Possible impacts of climate change on natural vegetation in Saxony (Germany)

Recent climate changes have had distinct impacts on plant development in many parts of the world. Higher air temperatures, mainly since the end of the 1980s, have led to advanced timing of phenological phases and consequently to an extension of the general growing season. For this reason it is interesting to know how plants will respond to future climate change. In this study simple phenological models have been developed to estimate the impact of climate change on the natural vegetation in Saxony. The estimations are based on a regional climate scenario for the state of Saxony. The results indicate that changes in the timing of phenophases could continue in the future. Due to distinct temperature changes in winter and in summer, mainly the spring and summer phases will be advanced. Spring phenophases, such as leafing or flowering, show the strongest trends. Depending on the species, the average timing of these phenophases could be advanced by 3–27 days by 2050. Phenophases in autumn show relatively small changes. Thus, the annual growth period of individual trees will be further extended, mainly because of the shift of spring phases. Frequent droughts in summer and in autumn can compensate for the earlier leafing of trees, because in this case leaf colouring and leaf fall would start some weeks earlier. In such cases, the growing period would not be really extended, but shifted to the beginning of the year.     

Tree rings reveal a growth-decline event in A.D. 1875–1883 in a Tibetan plateau juniper forest

Forest declines under global warming have received much attention in studies of forest ecology, yet such events in periods before climate warming have been less studied because of shortage in documentation of past decline events. Here we used dendroecological techniques to identify forest decline events in the past five and a half centuries for a juniper forest near Lhasa of Tibet, China. Data of tree ring-widths were obtained from 42 relatively old trees after sample collection, measurement and crossdating. Radial growth of these trees was significantly and positively correlated with total precipitation in May and June. Persistent and severe growth reductions, lasting for at least eight years, were identified for each sample. We found that greater than 35% of the trees exhibited persistent and severe growth reductions in the interval A.D. 1875–1883, suggesting a growth decline event in the forest. This growth decline was the most severe event in the past five and half centuries. The weakened Indian monsoon in A.D. 1875–1878, which would result in extreme and prolonged droughts at spatially large scale in the monsoon zone, was most likely the driving force for the forest decline event discovered in this study. Our results suggested that future risk of juniper forest declines in central Tibetan plateau will be related to extreme droughts which could be amplified by warming. The study highlighted the importance of examining growth trajectory of individual trees in assessing forest health in a long perspective.     

Species-specific climate sensitivity of tree growth in Central-West Germany

Growth responses to twentieth century climate variability of the three main European tree species Fagus sylvatica, Quercus petraea, and Pinus sylvestris within two temperate low mountain forest sites were analyzed, with particular emphasis on their dependence upon ecological factors and temporal stability in the obtained relationships. While site conditions in Central (~51°N, 9°E, KEL) and West (50.5°N, 6.5°E, EIF) Germany are similar, annual precipitation totals of ≅700 mm and ≅1,000 mm describe a maritime-continental gradient. Ring-width samples from 228 trees were collected and PCA used to identify common growth patterns. Chronologies were developed and redundancy analysis and simple correlation coefficients calculated to detect twentieth century temperature, precipitation, and drought fingerprints in the tree-ring data. Summer drought is the dominant driver of forest productivity, but regional and species-specific differences indicate more complex influences upon tree growth. F. sylvatica reveals the highest climate sensitivity, whereas Q. petraea is most drought tolerant. Drier growth conditions in KEL result in climate sensitivity of all species, and Q. petraea shifted from non-significant to significant drought sensitivity during recent decades at EIF. Drought sensitivity dynamics of all species vary over time. An increase of drought sensitivity in tree growth was found in the wetter forest area EIF, whereas a decrease occurred in the middle of the last century for all species in the drier KEL region. Species-specific and regional differences in long-term climate sensitivities, as evidenced by temporal variability in drought sensitivity, are potential indicators for a changing climate that effects Central-West German forest growth, but meanwhile hampers a general assessment of these effects.     

Phenology of temperate trees in tropical climates

Several North American broad-leaved tree species range from the northern United States at 47°N to moist tropical montane forests in Mexico and Central America at 15–20°N. Along this gradient the average minimum temperatures of the coldest month (T_Jan), which characterize annual variation in temperature, increase from –10 to 12°C and tree phenology changes from deciduous to leaf-exchanging or evergreen in the southern range with a year-long growing season. Between 30 and 45°N, the time of bud break is highly correlated with T_Jan and bud break can be reliably predicted for the week in which mean minimum temperature rises to 7°C. Temperature-dependent deciduous phenology—and hence the validity of temperature-driven phenology models—terminates in southern North America near 30°N, where T_Jan>7°C enables growth of tropical trees and cultivation of frost-sensitive citrus fruits. In tropical climates most temperate broad-leaved species exchange old for new leaves within a few weeks in January-February, i.e., their phenology becomes similar to that of tropical leaf-exchanging species. Leaf buds of the southern ecotypes of these temperate species are therefore not winter-dormant and have no chilling requirement. As in many tropical trees, bud break of Celtis, Quercus and Fagus growing in warm climates is induced in early spring by increasing daylength. In tropical climates vegetative phenology is determined mainly by leaf longevity, seasonal variation in water stress and day length. As water stress during the dry season varies widely with soil water storage, climate-driven models cannot predict tree phenology in the tropics and tropical tree phenology does not constitute a useful indicator of global warming.     

