Deciduousness in tropical trees and its potential as indicator of climate change: A review |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Key Lab of Guangdong for Utilization of Remote Sensing and Geographical Information System, Guangdong Open Laboratory of Geospatial Information Technology and Application, Guangzhou Institute of Geography, Guangdong Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510070, China;2. Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Guangzhou), Guangzhou 511458, China;3. Guangdong Province Key Laboratory for Climate Change and Natural Disaster Studies, School of Atmospheric Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Zhuhai 519082, China;4. College of Resources and Environment, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100039, China;5. College of Earth Sciences, Chengdu University of Technology, Chengdu 610000, China;6. Key Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of Degraded Ecosystems, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, China;1. Department of Environmental Geochemical Cycle Research, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC), Kanazawa-ku, Yokohama 236-0001, Japan;2. Faculty of Agriculture and Agricultural Science Programme, Kochi University, Nankoku-shi, Kochi 783-8502, Japan;3. United Graduate School of Agricultural Sciences, Ehime University, Matsuyama 790-8566, Japan;4. Research Institute for Humanity and Nature, Motoyama, Kamigamo, Kita-ku, Kyoto 603-8047, Japan;5. Graduate School of Human and Environmental Studies, Kyoto University, Yoshida Nihonmatsu-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan |
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| Abstract: | In tropical forests, deciduousness is an outcome of integrated effect of drought, tree characteristics and soil moisture conditions and thus it is a reliable indicator of seasonal drought experienced by different tree species. Variations in the deciduousness are associated with several ecophysiological characteristics, such as varying allocation pattern of metabolic products, resource capture and conservation, water relations and stem water storages, annual carbon sequestration, timing of reproductive event initiation, extent of separation of vegetative and reproductive events and leaf strategies, and it helps in maintenance of water balance and protection of tree organs during the seasonal drought. Tropical forests support mosaics of tree functional types showing marked differences in the duration of deciduousness (from leaf exchanging to >8 months deciduous), as a result of varying degree of water stress experienced by physiognomy, distribution and wood anatomy of tropical trees. Wide variations in deciduousness in the same species growing at different sites suggest the high sensitivity of tropical trees to small changes in growing habitat. In the present review we have explored the ecological significance of deciduousness in tropical trees with emphasis on: (a) inter- and intraspecies plasticity in deciduousness, (b) various capacity adaptations related with the duration of deciduousness, (c) relationship between tree stem water status and deciduousness, and (d) probable effect of impending climate change on tropical trees. An attempt has also been made to establish deciduousness as climate change indicator in the dry tropics. There is need to develop capabilities to detect and predict the impact of climate change on deciduousness through long-term phenological network in tropics. Remote sensing techniques can generate valuable ecological information such as leaf level drought response and phenological patterns. Deciduousness has the potential to emerge as an important focus for ecological research to address critical questions in global modeling, monitoring, and climate change. |
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| Keywords: | Tree phenology Tropical trees Water stress Climate change Ecological indicators |
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