Abstract
Background and AimsConifers are key components of many temperate and boreal forests and are important for forestry, but species differences in stem growth responses to climate are still poorly understood and may hinder effective management of these forests in a warmer and drier future.MethodsWe studied 19 Northern Hemisphere conifer species planted in a 50-year-old common garden experiment in the Netherlands to (1) assess the effect of temporal dynamics in climate on stem growth, (2) test for a possible positive relationship between the growth potential and climatic growth sensitivity across species, and (3) evaluate the extent to which stem growth is controlled by phylogeny.Key resultsEighty-nine per cent of the species showed a significant reduction in stem growth to summer drought, 37 % responded negatively to spring frost and 32 % responded positively to higher winter temperatures. Species differed largely in their growth sensitivity to climatic variation and showed, for example, a four-fold difference in growth reduction to summer drought. Remarkably, we did not find a positive relationship between productivity and climatic sensitivity, but instead observed that some species combined a low growth sensitivity to summer drought with high growth potential. Both growth sensitivity to climate and growth potential were partly phylogenetically controlled.ConclusionsA warmer and drier future climate is likely to reduce the productivity of most conifer species. We did not find a relationship between growth potential and growth sensitivity to climate; instead, some species combined high growth potential with low sensitivity to summer drought. This may help forest managers to select productive species that are able to cope with a warmer and drier future.
Highlights
Climate change is leading to increased warming and an increased frequency of late spring frosts and summer droughts (Inouye, 2000; Hartmann, 2011), with potentially large repercussions for forest and tree productivity (Ciais et al, 2005; Gazol et al, 2019)
We predicted a positive relationship between stem growth potential and growth sensitivity to climatic variation, because the traits that lead to high inherent growth rates, such as large cells with thin cell walls that facilitate high metabolic activity, may lead to a higher sensitivity to extreme climate events such as late spring frosts and summer droughts
We analysed how 19 conifer species that were planted in a common garden experiment and growing under a mild maritime climate differed in their growth responses to winter temperature, spring frost and summer drought over 44 years
Summary
Climate change is leading to increased warming and an increased frequency of late spring frosts and summer droughts (Inouye, 2000; Hartmann, 2011), with potentially large repercussions for forest and tree productivity (Ciais et al, 2005; Gazol et al, 2019). Wide tracheids allow for high hydraulic conductivity and, high gas exchange, photosynthesis and growth rates (Chave et al, 2009) These species would be sensitive to frost and drought, because increased conduit size increases species vulnerability to freezing- and drought-induced cavitation (Mayr et al, 2006). We hypothesized that growth of the 19 species is reduced by spring frosts and summer droughts (e.g. via high temperature and low precipitation) and sensitive to warm winters. We predicted a positive relationship between stem growth potential and growth sensitivity to climatic variation, because the traits that lead to high inherent growth rates, such as large cells with thin cell walls that facilitate high metabolic activity, may lead to a higher sensitivity (e.g. by a higher cavitation vulnerability) to extreme climate events such as late spring frosts and summer droughts. Given that closely related conifer species are adapted to different environmental conditions (Zanne et al, 2014), we expect that growth potential and stem growth sensitivity to climate is only weakly phylogenetically controlled
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