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Special Issue "Impact of Climate Change on Tree Growth"

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A special issue of Forests (ISSN 1999-4907). This special issue belongs to the section "Forest Meteorology and Climate Change".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2023) | Viewed by 7173

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Special Issue Editor

Dr. Marcin Klisz

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Guest Editor

Department of Silviculture and Genetics of Forest Trees, Forest Research Institute, 05-090 Raszyn, Mazovia, Poland
Interests: provenance experiments; dendroecology; climate adaptation; quantitative wood anatomy

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Global climate change has severely impacted forests across different biomes, affecting the stability of ecosystems and causing huge economic damage. Even more severe climate warming is predicted in the near future, which will have implications on forest ecosystem structures and dynamics. The weakening of trees caused by changing climatic conditions increases their vulnerability to biotic threats. Trees, as sessile and long-lived organisms that take decades to change generations and reach the generative stage, are potentially at great risk from climate change. Therefore, understanding intra-species variation in the acclimatization of tree species, the effects of climate transfer, and modelling the future growth response of trees are of great importance to create strategies for climate-smart forestry.

This Special Issue aims to increase our understanding of how climate change impacts tree growth and wood production. We encourage contributions from around the world in all fields of study related to forest ecology and sustainable forest management (e.g., dendroclimatology, dendroecology, tree phenology, ecophysiology, forest genetics, distribution modeling). Contributions to this Special Issue may include original research, new and novel methodologies, reviews, and meta-analyses, as well as multi-scale and multi-disciplinary approaches to understanding tree growth under climate change.

Dr. Marcin Klisz
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Forests is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

carbon sequestration
tree-rings
extreme weather events
climate sensitivity
early life-history traits
reciprocal transplantation experiment
species distribution models

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

Open AccessArticle

The Carbon Sequestration Potential of Silky Oak (Grevillea robusta A.Cunn. ex R.Br.), a High-Value Economic Wood in Thailand

and

Forests 2023, 14(9), 1824; https://doi.org/10.3390/f14091824 - 07 Sep 2023

Viewed by 1438

Abstract

Silky Oak or Silver Oak (Grevillea robusta A.Cunn. ex R.Br.) is classified as a high-value economic wood in Thailand, it is also considered to be a plant that can grow rapidly, and it has the potential to efficiently reduce greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere. This research aimed to study and develop an allometric equation to evaluate the biomass of F1 Silky Oak, which was imported to Thailand from Australia, and grown in Thailand’s economic woods in Silky Oak sites in Pak Chong District, Nakhon Ratchasima Province. The sample group consisted of trees of different ages (i.e., of 2 years, 3–4 years, and 7 years). An allometric equation was used to determine the tree biomass, based on mathematical models that describe the relationship between tree biomass and diameter at breast height (DBH). It was developed in the form of a quadratic equation by multiplying the square DBH by the total height (DBH² × Ht). Subsequently, the equation was separated into different components, which corresponded with different parts of the tree (i.e., stem, branches, leaves, and roots). The following equations were obtained for the stem: Ws = 0.0721 (D²H) 0.8297 R² = 0.998. The following equations were obtained for the branches: Wb = 0.0772 (D²H) 0.7027 R² = 0.977. The following equations were obtained for the leaves, Wl = 0.2085 (D²H) 0.4313 R² = 0.990. The following equations were obtained for the roots: Wr = 0.3337 (D²H) 0.4886 R² = 0.957. The results of a laboratory elemental analysis of the carbon sequestration in the biomass, using a CHN elemental analyzer, showed that the mean percentage of carbon content in the stems, branches, leaves, and roots was 45.805. Applying the developed allometric equation for evaluating carbon sequestration, using the survey data from the sample sites of Silky Oak, it was found that the amount of carbon sequestration for the aboveground biomass in three sites was 130.63 tCO₂eq. When the amount was converted into carbon dioxide, which was absorbed in the three sites, we obtained a value of 478.99 tCO₂eq. The results of the application of the allometric equation showed that there was substantial carbon sequestration potential in the surveyed sites, emphasizing the role of Silky Oak plantations for climate change mitigation and sustainable land management. This study advances our understanding of Silky Oak growth and carbon storage dynamics, offering valuable tools for biomass estimation and promoting environmentally beneficial land use practices. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Impact of Climate Change on Tree Growth)

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Open AccessArticle

How Are Pine Species Responding to Soil Drought and Climate Change in the Iberian Peninsula?

Ángel González-Zamora

Laura Almendra-Martín

Martín de Luis

Jaime Gaona

and

José Martínez-Fernández

Forests 2023, 14(8), 1530; https://doi.org/10.3390/f14081530 - 26 Jul 2023

Viewed by 472

Abstract

This study investigates the relationship between soil moisture and the growth of Pinus halepensis, P. nigra, P. sylvestris and P. uncinata, which are some of the main pine species of the Iberian Peninsula, and the response of these species to soil drought. The role played by climatic and geographic factors in the resilience of these species to drought events is also evaluated. A total of 110 locations of the four species studied were selected, with data ranging from 1950 to 2007. The results show that the species that are less dependent on soil moisture best withstood droughts, while those more dependent on it showed better adaptability. Additionally, climatic and geographic factors had a stronger influence on the species’ resilience to soil drought at higher altitudes. The results of this study can help us to better understand forest ecosystem dynamics and their reaction to droughts in Mediterranean areas, where this phenomenon will be much more severe in the future due to climate change. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Impact of Climate Change on Tree Growth)

