeneration failure in the presence of moor grass in European temperate forests demonstrated not only competition by exploitation but also interference and even facilitation, allowing the discovery of an antagonistic interaction. In this paper, we highlight a new target of the oak–moor grass interaction: oak ectomycorrhizae. We show that in the presence of moor grass, young oaks have a lower: (i) total biomass, (ii) number of lateral roots, (iii) ectomycorrhization rate and at the same time (iv) a lower nitrogen content than oaks placed without moor grass.

Dataset Information

Adaptive and plastic responses of Quercus petraea populations to climate across Europe.

Publications

Adaptive and plastic responses of Quercus petraea populations to climate across Europe.

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