Fine-scale distribution of treeline trees and the nurse plant facilitation on the eastern Tibetan Plateau

Above-average climate warming occurred during the 20th century in high altitude regions, and alpine treelines are believed to be an early indicator to respond to these warming-related changes. However, empirical investigations on treeline dynamics showed diverse results. The main objectives of this study are: (1) to investigate if treeline position shifted and if tree recruitment changed along with climate warming, and (2) to test if adult trees have “nursing effect” on tree establishment at treelines. We investigated two Balfour spruce (Picea balfouriana Rehd. et Wils.) treelines in Chang Niang (CNT) and Dang Dui (DDT), Dingqing county, Changdu prefecture, eastern Tibet. At each treeline site, three replicate plots with a size 30 m × 50 m were established. The coordinates of each tree within the plots were recorded and the age of each tree was identified by dendrochronological method. The changes in treeline position and tree recruitment were examined from spatially fine-scale distribution of trees and their age structure. The spatial patterns of individual trees were analyzed to infer the neighborhood effects. Results indicate that plots CNT2, CNT3, DDT1 and DDT2 showed stable treeline position during the last century, whereas plots CNT1 and DDT3 showed treeline advancing movement. Tree recruitments in all the six plots were enhanced during the 20th century, with two peaks occurring in the 1890–1910s and the 1950–1990s. Seedlings and saplings showed a general clustered distribution in all the six plots. The diverse pattern of treeline movement and episodic regeneration suggest that the treeline activity is not merely a result of climate change. “Nursing effects” from adult trees may play an important role in shaping the treeline activities on the eastern Tibetan Plateau. Our findings reveal diverse patterns in treeline dynamics at a local scale and highlight the importance of incorporating biotic interactions into species distribution modeling approaches.     

Differential climate–growth relationships in Abies alba Mill. and Fagus sylvatica L. in Mediterranean mountain forests

Pointer year analysis, simple correlations, and response functions were combined in a dendroecological study to evaluate climate–growth relationships over the last century in two Abies alba Mill. and Fagus sylvatica L. mixed stands in Southern Italy mountainous areas. Analyses revealed species-specific attributes at the two study sites, i.e. Molise and Basilicata. Growth divergence between the two species emerged based on three primary climatic drivers, including drought stress and spring warmer temperatures during the current growing season for F. sylvatica, and water availability in the previous growing season for A. alba. However, despite the microclimatic differences between the two study sites, F. sylvatica showed similar climate–growth patterns, while differences were indicated for A. alba, due to its minor susceptibility to drought stress during the current growing season at the Basilicata site. Indeed, at the southernmost geographic limits of A. alba drought avoidance mechanisms were confirmed, consistent with traits considered diagnostic for the species in the Mediterranean region.     

Influence of larval outbreaks on the climate reconstruction potential of an Arctic shrub

Arctic shrubs have a strong potential for climate and environmental reconstructions in the chronically understudied regions of the high northern latitudes. The climate dynamics of these regions are important to understand because of large-scale feedbacks to the global climate system. However, little is known about other factors influencing shrub ring growth, possibly obscuring their climate signal. For example, as of yet we are not able to differentiate between herbivory or climatically induced growth depressions. Here, we use one of the most common Arctic shrubs, Alnus viridis as a test case to address this question. We sampled Alnus in Kobbefjord, Greenland, measured shrub-ring width and cell wall thickness and built site chronologies of each parameter. We analysed climate-growth relationships, tested their stability over time and employed a pointer-year analysis to detect growth depressions. We employed bootstrapped transfer function stability tests (BTFS) to assess the suitability of our shrub chronologies for climate reconstruction. Correlations with climate data showed strong significantly positive and stable correlations between summer temperature and ring-width with the exception of the recent decade. A climate reconstruction model failed stability tests, when the complete period of record was used for calibration and verification. Wood anatomy analysis uncovered the occurrence of unusual cell structure (very thin cell walls) in the exceptionally narrow ring of 2004, a recorded insect outbreak year in other parts of Greenland. When excluding the affected ring and a recovery period, the reconstruction model passed all tests, suggesting that the unusual 2004 ring was not climate driven, but rather the result of an insect attack. When combining anatomical analysis with traditional ring-width measurements, we move a step further in potentially distinguishing small rings caused by insect attacks from small rings formed in climatically challenging years. While this study does not provide unambiguous evidence, it does provide potential useful methodological combinations to enable more robust climate reconstructions in areas where climatic records are extremely sparse.     

Molecular Modelling of Six-Ring Agarose Chains: Effects of Explicit and Implicit Solvent

A study on the molecular dynamics of agarose-type oligosaccharide chains in water is presented. In the field of molecular modelling one is able to use either explicit water molecules or a representative bulk dielectric constant: the two methods are compared here. The starting conformation was taken from X-ray fibre diffraction data for agarose double helices, which are neutral molecules. The resulting trajectories were analysed for the behaviour of dihedral linkages, and these were compared to systematic searches performed on isolated agarobiose and neo-agarobiose units. The results showed that when explicit water molecules are used the oligosaccharide chains are stiffer and have a reduced mobility.Electronic Supplementary Material available.     

