Article
Plant Sciences
Walter Oberhuber, Anton Landlinger-Weilbold, Dennis Marko Schroter
Summary: The growth pattern of trees in drought-prone regions, particularly Scots pine, differs from other areas due to the significant impact of water availability on growth and carbon allocation. Experimental manipulation of the carbon status of trees was found to alter cambial activity and subsequently affect xylem cell differentiation.
FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Agronomy
Arisa Kaewmano, Pei-Li Fu, Ze-Xin Fan, Nathsuda Pumijumnong, Pieter A. Zuidema, Achim Brauning
Summary: This study investigates the effects of climatic drivers and local site differences on the tree stem radial growth in tropical forests in southwestern China. The results show that soil water availability has a strong influence on the growth season, growth rates, and xylem productivity of trees. Additionally, precipitation, air temperature, and relative humidity also affect tree growth.
AGRICULTURAL AND FOREST METEOROLOGY
(2022)
Article
Forestry
Liwei Yang, Sheng Zhu
Summary: The concentration gradient distribution of auxin in the stems of woody species plays a crucial role in cambial cell development. This study used exogenous IAA treatments to investigate the mechanism of this gradient distribution and identified the regulatory network involving genes and hormones.
Review
Environmental Sciences
Ilya E. Zlobin
Summary: This study examines the relationship between growth and performance of coniferous plants under increasing climate aridization. It finds that water deficit significantly impacts tree growth and that different tree species have varying levels of sensitivity to moisture availability. For adult trees, growth stability and response to water shortage are important factors, while in coniferous seedlings, active growth is linked to better drought survival. The optimal choice of growth strategy is critical for future reforestation programs.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2022)
Article
Agronomy
Fang Wang, Fen Zhang, Xiaohua Gou, Patrick Fonti, Jingqing Xia, Zongying Cao, Jianguo Liu, Yanfang Wang, Junzhou Zhang
Summary: Different stomatal behaviors among species under drought conditions may affect species-specific seasonal variations in photosynthesis and water use efficiency, leading to different growth strategies. The study conducted on conifers in the cold and arid Tibetan Plateau found that the net photosynthetic rate was highest in autumn, mainly due to increased stomatal conductance following alleviation of drought stress. Additionally, the study suggests that isohydric species may benefit more from photosynthates accumulated during the previous post-growing season in this environment.
AGRICULTURAL AND FOREST METEOROLOGY
(2021)
Article
Forestry
Qi Zhang, Lixin Lyu, Yang Wang
Summary: This study investigated the responses of four tree species to short-term weather changes by monitoring their daily stem radial changes. The study found that different tree species showed distinct responses in terms of stem shrinkage and growth-induced expansion, which were primarily influenced by vapor pressure deficit and precipitation, respectively. With longer drought periods, some species exhibited rapid increases in stem shrinkage, while others showed slower and smaller increases.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Xianliang Zhang, Xue Li, Ruben D. Manzanedo, Loic D'Orangeville, Pengcheng Lv, Chunkai Wang, Chen Xu, Meiting Hou, Xuanrui Huang, Tim Rademacher
Summary: The study found that summer drought had the strongest relationship with radial growth of planted larch trees in northern China, while droughts increased in frequency in recent decades, impacting radial growth particularly in dry sites. Trees that experienced extreme droughts more frequently displayed lower resistance to drought, but higher recovery after it, suggesting better adaptation to extreme droughts.
ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2021)
Article
Forestry
Xueyu Wang, Quanzhi Zhang
Summary: Understanding the response of stem diameter variations in dominant tree species to water conditions is crucial, as it provides fundamental information for predicting the development of temperate forests in Northeast China. Using a high-precision dendrometer, we continuously monitored the stem radial changes of six dominant tree species from April 15th to October 24th, 2021. Precipitation showed a significant positive correlation with stem diameter increment in Juglans mandshurica Maxim., Quercus mongolica Fisch., and Betula platyphylla Suk. Correlation analysis revealed that the stem radial change of the six tree species was positively correlated with precipitation and relative humidity, while negatively correlated with water vapor pressure deficit, indicating that water conditions primarily limited the diameter growth of these tree species. Under drought stress, the growth rate and duration of stem radial growth decreased, and the tree water deficit value increased, with interspecific variations observed.
