A synthesis of radial growth patterns preceding tree mortality

CAILLERET, MAXIME; DESOTO, LUCIA; BEIKIRCHER, B; CACCIANIGA, M; CHERUBINI, P.; CUFAR, KATARINA; DELZON, S.; GILLNER, S.; HERES, A.; KANE, J.; KLEIN, T.; LEVANIC, T.; LOBO-DO-VALE, R.; MAKINEN, H.; METSARANTA, J.; PAPADOPOULOS, A.; ROHNER, B.; SMITH, J.; STOJANOVIC, D.; TOGNETTI, R.; VILLALBA, RICARDO; WYCKOFF, P.; JANSEN, STEVEN; AAKALA, TUOMAS; BIGLER, CHRISTOF; ROBERT, E. M. R.; `CADA, V; ANTOS, J; COCHARD, H.; BUGMANN, HARALD; DAS, A.; CAMARERO, J. J.; DORMAN, M.; COYEA, M.; HAAVIK, L.; DAVI, H.; HULTINE, K.; GEA-IZQUIERDO, G.; KHARUK, V.; HARTMAN, H.; KRAMER, K.; JANDA, P.; KITZBERGER, THOMAS; LINARES CALDERON, J.; LOMBARDI, F.; LENS, F.; LLORET, FRANCISCO; MAYR, S.; MINUNO, F.; LOPEZ RODRIGUEZ, R.; PELTONIEMI, M.; MÉZÁROS, I.; SANGÜESA-BARREDA, G.; OBERHUBER, W.; STAN, A.; PETRITAN, A.; SUAREZ, MARIA LAURA; SARRIS, D.; TORRES-RUIZ, J.; STRECK, F.; VODDE, F.; SVOBODA, M.; ZEFIROV, N.; TROTSIUK, V.; WESTWOOD, A.; MARTÍNEZ-VILALTA, J.

GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY

WILEY-BLACKWELL PUBLISHING, INC

Lugar: Londres; Año: 2016

1354-1013

Tree mortality is a key factor influencing forest functions and dynamics, but our understanding of the mechanismsleading to mortality and the associated changes in tree growth rates are still limited. We compiled a new pan-continentaltree-ring width database from sites where both dead and living trees were sampled (2970 dead and 4224 livingtrees from 190 sites, including 36 species), and compared early and recent growth rates between trees that died andthose that survived a given mortality event. We observed a decrease in radial growth before death in ca. 84% of themortality events. The extent and duration of these reductions were highly variable (1?100 years in 96% of events) dueto the complex interactions among study species and the source(s) of mortality. Strong and long-lasting declines werefound for gymnosperms, shade- and drought-tolerant species, and trees that died from competition. Angiospermsand trees that died due to biotic attacks (especially bark-beetles) typically showed relatively small and short-termgrowth reductions. Our analysis did not highlight any universal trade-off between early growth and tree longevitywithin a species, although this result may also reflect high variability in sampling design among sites. The intersiteand interspecific variability in growth patterns before mortality provides valuable information on the nature of themortality process, which is consistent with our understanding of the physiological mechanisms leading to mortality.Abrupt changes in growth immediately before death can be associated with generalized hydraulic failure and/orbark-beetle attack, while long-term decrease in growth may be associated with a gradual decline in hydraulic performancecoupled with depletion in carbon reserves. Our results imply that growth-based mortality algorithms may bea powerful tool for predicting gymnosperm mortality induced by chronic stress, but not necessarily so for angiospermsand in case of intense drought or bark-beetle outbreaks.