树木年轮 δ13C 值及其对我国北方大气CO2浓度变化的指示意义

 本文采样分析了承德市油松年轮中δ13C值自工业革命以来的变化,用以揭示我国北方大气CO2浓度的变化规律。结果表明：承德市油松年轮中的δ13C值自1810年以来平均下降了0.839‰,下降范围0.682‰～1.120‰,指示了大气CO2浓度逐渐升高的特点。δ13C值与历史时期全球大气CO2浓度之间存在显著相关关系(r＝ –0.5609,P<0.01)。应用树木年轮δ13C值与大气CO2浓度之间的关系式,推测出我国北方大气CO2浓度从工业革命以前的约278.4μmol·mol-1上升到目前的340μmol·mol-1。从而为我国的全球变化研究提供了CO2浓度历史变迁方面的证据。     

Spatiotemporal variability of stone pine (Pinus pinea L.) growth response to climate across the Iberian Peninsula

Climate warming and increasing aridity have impacted diverse ecosystems in the Mediterranean region since at least the 1970s. Pinus pinea L. has significant environmental and socio-economic importance for the Iberian Peninsula, so a detailed understanding of its response to climate change is necessary to predict its status under future climatic conditions. However, variability of climate and uncertainties in dendroclimatological approach complicate the understanding of forest growth dynamics. We use an ensemble approach to analyze growth-climate responses of P. pinea trees from five sites along a latitudinal gradient in Spain over time. The growth responses to April-June precipitation totals were stronger in the north than in the south. Since the 1950s, the sensitivity of growth to April-June precipitation increased in the north and decreased in the south. Meteorological drought usually started in May in the southern sites, but in June-July in the northern sites. The water deficit in the southern sites is thus greater and more limiting for tree growth, and this likely accounts for the lower growth sensitivity during these months. Our results indicate that P. pinea has a high degree of plasticity, suggesting the species will withstand changing climatic conditions. However, growth response to drought regimes varies among P. pinea populations, suggesting that different populations have different capacities for acclimation to warmer and drier climate, and this may influence future vegetation composition.     

Influence of climatic conditions and industrial emissions on spruce tree-ring Pb isotopes analyzed at ppb concentrations in the Athabasca oil sands region

This study investigates Pb isotope ratios at low concentrations (parts per billion; ppb) in tree rings and soils in the Northern Athabasca Oil Sands Region (NAOSR), western Canada, to evaluate if: (1) climatic conditions influence on tree-ring Pb assimilation; and (2) such low Pb content allows inferring the regional Pb depositional history.Our results reflect the influence of winter snow cover and the importance of minimum temperature and precipitation in spring and summer on the bioavailability of Pb and its passive assimilation by trees in sub-arctic semi-humid climatic conditions. Winter conditions can influence the state of root systems that subsequently impacts the following growth period, while spring and summer conditions likely control microbial processes and water source, and may thus impact Pb assimilation by trees. Thus, the results of tree-ring Pb concentrations show interesting correlation with cumulated snow from November of the previous year to February (ρ = 0.53; P < 0.01; n = 36). Likewise, the ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁷Pb ratios inversely correlate with minimum temperature from April to September (ρ = −0.67; P < 0.01; n = 40) and precipitation from May to August (ρ = −0.42; P < 0.01; n = 36). The isotopic results also suggest that the effects of climatic variations are superimposed by regional industrial Pb deposition: Western North American Aerosols (WNAA) and fugitive dust from the oil sands mining operations appear to be the most likely sources.Importantly, this study suggests that even at low Pb concentrations, tree-ring Pb isotopes are modulated by climatic conditions and potential input of regional and long-range transport of airborne Pb. These interpretations open the possibility of using Pb isotopes as an environmental tool for inferring the pollution history in remote regions, and improving our understanding of its natural cycle through the forest environment.     

塔里木河中游胡杨径向生长对气候变化的响应研究

以塔里木河中游荒漠河岸林胡杨为研究对象,选择中游河道新沙吉利克、坎白吾斯坦两个断面,分析塔里木河中游胡杨径向生长量的特点,基于离断面较近的气象站长时间序列的气温数据,采用相关性分析和MannKendall突变检验方法研究塔里木河中游胡杨径向生长量对温度动态变化的响应。结果显示:(1)塔里木河中游的河流沿岸,胡杨径向生长变化与温度变化均呈增加趋势;新沙吉利克、坎白吾斯坦断面胡杨径向生长量突变分别发生在1993年和1998年以后,且该地区的胡杨径向生长量对温度具有滞后性。(2)从时段分析发现,当年6~9月的温度对胡杨径向生长量的促进作用最大,6~9月的温度可能是该地区胡杨径向生长的限制性因子。(3)当年平均温度在13~33℃时,胡杨径向生长量达到最大值;当温度超过33℃,胡杨径向生长量呈现减弱趋势。研究表明,当年平均温度过高或过低都会抑制胡杨的径向生长。