How adaptable is the hydraulic system of European beech in the face of climate change-related precipitation reduction?
(2015) In New Phytologist- Abstract
- Climate warming will increase the drought exposure of many forests world-wide. It is not well understood how trees adapt their hydraulic architecture to a long-term decrease in water availability. We examined 23 traits characterizing the hydraulic architecture and growth rate of branches and the dependent foliage of mature European beech (Fagus sylvatica) trees along a precipitation gradient (855-594 mm yr(-1) ) on uniform soil. A main goal was to identify traits that are associated with xylem efficiency, safety and growth. Our data demonstrate for the first time a linear increase in embolism resistance with climatic aridity (by 10%) across populations within a species. Simultaneously, vessel diameter declined by 7% and pit membrane... (More)
- Climate warming will increase the drought exposure of many forests world-wide. It is not well understood how trees adapt their hydraulic architecture to a long-term decrease in water availability. We examined 23 traits characterizing the hydraulic architecture and growth rate of branches and the dependent foliage of mature European beech (Fagus sylvatica) trees along a precipitation gradient (855-594 mm yr(-1) ) on uniform soil. A main goal was to identify traits that are associated with xylem efficiency, safety and growth. Our data demonstrate for the first time a linear increase in embolism resistance with climatic aridity (by 10%) across populations within a species. Simultaneously, vessel diameter declined by 7% and pit membrane thickness (Tm ) increased by 15%. Although specific conductivity did not change, leaf-specific conductivity declined by 40% with decreasing precipitation. Of eight plant traits commonly associated with embolism resistance, only vessel density in combination with pathway redundancy and Tm were related. We did not confirm the widely assumed trade-off between xylem safety and efficiency but obtained evidence in support of a positive relationship between hydraulic efficiency and growth. We conclude that the branch hydraulic system of beech has a distinct adaptive potential to respond to a precipitation reduction as a result of the environmental control of embolism resistance. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/8593472
- author
- Schuldt, Bernhard ; Knutzen, Florian ; Delzon, Sylvain ; Jansen, Steven ; Müller-Haubold, Hilmar ; Burlett, Régis ; Clough, Yann LU and Leuschner, Christoph
- organization
- publishing date
- 2015-12-31
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- in
- New Phytologist
- publisher
- Wiley-Blackwell
- external identifiers
-
- pmid:26720626
- scopus:84952836668
- wos:000373380700011
- pmid:26720626
- ISSN
- 1469-8137
- DOI
- 10.1111/nph.13798
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- cdedf164-d18c-4a32-a42a-1884d47ea8d8 (old id 8593472)
- date added to LUP
- 2016-04-01 10:34:11
- date last changed
- 2022-04-12 07:29:38
@article{cdedf164-d18c-4a32-a42a-1884d47ea8d8,
abstract = {{Climate warming will increase the drought exposure of many forests world-wide. It is not well understood how trees adapt their hydraulic architecture to a long-term decrease in water availability. We examined 23 traits characterizing the hydraulic architecture and growth rate of branches and the dependent foliage of mature European beech (Fagus sylvatica) trees along a precipitation gradient (855-594 mm yr(-1) ) on uniform soil. A main goal was to identify traits that are associated with xylem efficiency, safety and growth. Our data demonstrate for the first time a linear increase in embolism resistance with climatic aridity (by 10%) across populations within a species. Simultaneously, vessel diameter declined by 7% and pit membrane thickness (Tm ) increased by 15%. Although specific conductivity did not change, leaf-specific conductivity declined by 40% with decreasing precipitation. Of eight plant traits commonly associated with embolism resistance, only vessel density in combination with pathway redundancy and Tm were related. We did not confirm the widely assumed trade-off between xylem safety and efficiency but obtained evidence in support of a positive relationship between hydraulic efficiency and growth. We conclude that the branch hydraulic system of beech has a distinct adaptive potential to respond to a precipitation reduction as a result of the environmental control of embolism resistance.}},
author = {{Schuldt, Bernhard and Knutzen, Florian and Delzon, Sylvain and Jansen, Steven and Müller-Haubold, Hilmar and Burlett, Régis and Clough, Yann and Leuschner, Christoph}},
issn = {{1469-8137}},
language = {{eng}},
month = {{12}},
publisher = {{Wiley-Blackwell}},
series = {{New Phytologist}},
title = {{How adaptable is the hydraulic system of European beech in the face of climate change-related precipitation reduction?}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/nph.13798}},
doi = {{10.1111/nph.13798}},
year = {{2015}},
}