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Biology subjects

Andivia, E.

Publications and source records attributed to Andivia, E..

2 recordsLinked to original sources
bioRxiv2023

Growth sensitivity to water availability as potential indicator of drought-induced tree mortality in Mediterranean Pinus sylvestris forests

Drought-associated tree mortality has worldwide increased in the last decades, impacting structure and functioning of forest ecosystems, with implications for energy, carbon and water fluxes. However, the understanding of the factors underlying this mortality are still limited, especially at stand scale. We aim to identify the factors that triggered the mortality of the widely distributed Pinus sylvestris in an extensive forest area in central Spain. We compared radial growth patterns in pairs of live and recently dead individuals that co-occur in close proximity and present similar age and size, thereby isolating the effects of size and environment from the mortality process. Temporal dynamics of growth, growth synchrony, and growth sensitivity to water availability (P-PET) were compared between live and recently dead trees. Over the last 50 years, we observed an increase in the growth synchrony and sensitivity to water availability as drought conditions intensified consistent to prior research. However, no differences were found in radial growth between live and dead individuals 15 years before mortality, and dead individuals showed lower growth synchrony and sensitivity to water availability than live ones for much of the period studied. This suggests a decoupling between trees growth responses and climatic conditions, which could increase vulnerability to hydraulic failure and/or carbon starvation. Overall, our results point to an important role of growth sensitivity to water availability in tree mortality for P. sylvestris at its southern distribution limit.

ecology↗
bioRxiv2023

Forest structural diversity determines tree growth synchrony in response to climate change

After centuries of deforestation, many industrialised countries are experiencing an increase in forest area and biomass due to changes in land- and forest-use since the mid-20th century. At the same time, the impacts of climate change on forests are aggravating, but the interplay between past land- and forest-use (i.e. land- and forest-use legacies) and climate change in forest functioning remains elusive. Here using network theory and linear mixed models, we quantified how land- and forest-use legacies modulate tree growth synchrony in response to climate change. We analysed tree growth data from European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) stands with different histories of forest management at the species rear edge. We found that tree growth synchrony increased following heatwaves, late spring frosts, and reduced precipitation. Interestingly, the greatest tree growth synchrony occurred in recently-established forests, while stands containing large trees and heterogeneous tree sizes showed much lower growth synchrony. Our results highlight the importance of maintaining large trees and structurally heterogeneous forests to mitigate the negative effects of climate change on forest productivity, and thereby, increase forest resilience to future forest climate risks.

ecology↗