Climatically controlled reproduction drives interannual growth variability in a temperate tree species

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

  • Andrew Hacket-Pain - (Author)
  • Davide Ascoli - (Author)
  • Giorgio Vacchiano - (Author)
  • Franco Biondi - (Author)
  • Liam Cavin - (Author)
  • Marco Conedera - (Author)
  • Igor Drobyshev - (Author)
  • Isabel Dorado-Linan - (Author)
  • Andrew Friend - (Author)
  • Michael Grabner - (Author)
  • Claudia Hartl - (Author)
  • Jürgen Kreyling - (Author)
  • Francois Lebourgeois - (Author)
  • Tom Levanic - (Author)
  • Annette Menzel - (Author)
  • Ernst van der Maaten - , Chair of Forest Growth and Woody Biomass Production (Author)
  • Marieke van der Maaten-Theunissen - , Chair of Forest Growth and Woody Biomass Production (Author)
  • Lena Muffler - (Author)
  • Renzo Motta - (Author)
  • Catalin-Constantin Roibu - (Author)
  • Ionel Popa - (Author)
  • Tobias Scharnweber - (Author)
  • Robert Weigel - (Author)
  • Martin Wilmking - (Author)
  • Christian Zang - (Author)

Abstract

Climatically controlled allocation to reproduction is a key mechanism by which climate influences tree growth and may explain lagged correlations between climate and growth. We used continent-wide datasets of tree-ring chronologies and annual reproductive effort in Fagus sylvatica from 1901 to 2015 to characterise relationships between climate, reproduction and growth. Results highlight that variable allocation to reproduction is a key factor for growth in this species, and that high reproductive effort (‘mast years’) is associated with stem growth reduction. Additionally, high reproductive effort is associated with previous summer temperature, creating lagged climate effects on growth. Consequently, understanding growth variability in forest ecosystems requires the incorporation of reproduction, which can be highly variable. Our results suggest that future response of growth dynamics to climate change in this species will be strongly influenced by the response of reproduction.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1833-1844
JournalEcology Letters
Volume21
Issue number12
Publication statusPublished - 19 Sept 2018
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

Scopus 85053532407
ORCID /0000-0002-2942-9180/work/142233773
ORCID /0000-0002-5218-6682/work/145699221

Keywords

Sustainable Development Goals

Keywords

  • dendrochronology, masting, path analysis, SEM, structural equation modelling, drought, European beech, Fagus sylvatica, forest growth, trade-off, dendrochronology, masting, path analysis, SEM, structural equation modelling