Article
Forestry
Arjun Adhikari, Ronald E. Masters, Henry Adams, Kumar P. Mainali, Chris B. Zou, Omkar Joshi, Rodney E. Will
Summary: The study found that shortleaf pine trees growing at the western margin of its range are sensitive to variations in precipitation, summer temperatures, and previous year's October minimum temperature. Management strategies involving frequent fires can reduce the sensitivity of tree growth to annual variations in precipitation.
FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
(2021)
Article
Biology
Svenja Dobbert, Eike Corina Albrecht, Roland Pape, Joerg Loeffler
Summary: Under climate change, the alpine ecosystems are becoming hotspots of warming. This study investigates the growth mechanisms of alpine shrubs and reveals the differences in growth patterns between different biomes. It finds that temperature and moisture play crucial roles in shaping shrub growth, with unexpected consequences. In a warmer world, the Mediterranean alpine may experience significant vegetation shifts and greening, while the alpine tundra may see minor changes and browning.
COMMUNICATIONS BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
J. Julio Camarero, Antonio Gazol, Juan Carlos Linares, Alex Fajardo, Michele Colangelo, Cristina Valeriano, Raul Sanchez-Salguero, Gabriel Sanguesa-Barreda, Elena Granda, Teresa E. Gimeno
Summary: The study found differences in the response to climate change between plantations and natural stands in different tree species. Natural stands of Abies pinsapo, Cedrus atlantica, and Pinus sylvestris showed faster recovery than plantations, while Pinus pinea plantations recovered quicker than natural stands.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2021)
Article
Forestry
Roger Chambi-Legoas, Mario Tomazello-Filho, Fernanda Trisltz Perassolo Guedes, Gilles Chaix
Summary: Eucalyptus grandis trees showed significant growth reduction under a 3-year period of extreme water deficit, but exhibited great recovery ability in terms of basal area growth. During the recovery period, trees were able to recover 51% of their basal area, despite only 5% recovery in total height. Rapid responses to rainfall variation were observed during the water deficit period, indicating high resilience and conservation of the xylem vascular system in the trees.
FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
(2022)
Article
Forestry
Carlos Rodriguez-Vallejo, Rafael M. Navarro-Cerrillo, Ruben D. Manzanedo, Guillermo Palacios Rodriguez, Antonio Gazol, J. Julio Camarero
Summary: The study found that increasing drought will restrict the growth of Mediterranean pine plantations, leading to increased needle loss and mortality rate. Without effective management measures, many drought-prone plantations will face threats to their viability.
FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
(2021)
Article
Plant Sciences
Tom Levanic, Hana Straus
Summary: Douglas-fir, a non-native tree species, has the potential to replace Norway spruce in Slovenian forests due to its better volume growth, wood quality, and tolerance to drought. It shows a higher radial growth response to climatic conditions and is more resistant to extreme drought events.
Article
Forestry
Georgeta Mihai, Alin Madalin Alexandru, Emanuel Stoica, Marius Victor Birsan
Summary: The study indicates significant differences in drought resistance, recovery, and resilience among different provenances of silver fir, with certain provenances from various countries performing exceptionally well across multiple trial sites. There are positive correlations between drought parameters and wood characteristics, suggesting that provenances with high drought resilience may exhibit better growth performance.
Article
Agronomy
Walter Oberhuber, Melissa Sehrt, Florian Kitz
AGRICULTURAL AND FOREST METEOROLOGY
(2020)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Jian-Guo Huang, Qianqian Ma, Sergio Rossi, Franco Biondi, Annie Deslauriers, Patrick Fonti, Eryuan Liang, Harri Makinen, Walter Oberhuber, Cyrille B. K. Rathgeber, Roberto Tognetti, Vaclav Treml, Bao Yang, Jiao-Lin Zhang, Serena Antonucci, Yves Bergeron, J. Julio Camarero, Filipe Campelo, Katarina Cufar, Henri E. Cuny, Martin De Luis, Alessio Giovannelli, Jozica Gricar, Andreas Gruber, Vladimir Gryc, Aylin Guney, Xiali Guo, Wei Huang, Tuula Jyske, Jakub Kaspar, Gregory King, Cornelia Krause, Audrey Lemay, Feng Liu, Fabio Lombardi, Edurne Martinez del Castillo, Hubert Morin, Cristina Nabais, Pekka Nojd, Richard L. Peters, Peter Prislan, Antonio Saracino, Irene Swidrak, Hanus Vavrcik, Joana Vieira, Biyun Yu, Shaokang Zhang, Qiao Zeng, Yaling Zhang, Emanuele Ziaco
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2020)
Article
Plant Sciences
Walter Oberhuber, Anton Landlinger-Weilbold, Dennis Marko Schroter
Summary: The growth pattern of trees in drought-prone regions, particularly Scots pine, differs from other areas due to the significant impact of water availability on growth and carbon allocation. Experimental manipulation of the carbon status of trees was found to alter cambial activity and subsequently affect xylem cell differentiation.
FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Roberto L. Salomon, Richard L. Peters, Roman Zweifel, Ute G. W. Sass-Klaassen, Annemiek I. Stegehuis, Marko Smiljanic, Rafael Poyatos, Flurin Babst, Emil Cienciala, Patrick Fonti, Bas J. W. Lerink, Marcus Lindner, Jordi Martinez-Vilalta, Maurizio Mencuccini, Gert-Jan Nabuurs, Ernst van der Maaten, Georg von Arx, Andreas Bar, Linar Akhmetzyanov, Daniel Balanzategui, Michal Bellan, Jorg Bendix, Daniel Berveiller, Miroslav Blazenec, Vojtech Cada, Vinicio Carraro, Sebastien Cecchini, Tommy Chan, Marco Conedera, Nicolas Delpierre, Sylvain Delzon, Lubica Ditmarova, Jiri Dolezal, Eric Dufrene, Johannes Edvardsson, Stefan Ehekircher, Alicia Forner, Jan Frouz, Andrea Ganthaler, Vladimir Gryc, Aylin Guney, Ingo Heinrich, Rainer Hentschel, Pavel Janda, Marek Jezik, Hans-Peter Kahle, Simon Knusel, Jan Krejza, Lukasz Kuberski, Jiri Kucera, Francois Lebourgeois, Martin Mikolas, Radim Matula, Stefan Mayr, Walter Oberhuber, Nikolaus Obojes, Bruce Osborne, Teemu Paljakka, Roman Plichta, Inken Rabbel, Cyrille B. K. Rathgeber, Yann Salmon, Matthew Saunders, Tobias Scharnweber, Zuzana Sitkova, Dominik Florian Stangler, Krzysztof Sterenczak, Marko Stojanovic, Katarina Strelcova, Jan Svetlik, Miroslav Svoboda, Brian Tobin, Volodymyr Trotsiuk, Josef Urban, Fernando Valladares, Hanus Vavrcik, Monika Vejpustkova, Lorenz Walthert, Martin Wilmking, Ewa Zin, Junliang Zou, Kathy Steppe
Summary: Heatwaves have strong and sometimes irreversible impacts on forest ecosystems. This study used high-temporal resolution dendrometer data to investigate the effects of the 2018 European heatwave on tree growth and water status. The findings showed that while annual stem growth was not consistently reduced, stems experienced temporary shrinkage due to water depletion. Conifer species were less capable of rehydrating overnight compared to broadleaves, indicating lower resilience to transient stress.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Plant Sciences
Magdalena Held, Andrea Ganthaler, Anna Lintunen, Walter Oberhuber, Stefan Mayr
Summary: Sufficient water transport through the xylem is crucial for tree survival under variable environmental conditions, with anatomical structure of conduits and pits playing a key role in efficiency and safety. Trees adjust conduit and pit dimensions based on water transport distance and tree size, indicating low plasticity in pit architecture.
FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Agronomy
Nikolaus Obojes, Armin Konrad Meurer, Christian Newesely, Erich Tasser, Walter Oberhuber, Stefan Mayr, Ulrike Tappeiner
Summary: High elevation mountain forests in the European Alps are experiencing significant effects from climate change. European larch shows a stronger response to temperature and has experienced greater increases in tree ring width compared to Swiss stone pine. Short-term impacts include reduced sap flow in Swiss stone pine due to low soil moisture, and reduced radial stem growth due to air vapor pressure deficit, resulting in lower annual growth compared to larch. These findings suggest that larch may benefit from climate change at the expense of Swiss stone pine.
AGRICULTURAL AND FOREST METEOROLOGY
(2022)
Article
Plant Sciences
Florian Oberleitner, Henrik Hartmann, Roland Hasibeder, Jianbei Huang, Adriano Losso, Stefan Mayr, Walter Oberhuber, Gerhard Wieser, Michael Bahn
Summary: This study assessed the effects of recurrent drought on the growth and water relations of European larch and Norway spruce. The results showed that Norway spruce had stronger responses to recurrent drought, with increased water-use efficiency, while European larch was less affected in terms of xylogenesis. This suggests that increasing drought frequency in the future could have significant impacts on the carbon and water dynamics of these tree species.