Limited capacity to cope with excessive light in the open and with seasonal drought in the shade in Mediterranean Ilex aquifolium populations

Climate change is expected to involve more-frequent and intense summer droughts in the Mediterranean region. This represents a threat for long-term persistence of woody species, such as European holly (Ilex aquifolium), that originated under humid climates during the Tertiary period. The capacity of this species to persist under increased water stress, both in gaps and in the understory of an oak-dominated woodland, was assessed by quantifying phenotypic plasticity in response to drought and shade. Physiological responses in plant-water relations and gas exchange were used as performance indicators under the different environments. Phenotypic plasticity of drought-stressed holly trees in response to changes in the light environment was low relative to the known response of co-occurring forest trees. Differences between morphological traits (e.g. specific leaf area and leaf: sapwood ratio in twigs) of sun- and shade-grown trees were small but significant while physiological traits were largely unresponsive to light availability. This supports the hypothesis that late-successional shade-tolerant species exhibit greater morphological than physiological plasticity. Sapling acclimation capacity through physiological mechanisms such as osmotic adjustment was insufficient to protect from summer drought. Holly mainly inhabits oceanic climates where extreme temperatures and droughts are unusual. Our results suggest that the species occupies a narrowing niche in continental Mediterranean habitats, and may lack the capacity to persist under more-severe future climate scenarios because of its low phenotypic plasticity in response to light and drought stresses.     

Tissue water relations in elfin cloud forest tree species of Serrania de Macuira,Guajira, Colombia

Summary Diurnal courses of stomatal conductance, leaf water potential, and the components of tissue water potential were measured in six canopy species in an elfin cloud forest. High values of stomatal conductance were measured on cloudy days and during early morning and late afternoon of sunny days. Decreases in stomatal conductance with increases in vapour pressure deficit may have been a response to avoid further water deficits and suggested a stomatal response to changes in relative humidity. Daily transpiration varied between 470 and 1014 g m^-2 day^-1 during cloudy days and between 532 and 944 g m^-2 day^-1 during clear days. Stomatal conductance may have also responded to changes in leaf water potential, which was minimum at noon. The minimum tissue water potential measured in the field was -1.8 MPa in Myrcianthes fragrans, and the minimum turgor pressure was 0.49 MPa also in M. fragrans. There was a correlation between the osmotic potential and the minimum tissue water potential, suggesting that osmotic potential plays a major role in the maintenance of turgor in these species, in spite of the great variability in the elastic properties of leaf tissues. Turgor pressure decreased during the day following the course of water potential but never approached the turgor loss point, as it has been measured in some lowland rain forest trees. This is a strong indication that elfin cloud forest trees do not suffer severe water deficits, and that small tree stature is not directly related to water shortage.     

A comparative study of satellite and ground-based phenology

Long time series of ground-based plant phenology, as well as more than two decades of satellite-derived phenological metrics, are currently available to assess the impacts of climate variability and trends on terrestrial vegetation. Traditional plant phenology provides very accurate information on individual plant species, but with limited spatial coverage. Satellite phenology allows monitoring of terrestrial vegetation on a global scale and provides an integrative view at the landscape level. Linking the strengths of both methodologies has high potential value for climate impact studies. We compared a multispecies index from ground-observed spring phases with two types (maximum slope and threshold approach) of satellite-derived start-of-season (SOS) metrics. We focus on Switzerland from 1982 to 2001 and show that temporal and spatial variability of the multispecies index correspond well with the satellite-derived metrics. All phenological metrics correlate with temperature anomalies as expected. The slope approach proved to deviate strongly from the temporal development of the ground observations as well as from the threshold-defined SOS satellite measure. The slope spring indicator is considered to indicate a different stage in vegetation development and is therefore less suited as a SOS parameter for comparative studies in relation to ground-observed phenology. Satellite-derived metrics are, however, very susceptible to snow cover, and it is suggested that this snow cover should be better accounted for by the use of newer satellite sensors.     

长白山北坡落叶松年轮年表及其与气候变化的关系

运用相关函数及单年分析等树木年轮气候学方法,研究了长白山北坡落叶松径向生长与气候变化的关系.结果表明,落叶松的生长对环境变化相当敏感,温度是影响其生长的主要因子.但不同海拔的落叶松对温度的响应明显不同.高海拔分布的落叶松只与当年6月的温度指标显著相关,而低海拔的落叶松与环境的关系相对复杂,除当年的4、5月外,上一年的6、9月温度以及上年9月的湿润指数都显著影响其生长.这说明不同环境梯度上的同一树种对气候变化的响应不尽相同.     

