Scots Pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) on the Southern Border of Its Range in Siberia: Growth Dynamics under Changing Climate Conditions

The carbon sequestration potential of unmanaged forest stands in Finland under changing climatic conditions

We are currently witnessing significant global changes in climate conditions. We cannot change the natural conditions, but with regard to sustainable landscape management, we can increase our knowledge of tree species and adapt forest management to them. Surprisingly, one of the most affected tree species in Central Europe today is Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.). The following literature review summarizes over 200 studies from 1952–2022 regarding Scots pine across its entire range while addressing various topics in the ecology and management of this taxon. It is a tree species with a large natural range, nearly covering the entire Eurasian area. In the Czech Republic, it is the second most important tree species in terms of industrial wood production. Scots pine is characterized not only by a significant genetic variability of its populations but also by its wide ecological plasticity. Typically, it grows on sandy soils, poor habitats, and stony scree–but also in peat bogs. The wide habitat valence justifies the economic significance of this species, both in terms of its high production potential (mean annual increment of up to 10.8 m3 ha-1 yr-1) but also its wide range of use. However, in the light of climate variations, the practices of Scots pine silviculture are also gradually transforming from the traditional reforestation by clear-cutting to a more natural system–shelterwood felling. In view of climate change, its range of distribution is changing, as with other species, but Scots pine remains a very resistant tree species, depending on the habitat.

Purpose. To determine promising directions for the development of the technical and technological foundations of soil cultivation in the conditions of climate change. Methods. Monographic, abstract-logical, graph-analytical, induction and deduction, regression analysis of results. Results. Modern soil cultivation technologies are considered, their advantages and disadvantages, development trends are defined. It has been established that climate change will significantly affect the terms of execution of works, the conditions of interaction of working bodies of technical means with the soil environment. The parabolic relationship between traction resistance and soil moisture means that climate change will increase fuel costs for tillage. Therefore, the further search for new technical and technological solutions should be aimed at reducing energy consumption and preventing physical degradation of soils, substantiating structural and functional schemes of technical means for soil cultivation, parameters of working bodies and modes of operation, under which the number of dust particles in the surface layer of the soil will be minimal. Conclusions. The main direction of the development of the technical and technological base for the production of plant products in the conditions of climate change is the harmonization of the interaction of the working bodies of tillage machines with the soil, which will ensure the reduction of physical soil degradation and energy consumption to create a favorable environment for plant development and crop formation. In the conditions of global climate change, agricultural production is being reoriented towards precision farming systems, therefore, crop production technologies should be based on targeted tillage with the simultaneous introduction of a full dose of mineral nutrition into the seed sowing area for the planned harvest, sowing of seeds and preservation of plant residues on the surface of the soil for protection it from overheating and loss of moisture. Keywords: technical means, soil cultivation technologies, interaction of working bodies with the soil, soil moisture, soil resistance, energy consumption, physical soil degradation.

Climate change has been occurring at a rapid rate and is being exacerbated by anthropogenic activities that increase global temperatures and atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases such as CO2. This greatly impacts ecosystems worldwide, resulting in more frequent and intense extreme weather events such as heat waves and drought. Understanding how ecosystems respond to elevated CO2 is critical for predicting the impacts of climate change on ecosystem processes, such as their ability to sequester carbon. Temperate ecosystems, in particular, are important in mitigating climate change, holding around 20% of the global plant biomass and approximately 10% of the global terrestrial carbon (Bonan, 2008). However, the capacity of these ecosystems to continue sequestering additional carbon dioxide in the future is uncertain when predicted using current terrestrial biosphere models (TBMs). To address this, improved mechanistic representations of ecosystem states and processes under changing climatic conditions are crucial, as well as the initialisation of the models using real-world observations. In this regard, ecosystem-scale experiments, such as Free-air CO2 enrichment (FACE) experiments, are extremely useful and powerful tools for improving model predictions and have frequently been used for model-data synthesis and ecosystem analysis (Walker et al, 2015).  In this study, we examined the responses of mature temperate forests to rising atmospheric CO2 and changing climatic conditions using the Ecosystem Demography model (ED2), which is a cohort-based terrestrial biosphere model (TBM). We parameterised the model with data collected from the Birmingham Institute of Forest Research, Free-air CO2 Enrichment (BIFoR FACE) experiment site. As the first study using a TBM at BIFoR, this study analysed the model’s capacity to simulate ecosystem responses to elevated CO2 (+150 ppm above ambient) and extreme weather events such as the European drought of 2022 (Gharun et al, 2024). We ran two simulations and compared model outputs against field measurements of key eco-physiological measurements such as maximum rate of carboxylation, soil moisture, and Net Primary Production (NPP). This study demonstrates the capability and the limitations of the TBM to simulate the responses of a mature temperate forest to elevated CO2 conditions under changing and extreme climatic conditions.  

