Interacting effects of warming and drought on regeneration and early growth of Acer pseudoplatanus and A. platanoides |
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| Authors: | M M Carón P De Frenne J Brunet O Chabrerie S A O Cousins L De Backer G Decocq M Diekmann T Heinken A Kolb T Naaf J Plue F Selvi G R Strimbeck M Wulf K Verheyen |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Forest & Nature Lab, Ghent University, Gontrode‐Melle, Belgium;2. Southern Swedish Forest Research Centre, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Alnarp, Sweden;3. Jules Verne University of Picardie, UR Ecologie et Dynamique des Systèmes Anthropisés (EDYSAN FRE 3498 CNRS), Amiens Cedex 1, France;4. Department of Physical Geography and Quaternary Geology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden;5. Sylva nurseries BVBA, Waarschoot, Belgium;6. Vegetation Ecology and Conservation Biology, Institute of Ecology, FB2, University of Bremen, Bremen, Germany;7. Biodiversity Research / Systematic Botany, Institute of Biochemistry and Biology, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany;8. Institute of Land Use Systems, Leibniz‐Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research (ZALF), Müncheberg, Germany;9. Department of Agrifood Production and Environmental Sciences, section of Soil and Plant Sciences University of Florence, Firenze, Italy;10. Department of Biology Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway;11. Institute of Biochemistry and Biology, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany |
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| Abstract: | Climate change is acting on several aspects of plant life cycles, including the sexual reproductive stage, which is considered amongst the most sensitive life‐cycle phases. In temperate forests, it is expected that climate change will lead to a compositional change in community structure due to changes in the dominance of currently more abundant forest tree species. Increasing our understanding of the effects of climate change on currently secondary tree species recruitment is therefore important to better understand and forecast population and community dynamics in forests. Here, we analyse the interactive effects of rising temperatures and soil moisture reduction on germination, seedling survival and early growth of two important secondary European tree species, Acer pseudoplatanus and A. platanoides. Additionally, we analyse the effect of the temperature experienced by the mother tree during seed production by collecting seeds of both species along a 2200‐km long latitudinal gradient. For most of the responses, A. platanoides showed higher sensitivity to the treatments applied, and especially to its joint manipulation, which for some variables resulted in additive effects while for others only partial compensation. In both species, germination and survival decreased with rising temperatures and/or soil moisture reduction while early growth decreased with declining soil moisture content. We conclude that although A. platanoides germination and survival were more affected after the applied treatments, its initial higher germination and larger seedlings might allow this species to be relatively more successful than A. pseudoplatanus in the face of climate change. |
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| Keywords: | Acer platanoides Acer pseudoplatanus climate change drought reproduction seed temperature |
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