PLANT CELL AND ENVIRONMENT
(2022)
Article
Forestry
Walter Oberhuber, Gerhard Wieser, Fabio Bernich, Andreas Gruber
Summary: The green alder is the fastest expanding shrub species in the Alps, with its growth directly influenced by summer temperatures and January precipitation due to climate warming. Compared to the Swiss stone pine, the green alder shows significantly lower growth, possibly due to different carbon allocation strategies.
Article
Forestry
Andreas Gruber, Walter Oberhuber, Gerhard Wieser
Summary: The margin of the life-form tree in high elevation or latitude areas is determined by low temperature, with trees defined as upright woody species taller than 2-3m. The global temperature limit of the life-form tree occurs when the mean soil temperature in the growing season declines to 6.7 +/- 0.8 degrees C. However, disturbance and human land use can lead to the absence of trees at the climatic treeline.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Jian-Guo Huang, Yaling Zhang, Minhuang Wang, Xiaohan Yu, Annie Deslauriers, Patrick Fonti, Eryuan Liang, Harri Makinen, Walter Oberhuber, Cyrille B. K. Rathgeber, Roberto Tognetti, Vaclav Treml, Bao Yang, Lihong Zhai, Jiao-Lin Zhang, Serena Antonucci, Yves Bergeron, Jesus Julio Camarero, Filipe Campelo, Katarina Cufar, Henri E. Cuny, Martin De Luis, Marek Fajstavr, Alessio Giovannelli, Jozica Gricar, Andreas Gruber, Vladimir Gryc, Aylin Gueney, Tuula Jyske, Jakub Kaspar, Gregory King, Cornelia Krause, Audrey Lemay, Feng Liu, Fabio Lombardi, Edurne Martinez del Castillo, Hubert Morin, Cristina Nabais, Pekka Nojd, Richard L. Peters, Peter Prislan, Antonio Saracino, Vladimir V. Shishov, Irene Swidrak, Hanus Vavrcik, Joana Vieira, Qiao Zeng, Yu Liu, Sergio Rossi
Summary: Despite ongoing debates, evidence suggests the existence of a threshold temperature for forests' response to rising temperatures, separating conifers into cold and warm thermal niches. This study collected data on xylem cell-wall-thickening onset dates in 20 coniferous species across the Northern Hemisphere and identified a threshold temperature of 4.9 +/- 1.1 degrees C, above which the response of xylem phenology to temperature decline significantly. The findings highlight the importance of incorporating this thermal threshold into Earth-System-Models to better understand and predict spring phenology in response to global warming.
GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Plant Sciences
Walter Oberhuber, Anna-Lena Dobler, Tamara Heinzle, Francesca Scandurra, Andreas Gruber, Gerhard Wieser
Summary: Green alder, a deciduous shrub, exhibits asymmetric radial growth and anomalous growth ring patterns, posing a challenge for developing representative ring-width series. By analyzing 188 annual increments from 60 stem discs sampled at treeline, the study found a high agreement in ring-width variation among radii, shoots, and stocks, confirming the limitation of radial stem growth by climate forcing. However, there was high variability in growth rates and trends, attributed to microsite conditions and disturbances overriding climate control. The findings provide recommendations for obtaining sufficient samples for radial growth studies in multi-stemmed clonal shrubs.
Article
Biology
Walter Oberhuber, Andreas Gruber, Gerhard Wieser
Summary: Seasonal and daily variations in the xylem and inner bark of mature Scots pine trees were studied using point dendrometers. The results showed that the xylem width started to shrink during radial stem growth in April, decreased significantly in late June through mid-July, and recovered until November/December. The study also found a tight hydraulic coupling between xylem and inner bark, with the daily amplitude of xylem variations closely related to environmental factors such as maximum temperature, solar radiation, and vapor pressure deficit.
Review
Ecology
Dennis Marko Schroeter, Walter Oberhuber
Summary: Low temperatures at high elevations affect the growth of trees by requiring adaptations in vascular anatomical characteristics for nutrient and signal transport. While little is known about the effects of low temperatures on phloem, current data suggest that cold-induced changes in phloem anatomy and phenology can occur to ensure tree survival at the high-elevation treeline.