The ascomycete Sphaeropsis sapinea is the causal agent of the Diplodia Tip Blight disease on pines and other conifer species. This fungus has a symptomless endophytic life stage. Disease symptoms become visible when trees have been weakened by abiotic stress, usually related to warmer temperatures and drought. Currently, this disease is observed regularly in Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) sites in parts of Europe, such as Germany, increasing dramatically in the last decade. Changes in climatic conditions will gradually increase the damage caused by this fungus, because it is favored by elevated temperature. Thus, host trees with reduced vitality due to climate change-related environmental stress are expected to be more susceptible to an outbreak of Diplodia Tip Blight disease. There is currently no established and effective method to control S. sapinea. This project aims to reveal the nature of the endophyte community of Scots pine. Utilizing the antagonistic core community of endophytes could serve as a novel tool for disease control. Results from this study provide a starting point for new solutions to improve forest health and counter S. sapinea disease outbreaks. We screened potential antagonistic endophytes against S. sapinea and infected Scots pine seedlings with the most common endophytes and S. sapinea alone and combination. The host was stressed by limiting access to water. The antagonism study revealed 13 possible fungi with the ability to inhibit the growth of S. sapinea in vitro, for example Sydowia polyspora. None of the tested co-infected fungi (Desmazierella acicola, Didymellaceae sp., Microsphaeropsis olivacea, Sydowia polyspora, and Truncatella conorum-piceae) showed strong necrosis development in vivo, even when host stress increased due to drought. However, the infection experiment demonstrated that drought conditions enhance the effect of the disease outbreak, triggering S. sapinea to cause more necrosis in the infected twigs.

Differentiating between climate effects and forest growth dynamics effects on decreasing groundwater recharge in a lowland region in Northeast Germany

Mixed-species forests have become widely studied in the recent years because of their potential to mitigate risks associated with climate change. However, their growth dynamics are often difficult to predict because species interactions vary with climatic and edaphic conditions, stand structure and forest management. We examined species interactions in mixtures of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) and pedunculate oak (Quercus robur) under climate change and for varying soil conditions in the Netherlands, over a period of 30 years. We parameterized, calibrated and validated the 3-PGmix model for mixing effects in Scots pine and oak mixtures and analysed these effects under climate change. 3-PGmix performed well for the variety of forest stands examined throughout the Netherlands. Furthermore, it was also able to reproduce mixing effects for each species in mixtures compared to monocultures for the growing conditions examined. Simulated climate change resulted in lower productivity of oak and higher productivity of Scots pine, compared to the current climate. This was observed for both monospecific stands and mixtures. The mixture of Scots pine and oak showed clear but limited overyielding (mixture yield greater than the mean of the monocultures), which was mainly attributed to oak. This was maintained under the most extreme climate scenario for 2050, implying that for oak, increased growth due to mixing with Scots pine was larger than the reduction in productivity under the future climate. On resource-limited soils, Scots pine competitiveness was increased, and this was maintained under a warmer and drier climate. Our results suggest that projected changes in climate will influence species interactions and result in increased Scots pine productivity, notably on poor sandy soils, which are typical of the Netherlands.

Climate change impacts on the ecosystem services that people rely on, such as water, air, and agricultural products. The quality and quantity of various ecosystem services may be diminished under conditions of extreme climate change. Therefore, the effects of climate change may be expected to threaten people's health and survival. The concept of health promotion includes attention to the environment and emphasizes balance between nature and manmade structures. In addition, health promotion practices and actions in response to climate change emphasize multidisciplinary cooperation and focus on health inequality and vulnerable populations. Therefore, health promotion professionals must have sufficient professional competence in order to manage the multifaceted health impacts of climate change. The purpose of this article is to review the literature on health promotion and emergency medical care under conditions of climate change. Examples are provided to delineate the biological, psychological, social, and spiritual effects of climate change. The results of this literature review may provide community-based health promotion and emergency medical services guidance for further development and improvements. Healthcare professionals are expected to play a central role in managing the impact of climate change in order to achieve health for all.

