Climate Responses of Aboveground Productivity and Allocation in Fagus sylvatica: A Transect Study in Mature Forests

Abstract

According to recent climate change scenarios, temperate forests will be increasingly exposed to droughts in the 21st century which are thought to affect productivity. Although decreasing timber yield with reduced precipitation has frequently been reported from temperate forests, the dependence of forest net primary production (NPP) on precipitation is little understood. In a 3-year transect study (2009–2011) carried out in 12 mature beech forests (Fagus sylvatica) along a precipitation gradient (820–540 mm y−1) in Northern Germany, we measured all aboveground NPP components (NPPa; stem wood, leaf mass, flower and fruit production) and analyzed relationships with monthly weather data. Because we measured NPPa under a broad range of precipitation levels, drought lengths and mast fruiting intensities, the climatic controls of aboveground productivity and carbon allocation could be analyzed in detail. Despite a significant decrease in annual (and growing season) precipitation sums along the transect, NPPa remained largely invariant in each of the years, but varied remarkably between the years (means of 981, 702, 955 g DM m−2 y−1, respectively). Variation in NPPa was most closely related to current year’s early summer weather conditions (June–July), whereas the patterns of biomass allocation to wood, leaf, and fruit production responded to the previous summer’s weather. Wood production cannot predict NPPa in beech due to alternative allocation priorities of vegetative and reproductive growth. Our results show that apparent drought-induced reductions in beech timber yield often are the result of allocation shifts toward fruit production triggered by warm and dry weather in the previous summer.