植物物候研究进展

植物物候直接反映了气候变化的影响,是植被动态模拟的关键.在遥感和模型技术的推动下,植物物候与全球变化关系的研究日益受到人们的关注.文中从植物物候与环境因子的相互关系、植物物候对全球变化的响应以及植物物候的遥感监测方面,综合论述了植物物候的研究进展,找出植被物候研究的不足,进而提出未来植被物候的研究方向.     

The interacting effects of elevated atmospheric CO<Subscript>2</Subscript> concentration,drought and leaf-to-air vapour pressure deficit on ecosystem isoprene fluxes

Isoprene is the most abundant biogenic hydrocarbon released from vegetation and it plays a major role in tropospheric chemistry. Because of its link to climate change, there is interest in understanding the relationship between CO₂, water availability and isoprene emission. We explored the effect of atmospheric elevated CO₂ concentration and its interaction with vapour pressure deficit (VPD) and water stress, on gross isoprene production (GIP) and net ecosystem exchange of CO₂ (NEE) in two Populus deltoides plantations grown at ambient and elevated atmospheric CO₂ concentration in the Biosphere 2 Laboratory facility. Although GIP and NEE showed a similar response to light and temperature, their responses to CO₂ and VPD were opposite; NEE was stimulated by elevated CO₂ and depressed by high VPD, while GIP was inhibited by elevated CO₂ and stimulated by high VPD. The difference in response between isoprene production and photosynthesis was also evident during water stress. GIP was stimulated in the short term and declined only when the stress was severe, whereas NEE started to decrease from the beginning of the experiment. This contrasting response led the carbon lost as isoprene in both the ambient and the elevated CO₂ treatments to increase as water stress progressed. Our results suggest that water limitation can override the inhibitory effect of elevated CO₂ leading to increased global isoprene emissions in a climate change scenario with warmer and drier climate.     

长白山北坡落叶松年轮年表及其与气候变化的关系

运用相关函数及单年分析等树木年轮气候学方法,研究了长白山北坡落叶松径向生长与气候变化的关系.结果表明,落叶松的生长对环境变化相当敏感,温度是影响其生长的主要因子.但不同海拔的落叶松对温度的响应明显不同.高海拔分布的落叶松只与当年6月的温度指标显著相关,而低海拔的落叶松与环境的关系相对复杂,除当年的4、5月外,上一年的6、9月温度以及上年9月的湿润指数都显著影响其生长.这说明不同环境梯度上的同一树种对气候变化的响应不尽相同.     

紫茉莉的花部综合特征与繁育系统

采用定株观察,运用花粉-胚珠比、联苯胺-过氧化氢法、杂交指数和套袋实验等方法,对紫茉莉(Mirabilis jalapa L.)的开花状态及繁育系统进行了研究.结果表明:种群花期一般为6-10月,单花花期一般为2～3 d;单花花期依其形态和散粉时间可分为散粉前期、散粉初期、散粉盛期、花闭合期、凋谢期5个时期;在花闭合时期,晴天有66.80%的花的柱头在闭合花冠内,阴天时有81.65%的花的柱头在闭合花冠内,雨天柱头在闭合花冠内的花可达99.22%;按照杂交指数,其繁育系统属于自交亲和,有时需要传粉者;P/O值约为269,判断繁育系统类型属于兼性自交;开花6 h左右,柱头的可授性最强,此时花粉活力、置落在柱头上的花粉数及其在柱头上的萌发率都达到最高.套袋实验显示,紫茉莉自然条件下没有无融合现象,繁育系统为自交、异交亲和,以自交为主,但有时也需要传粉者;在长期的环境选择压力下,紫茉莉选择将更多的柱头留在闭合花冠内,是其对不利环境条件的一种适应进化策略.     

Do long-term changes in sea surface temperature at the breeding areas affect the breeding dates and reproduction performance of Mediterranean loggerhead turtles? Implications for climate change

Global climate change is likely to have an important influence on the phenology, behaviour and population dynamics of many species. We investigate climatic related changes in the breeding phenology of Mediterranean loggerhead marine turtles Caretta caretta over a 19 year period and the potential relationship between these changes and reproductive success and performance. We found that the studied population has experienced fluctuating sea surface temperatures (SST) with an increasing trend during the last century. With increasing spring SST there is a trend towards earlier nesting. However, there is no significant relationship between SST and nesting season, defined as the duration between the first recorded emergence and the last nest laid. Our analyses indicate that marine turtles display phenological changes, and thus maintain favorable thermal conditions at the nesting sites. Furthermore, increasing spring SST was correlated with decreasing clutch size and increasing hatching success that resulted in an apparent lack of correlation between SST and hatchling production. This apparent independence might be misleading since it only holds for a limited range of SST values. Thus, if we estimate the effect of climate change on loggerhead population growth as neutral, based on the apparent independence between SST and total number of hatchlings, we will be underestimating the population extinction risk.