How climate variations are reflected in root zone storage capacities

Chapter 6 - Seed priming: state of the art and new perspectives in the era of climate change

The five essays of this dissertation combine topics from development and environmental economics. All essays treat the overall topic on how to influence and regulate the production of CO2 emissions. The green house gas CO2 is one of the biggest externalities from human development during the last century. The essays give insight on how changes in local climate conditions affect human wellbeing and what are the potential monetary loses from a rise in average temperature in Latin America. They further analyze the major drivers of CO2 emissions at the household as well as national level and assess how current international climate policy has contributed to reduce CO2 emissions. The last essay gives an overview on how unequal emissions are globally distributed and what will be the future distribution of CO2 emissions when taking different policy scenarios into account. The first essay analyzes how changes in local climatic conditions affect the level of welfare in Latin America. Self reported wellbeing levels are used as a proxy for individual welfare. Subjective wellbeing does not only account for changes in individual income but also for changes in other areas, which determine overall welfare, such as the access to health care or schooling. The study finds that a temperature up to 22 degrees Celsius and rainfall up to 247mm are beneficial for human wellbeing. Higher temperatures or rainfall go in line with welfare loses. A global average warming of 2 degrees Celsius would go in line with welfare loses in Latin America. The second essay analyzes household emissions from consumption, the so-called carbon footprint, in India. The study focuses on the effect of changes in income and the socio- economic composition of the household. A higher household income leads to higher consumption but at the same time the goods, which are consumed change towards lower carbon intensive goods. Still the change in the consumption pattern does not offset the higher carbon footprint due to overall higher consumption rates with rising income. The third essay evaluates how current international climate policy did influence CO2 emissions. Countries with obligations from the Kyoto Protocol did indeed emit on average 6.5% less CO2 than comparable countries with similar income and population growth but without any commitments from Kyoto Protocol. The fourth essay analyzes the main determinant of rising CO2 emissions, namely income. The focus is not on changes in income but on changes in the income distribution within a country and its effect on CO2 emissions. The relationship between carbon dioxide emissions per capita and income inequality is U-shaped: for countries characterized by high income inequality, reductions in income inequality are associated with lower per capita emissions. For less unequal societies, reductions in income inequality are associated with increases in carbon emissions per capita. The fifth essay studies the global distribution of per capita CO2 emissions. The focus is on the effect the energy mix and the sectoral composition have on emission inequality. The decline of heavy manufacturing in OECD countries and the rise of using coal in non- OECD countries led to a decline of global inequality in per capita CO2 emissions. In the long run there is the possibility that emission inequality will rise again. Each essay contributes to the literature in its specific field. They analyze how economic activities (mostly consumption) influence CO2 emissions, which are considered responsible for changes in climatic conditions. At the same time those changes in climatic conditions affect human wellbeing and go in line with monetary loses. National policies such as redistributive policies can have an influence on national CO2 emissions in both directions and have to be well planned. Policies to influence consumption habits towards less CO2 intensive goods could be efficient to regulate CO2 emissions but might only be feasible in richer countries. International climate policies have shown an impact on CO2 emissions among participating countries. International policies can help to get national policies to reduce CO2 emissions on the way.

Spatio-temporal variability in Scots pine radial growth responses to annual climate fluctuations in hemiboreal forests of Estonia

