Modelling tree drought vulnerability in the Andean Patagonian forest

SERGENT, A.S.

Orleans

Seminario; Thursday- interdissiplinary monthly seminar; 2022

Forests cover 31 % of the global landarea, is one of the main carbon sinks and provides a wide range of ecosystemservices. The ongoing climatic change represents an increasing threat for manyforests and tree mortality events caused by extreme droughts have been recordedworldwide. The Andean Patagonian forest due to climatic specificities and hishigh level of endism is particularly vulnerable. Today, three dominant speciesemblematic of the biodiversity of the Patagonian forest are showing clear signsof decline. But still little is known regarding the diversityof tree drought response strategies and resilience to drought and future impactof climate change on this forest. The project aims to predict tree vulnerabilityto global change of one of the emblematic species of the Andean Patagonianforest, the “Cordilleran cypress”, Austrocedruschilensis.  Estimations of currentand future forest mortality risks will be obtained using cutting edgeprocess-model combining hydraulic traits with eco-hydrological approaches andwill contribute to the general understanding of the variability ofecophysiological mechanisms involved in drought resistance and tree-mortalityThe resulting scenarios for the evolution of tree-mortality over the nextcentury in Patagonia will provide a useful first risk approximation tostakeholders to adapt forest management practices and identify lower-risk areasfor conservancy planning options.