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Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Influence of Earlier Snowmelt on the Seedling Growth of Six Subboreal Tree Species in the Spring

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Forests 2023, 14(3), 600; https://doi.org/10.3390/f14030600 - 17 Mar 2023

Viewed by 702

Abstract

Climate warming is advancing snowmelt timing in the spring at high latitudes. To predict tree growth in subboreal forests under warmer climates based on mechanistic understanding, it is important to assess how advancing snowmelt influences tree growth in the spring via ecophysiological changes in subboreal forests. In this study, we conducted a field manipulation experiment of snowmelt timing and investigated the response of tree growth, leaf functional traits, and bud-burst phenology in the spring for the seedlings of six dominant tree species in subboreal forests. We found that the spring growth of only one species (Kalopanax septemlobus) out of six species responded positively to advancing snowmelt. Among the leaf functional traits (leaf mass per area, leaf nitrogen content, leaf δ¹³C value, leaf dry matter content, and leaf area) and bud-burst phenology, only the increase in leaf area was linked to the enhanced shoot growth of K. septemlobus. The significant change in K. septemlobus might be associated with its ecological characteristics to prefer regeneration in canopy gaps. These results indicate that advancing snowmelt under warmer winters can be beneficial for tree species that can plastically develop leaf area in Japanese subboreal forests. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Impact of Climate Change on Tree Growth)

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Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

The Role of Provenance for the Projected Growth of Juvenile European Beech under Climate Change

Alena Sliacka Konôpková

Mohammad Mukarram

Harish Debta

and

Peter Fleischer, Jr.

Forests 2023, 14(1), 26; https://doi.org/10.3390/f14010026 - 23 Dec 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2106

Abstract

European beech is one of the most common tree species in Europe and is generally suggested to play even more of a prominent role in forestry in the future. It seems to have the potential to partially replace Norway spruce, as it is less sensitive to expected warmer and drier conditions. It is, however, not well known in which regions these new plantings would be particularly favourable and if specific provenances may be better adapted to the new conditions than others. Therefore, we estimated the potential early height growth under climate conditions in 2040–2060 for 20 beech provenances across a region covering the Czech Republic and Slovakia. This Central European region is expected to experience considerably drier and warmer conditions in the future. For this exercise, we implemented a new neural network model developed from height growth information obtained from the open-access BeechCOSTe52 database. The simulations are driven by past and future climate data obtained from the WorldClim database of historical climate data and future climate projections. Simulations revealed that provenances originating from drier regions performed on average significantly better than those from regions with good water supply. Moreover, provenances originating from drier regions had a particularly large advantage in the relatively arid regions of Central Czechia and Southern Slovakia. We can also confirm that all provenances showed a high phenotypic plasticity of height growth across the whole investigated region. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Impact of Climate Change on Tree Growth)

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Open AccessArticle

The Climate-Growth Relationship between Picea smithiana (Wall.) Boiss. and Abies pindrow (Royle ex D.Don) Royle along the Latitudinal Gradient in Northern Pakistan

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Forests 2022, 13(8), 1315; https://doi.org/10.3390/f13081315 - 17 Aug 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1482

Abstract

A changing climate and global warming have adversely affected Pakistan’s moist and dry temperate vegetation. Abies pindrow (fir) (Royle ex D.Don) Royle and Picea smithiana (spruce) Wall.) Boiss are the two major representative species of the moist and dry temperate forests in Northern Pakistan. The dendroclimatic study of both species is crucial for the assessment of climate variability at various spatial and temporal scales. This study examined the dendroclimatology of fir and spruce, and analyzed the growth–climate relationship along the latitudinal gradient. Two hundred and nineteen samples (ring cores) of the two species were collected from five different sites (Shogran (SHG), Upper Dir (UDS), Bahrain Swat (BSG), Astore Gilgit (NPKA), and Sharan Kaghan (SHA)) in Northern Pakistan. The cores were cross-dated, and chronologies were generated for the species and climatic data (precipitation, temperature, and Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI)) correlated with radial growth. The interspecies correlations for fir were calculated as 0.54, 0.49, 0.52, 0.60, and 0.48 for SHG, UDS, BSG, NPKA, and SHA, respectively, whereas in the case of spruce, the interspecies correlations were 0.44 for SHG, 0.55 for UDS, and 0.49 for BSG. Climate variability was observed in the samples of both species, which showed significant drought and humid years at specific intervals. With respect to the correlation between tree-ring width and climatic factors, a positive correlation was observed between fir growth and summer season precipitation, mean temperature, and PDSI in the spring, summer, and autumn seasons. Similarly, the growth of spruce was positively correlated with precipitation (in February, September, and May) and PDSI (in the summer and autumn seasons); however, no correlation was observed between monthly temperature and spruce growth. The relationship of fir and spruce growth with seasonal precipitation and PDSI showed a change from a negative to a positive correlation after 1980, following rapid warming. During the winter and spring, the correlation coefficient between fir radial growth and seasonal temperature showed an initial upward trend followed by a progressive decrease along with increasing latitude. Seasonal variations were observed regarding the correlation coefficient between spruce radial growth and increasing latitude (increasing in winter; a decreasing trend in spring and summer; an initial increase and then a decrease in autumn). In the same way, the correlation of seasonal temperature and PDSI with the radial growth of both species showed increasing trends with increasing latitude, except in the autumn season. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Impact of Climate Change on Tree Growth)

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