The main objective was to investigate the long-term growth dynamics of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) and Siberian spruce (Picea obovata Lebed.) trees in the Komi Republic, in the currently changing environment. Positive long-term growth trends of Scots pine and Siberian spruce were identified in the Komi Republic using empirical data from radial growth and height growth analysis in the forest-tundra transition zone, the northern taiga zone, the middle taiga zone, and the southern taiga zone. The statistically significant increase in height increment of 40% for Siberian spruce and 30% for Scots pine was identified for the whole Komi Republic. Within this region statistically significant increases were found in the middle taiga zone for Siberian spruce by 240%, Scots pine 140%, and in the northern taiga for Siberian spruce by 164%. Increases in the radial growth of Siberian spruce in the forest-tundra was 134% while in the northern taiga zone it was 35% over successive 50 year periods from 1901 to 1950 and from 1951 to 2000. In the middle taiga zone a 76% increase in radial growth of spruce was found (over 100 years), whilst in the southern taiga zone the changes were not statistically significant. The increase in radial growth of Scots pine in the northern taiga zone was 32%. In the middle taiga zone the radial growth increase in Scots pine was 55% and in the southern taiga zone the changes were not statistically significant. During the last 20 years, a temperature increase was recorded by all the meteorological stations in Komi Republic; whilst levels of precipitation have been increasing for the last 40 years ago. This is reflected in the radial increment of Siberian spruce and Scots pine. Thus, climate change could partly explain the increased site productivity. The total variance explained by temperature varied from 22% to 41% and precipitation from 19% to 38%. A statistically significant correlation between Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) data and tree-ring width has been identified for the territory of the Komi Republic. The increased site productivity caused the increase in integrated NDVI values from June to August. This indicates that NDVI can be used as a proxy for estimating the forest growth trends of recent decades for generalization on a large scale. The increased site productivity in the southern and middle sub zones of taiga in the Komi Republic has been shown using NDVI data for 20 years. In the region under discussion, the distribution of the trends in NDVI data changes on a south-west to north-east gradient. NDVI data could be used to increase the spatial resolution of tree-ring width series. The decrease in precipitations was reflected in increase in NDVI. An increase in productivity reflected in NDVI data is maximal on the sites with increased temperature and decreased precipitations. Taking into account the relatively small influence of humans in the Komi Republic compared to Europe, the site productivity during recent decades has also increased in relatively untouched forests.

Predicting tree growth processes is important due to the exceptional ecosystem role of forests, which carry out global climate regulation by sequestrating carbon, conserving drinking water, and providing habitat for living organisms. Trees are known to respond to any fluctuations in the environment. The research purpose is to identify weather and climatic factors that significantly affect the inhibition of growth of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) in conditions of constant moisture deficit. The studies were carried out in the eastern part of the Bryansk region within the territory the Bryansk administrative district, in the educational and experimental forestry of the Bryansk State Engineering and Technological University and the Styazhnovskoye forest district. Methods of dendrochronology were used to assess the response of 93 pine trees to fluctuations in the external environment by changing the width of annual rings (available anatomical feature of a tree) using indices of radial growth. An original approach was proposed to analyze the reasons for a sharp decline in the annual radial growth under the influence of temperature and precipitation. The years with abnormally low increments (1963, 1972, 1985, 2002 and 2010) were identified against the background of the weather-climatic situation for 5 years before and after the fall in growth. Similar dynamics of absolute values of radial increments and their indices was established, which is caused by fluctuations of natural factors, manifestation of hereditary traits, etc. Significant differences were revealed between the growth rates at average multiyear values of January, May and August air temperatures with growth rates in the years of abnormally low radial growth, which are observed in pine against the background of colder January and warmer May and August of the current year, as well as under the condition of warmer January of the previous year. At the same time, no significant role of precipitation was detected. The obtained data, expanding the idea of the features of growth processes and formation of annual increments in diameter of Scots pine in the conditions of changing climate at the turn of the 20th–21st centuries, allowed us to suggest a possible manifestation of physiological features of the species, the homeostasis optimum zone of which is located in the conditions of colder boreal climate. This information expands our understanding of the features of growth processes and formation of annual increments in diameter of Scots pine in changing climatic conditions.

Climate change is one of the most important challenges of our time. It is likely to bring devastating impacts on human life and settlements. Climate change refers to changes in average climatic conditions of the earth due to the increase in average temperatures of the atmosphere (Figure 1). Although natural processes like solar activity and volcanic eruptions can cause changes in climatic conditions it is accepted that current climate change is caused by anthropogenic processes (Deri and Alam, 2008; IPCC, 2007a). There is a consensus that increased burning of fossil fuels and destruction of natural ecosystems, which were intensified after the industrial revolution (Figure 2), are major drivers of ongoing global warming and climate change (Costello et al., 2009).