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Asynchronous leaf and cambial phenology in a tree species of the Congo Basin requires space-time conversion of wood traits.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND AND AIMS:Wood traits are increasingly being used to document tree performance. In the Congo Basin, however, weaker seasonality causes asynchrony of wood traits between trees. Here, we monitor growth and phenology data to date the formation of traits. METHODS:For two seasons, leaf and cambial phenology were monitored on four Terminalia superba trees (Mayombe) using cameras, cambial pinning and dendrometers. Subsequently, vessel lumen and parenchyma fractions as well as high-resolution isotopes (?13C/?18O) were quantified on the formed rings. All traits were dated and related to weather data. KEY RESULTS:We observed between-tree differences in green-up of 45 d, with trees flushing before and after the rainy season. The lag between green-up and onset of xylem formation was 59 ± 21 d. The xylem growing season lasted 159 ± 17 d with between-tree differences of up to 53 d. Synchronized vessel, parenchyma and ?13C profiles were related to each other. Only parenchyma fraction and ?13C were correlated to weather variables, whereas the ?18O pattern showed no trend. CONCLUSIONS:Asynchrony of leaf and cambial phenology complicates correct interpretation of environmental information recorded in wood. An integrated approach including high-resolution measurements of growth, stable isotopes and anatomical features allows exact dating of the formation of traits. This methodology offers a means to explore the asynchrony of growth in a rainforest and contribute to understanding this aspect of forest resilience.

SUBMITTER: De Mil T

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6758582 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Asynchronous leaf and cambial phenology in a tree species of the Congo Basin requires space-time conversion of wood traits.

De Mil Tom T Hubau Wannes W Angoboy Ilondea Bhély B Rocha Vargas Mirvia Angela MA Boeckx Pascal P Steppe Kathy K Van Acker Joris J Beeckman Hans H Van den Bulcke Jan J

Annals of botany. 20190901 2

<h4>Background and aims</h4>Wood traits are increasingly being used to document tree performance. In the Congo Basin, however, weaker seasonality causes asynchrony of wood traits between trees. Here, we monitor growth and phenology data to date the formation of traits.<h4>Methods</h4>For two seasons, leaf and cambial phenology were monitored on four Terminalia superba trees (Mayombe) using cameras, cambial pinning and dendrometers. Subsequently, vessel lumen and parenchyma fractions as well as h ...[more]

PMID: 31170728

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Project description:Significant alterations of cambial activity might be expected due to climate warming, leading to growing season extension and higher growth rates especially in cold-limited forests. However, assessment of climate-change-driven trends in intra-annual wood formation suffers from the lack of direct observations with a timespan exceeding a few years. We used the Vaganov-Shashkin process-based model to: (i) simulate daily resolved numbers of cambial and differentiating cells; and (ii) develop chronologies of the onset and termination of specific phases of cambial phenology during 1961-2017. We also determined the dominant climatic factor limiting cambial activity for each day. To asses intra-annual model validity, we used 8 years of direct xylogenesis monitoring from the treeline region of the Krkonoše Mts. (Czechia). The model exhibits high validity in case of spring phenological phases and a seasonal dynamics of tracheid production, but its precision declines for estimates of autumn phenological phases and growing season duration. The simulations reveal an increasing trend in the number of tracheids produced by cambium each year by 0.42 cells/year. Spring phenological phases (onset of cambial cell growth and tracheid enlargement) show significant shifts toward earlier occurrence in the year (for 0.28-0.34 days/year). In addition, there is a significant increase in simulated growth rates during entire growing season associated with the intra-annual redistribution of the dominant climatic controls over cambial activity. Results suggest that higher growth rates at treeline are driven by (i) temperature-stimulated intensification of spring cambial kinetics, and (ii) decoupling of summer growth rates from the limiting effect of low summer temperature due to higher frequency of climatically optimal days. Our results highlight that the cambial kinetics stimulation by increasing spring and summer temperatures and shifting spring phenology determine the recent growth trends of treeline ecosystems. Redistribution of individual climatic factors controlling cambial activity during the growing season questions the temporal stability of climatic signal of cold forest chronologies under ongoing climate change.

Dataset Information

Asynchronous leaf and cambial phenology in a tree species of the Congo Basin requires space-time conversion of wood traits.

Publications

Asynchronous leaf and cambial phenology in a tree species of the Congo Basin requires space-time conversion of wood traits.

Similar Datasets

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