Abstract
Wood formation in European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) and Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) was intra-annually monitored to examine plastic responses of the xylem phenology according to altitude in one of the southernmost areas of their distribution range, i.e., in the Moncayo Natural Park, Spain. The monitoring was done from 2011 to 2013 at 1180 and 1580 m a.s.l., corresponding to the lower and upper limits of European beech forest in this region. Microcores containing phloem, cambium and xylem were collected biweekly from twenty-four trees from the beginning of March to the end of November to assess the different phases of wood formation. The samples were prepared for light microscopy to observe the following phenological phases: onset and end of cell production, onset and end of secondary wall formation in xylem cells and onset of cell maturation. The temporal dynamics of wood formation widely differed among years, altitudes and tree species. For Fagus sylvatica, the onset of cambial activity varied between the first week of May and the third week of June. Cambial activity then slowed down and stopped in summer, resulting in a length of growing season of 48–75 days. In contrast, the growing season for P. sylvestris started earlier and cambium remained active in autumn, leading to a period of activity varying from 139-170 days. The intra-annual wood-formation pattern is site and species-specific. Comparison with other studies shows a clear latitudinal trend in the duration of wood formation, positive for Fagus sylvatica and negative for P. sylvestris.
Highlights
A forest community can prosper only on sites where the environmental conditions are within the niche volumes of each species (Reed and Clark, 1978)
All authors without exception helped to improve the work, specially the discussion and conclusions. It appears that the temporal dynamics of xylogenesis is considerably different in F. sylvatica than in P. sylvestris growing at the edge of their southern spatial distribution
The period of xylogenesis in F. sylvatica was around 2 months, while for P. sylvestris it was more than 5 months
Summary
A forest community can prosper only on sites where the environmental conditions are within the niche volumes of each species (Reed and Clark, 1978). European beech forests are spread all over central Europe, from central Poland, the south of Scandinavia and British Isles to the southernmost locations in the mountain ranges of Greece, Italy and Spain (Jalas and Suominen, 1973). Scots pine forests are distributed from the Alps to northeast Europe, covering all Scandinavia and Russia beyond 55◦ northern latitude (Jalas and Suominen, 1976). In the Mediterranean region are isolated patches of both species, climatically constrained by the warmer and drier conditions compared to the greater part of Europe. In these areas, extreme climatic events, such as summer droughts, heat waves or late frosts, restrict forest expansion on the edge of the distribution limit, leaving some populations isolated in mountain shelters
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