Temperature-induced growing season drought threatens survival and height growth of white spruce in southern Ontario, Canada

Abstract

The adaptive capacity of boreal tree species to thrive in a warming, more variable climate has significant implications for boreal forest ecosystem structure and function. Dendrochronological and other empirical data indicate reduced growth and increased mortality of white spruce (Picea glauca [Moench] Voss) growing in warmer, drier portions of its natural range in western North America due to recent climate change. Comparatively, little is known of potential climate change effects on white spruce in the more mesic, eastern portion of its range where mean annual precipitation is relatively high. In this study, we examined the potential long-term consequences of climate warming on annual rates of mortality and height growth of mature white spruce by substituting space for time using data from 10, 31- to 40-year-old large common garden experiments (CGEs) established in Ontario, Canada. Across these CGEs, white spruce was exposed to differences of up to 5.0 °C in mean annual temperature and 405 mm in mean annual precipitation. During a 12- to 16-year measurement interval, mortality increased from the colder, more northern CGEs to the warmer CGEs near the species’ southern range margin. Along this climatic gradient, white spruce was also exposed to more frequent, severe growing season moisture deficits, with southern CGEs sometimes subject to extreme drought events with a low probability based on historical occurrence. Our results indicate that the severity of recent growing season drought events at more southern CGEs may have exceeded the drought tolerance capacity of white spruce and resulted in significantly increased mortality and reduced height growth rates. These results suggest that with projected increases in temperature and frequency/severity of growing season drought by the end of this century, white spruce is likely to experience maladaptation over a larger portion of its range in Ontario and gradually retract from its current southern range edge.