FRONTIERS IN FORESTS AND GLOBAL CHANGE
(2021)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Rafael Poyatos, Victor Granda, Victor Flo, Mark A. Adams, Balazs Adorjan, David Aguade, Marcos P. M. Aidar, Scott Allen, M. Susana Alvarado-Barrientos, Kristina J. Anderson-Teixeira, Luiza Maria Aparecido, M. Altaf Arain, Ismael Aranda, Heidi Asbjornsen, Robert Baxter, Eric Beamesderfer, Z. Carter Berry, Daniel Berveiller, Bethany Blakely, Johnny Boggs, Gil Bohrer, Paul Bolstad, Damien Bonal, Rosvel Bracho, Patricia Brito, Jason Brodeur, Fernando Casanoves, Jerome Chave, Hui Chen, Cesar Cisneros, Kenneth Clark, Edoardo Cremonese, Hongzhong Dang, Jorge S. David, Teresa S. David, Nicolas Delpierre, Ankur R. Desai, Frederic C. Do, Michal Dohnal, Jean-Christophe Domec, Sebinasi Dzikiti, Colin Edgar, Rebekka Eichstaedt, Tarek S. El-Madany, Jan Elbers, Cleiton B. Eller, Eugenie S. Euskirchen, Brent Ewers, Patrick Fonti, Alicia Forner, David Forrester, Helber C. Freitas, Marta Galvagno, Omar Garcia-Tejera, Chandra Prasad Ghimire, Teresa E. Gimeno, John Grace, Andre Granier, Anne Griebel, Yan Guangyu, Mark B. Gush, Paul J. Hanson, Niles J. Hasselquist, Ingo Heinrich, Virginia Hernandez-Santana, Valentine Herrmann, Teemu Holtta, Friso Holwerda, James Irvine, Supat Isarangkool Na Ayutthaya, Paul G. Jarvis, Hubert Jochheim, Carlos A. Joly, Julia Kaplick, Hyun Seok Kim, Leif Klemedtsson, Heather Kropp, Fredrik Lagergren, Patrick Lane, Petra Lang, Andrei Lapenas, Victor Lechuga, Minsu Lee, Christoph Leuschner, Jean-Marc Limousin, Juan Carlos Linares, Maj-Lena Linderson, Anders Lindroth, Pilar Llorens, Alvaro Lopez-Bernal, Michael M. Loranty, Dietmar Luttschwager, Cate Macinnis-Ng, Isabelle Marechaux, Timothy A. Martin, Ashley Matheny, Nate McDowell, Sean McMahon, Patrick Meir, Ilona Meszaros, Mirco Migliavacca, Patrick Mitchell, Meelis Molder, Leonardo Montagnani, Georgianne W. Moore, Ryogo Nakada, Furong Niu, Rachael H. Nolan, Richard Norby, Kimberly Novick, Walter Oberhuber, Nikolaus Obojes, A. Christopher Oishi, Rafael S. Oliveira, Ram Oren, Jean-Marc Ourcival, Teemu Paljakka, Oscar Perez-Priego, Pablo L. Peri, Richard L. Peters, Sebastian Pfautsch, William T. Pockman, Yakir Preisler, Katherine Rascher, George Robinson, Humberto Rocha, Alain Rocheteau, Alexander Roll, Bruno H. P. Rosado, Lucy Rowland, Alexey Rubtsov, Santiago Sabate, Yann Salmon, Roberto L. Salomon, Elisenda Sanchez-Costa, Karina V. R. Schafer, Bernhard Schuldt, Alexandr Shashkin, Clement Stahl, Marko Stojanovic, Juan Carlos Suarez, Ge Sun, Justyna Szatniewska, Fyodor Tatarinov, Miroslav Tesar, Frank M. Thomas, Pantana Tor-ngern, Josef Urban, Fernando Valladares, Christiaan van der Tol, Ilja van Meerveld, Andrej Varlagin, Holm Voigt, Jeffrey Warren, Christiane Werner, Willy Werner, Gerhard Wieser, Lisa Wingate, Stan Wullschleger, Koong Yi, Roman Zweifel, Kathy Steppe, Maurizio Mencuccini, Jordi Martinez-Vilalta
Summary: Plant transpiration plays a crucial role in linking physiological responses of vegetation to water supply and demand with hydrological, energy, and carbon budgets. The SAPFLUXNET dataset provides a global compilation of whole-plant transpiration data, offering insights into plant water use, responses to drought, and ecohydrological processes worldwide. This valuable resource enhances our understanding of the complex interactions between plants and their environment.
EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE DATA
(2021)
