Transcriptome analysis shows nicotinamide seed treatment alters expression of genes involved in defense and epigenetic processes in roots of seedlings of Picea abies

Nicotinamide treatment of plants and plant cell cultures has been shown to promote defense and decrease levels of DNA methylation.In the present study,we used RNA-seq technology to study overall changes in gene expression induced in roots of 3-month-old spruce(Picea abies)seedlings grown from nicotinamide-treated seeds to examine the molecular mechanisms underlying the defense promotion.Approximately 350 genes were identified as differentially expressed in roots after the seed treatment.Stress response genes,including transcription factors MYB77 and LHY and two chitinase enzymes,were generally upregulated,whereas genes thought to be involved in epigenetic regulation such as DDM1,known to promote DNA methylation,were present at high frequency among the downregulated genes.Across all samples,the expression of downregulated epigenetic-related genes was highly correlated with the nicotinamide treatment,indicating a common regulation.Our results support an earlier hypothesis regarding a potential role of nicotinamide as a defense-signal mediator.

Norway spruce(Picea abies) laccases:Characterization of a laccase in a lignin-forming tissue culture

Secondarily thickened cell walls of water-conducting vessels and tracheids and support-giving sclerenchyma cells contain lignin that makes the cell walls water impermeable and strong. To what extent laccases and peroxidases contribute to lignin biosynthesis in muro is under active evaluation. We performed an in silico study of Norway spruce （Picea abies （L.） Karst.） laccases utilizing available genomic data. As many as 292 laccase encoding sequences （genes, gene fragments, and pseudogenes） were detected in the spruce genome. Out of the 112 genes annotated as laccases, 79 are expressed at some level. We isolated five fun-length laccase cDNAs from developing xylem and an extracellular lignin-forming cell culture of spruce. In addition, we purified and biochemically characterized one culture medium laccase from the lignin-forming cell culture. This laccase has an acidic pH optimum （pH 3.8-4.2） for coniferyl alcohol oxidation. It has a high affinity to coniferyl alcohol with an apparent Km value of 3.5μM; however, the laccase has a lower catalytic efficiency （Vmax/Km） for coniferyl alcohol oxidation compared with some purified culture medium peroxidases. The properties are discussed in the context of the information already known about laccases/coniferyl alcohol oxidases of coniferous plants.

Changes in fine root biomass of Picea abies forests:predicting the potential impacts of climate change

Aims the impact of global warming on belowground processes,espe-cially on fine root production,is poorly understood in comparison with its aboveground counterpart.Methods Here,we compiled 227 measurements to assess the influence of temperature and precipitation on fine root biomass of Norway spruce(Picea abies[L.]Karst)forest ecosystems in the Eurasia boreal region.Important Findings We found that fine root biomass decreased significantly with lati-tudes.there was a biomass increase of 0.63 Mg ha−1 and 0.32 Mg ha−1 for fine roots<2 and<1 mm in diameter,respectively,with 1°C increase of mean annual temperature.there was an increase of 0.5 and 0.1 Mg ha−1 per 100 mm year−1 precipitation for the two size classes of fine roots.If the adaption of root production can match the pace of global warming and water is not a limiting factor for plant growth,fine root biomass would be expected to increase by 40-140%in response to the predicted increase in tem-perature(3-10°C)over the next century.Our analyses highlighted the strongly positive influences of temperature and precipitation on belowground function,suggesting that predicted future climate change could substantially enhance belowground biomass in the boreal region where the greatest warming is anticipated.this potential increase of belowground biomass,coupled with aboveground biomass,may provide a better understanding of climate-ecosystem feedbacks.

Ecological Responses to Holocene Millennial-Scale Climate Change at High Altitudes of East and Central Asia: A Case Study of Picea/Abies Pollen Changes in Lacustrine Sediments

Ecosystem response to climate change in high-altitude regions is a focus on global change research. Picea/Abies forests are widely distributed at high altitudes of East and Central Asia, and their distribution changes are sensitive to climate change. Humidity is an important climatic factor that affects high-altitude ecosystems; however, the relationship between distribution changes of Picea/Abies forests and millennial-scale variability of humidity is still not dear. Palynological records can provide insights into millennial-scale paleovegetation changes, which have been successfully used to reconstruct past climate change in East and Central Asia. In this study, we synthesized 24 Picea/Abies pollen and humidity/moisture changes based upon Holocene lake records in East and Central Asia in order to explore the response of high-latitude ecosystem to millennial-scale climate change. The changing pattern of Holocene lacustrine Picea/Abies pollen in arid Central Asia differs from that of monsoonal East Asia, which can be due to different millennial-scale climate change patterns between monsoonal and arid Central Asia. Then, the relationship between changes in Picea/Abies pollen and humidity/moisture conditions was examined based on a comparison of pollen and humidity/moisture records. The results indicate that millennial-scale Picea/Abies distribution changes aremainly controlled by moisture variability at high altitudes, while the temperature effect plays a minor role in Picea/Abies distribution changes. Moreover, this research proves that lacustrine Picea/Abies pollen can be used as an indicator of millennial-scale humidity/moisture evolution at high altitudes in East and Central Asia.

Early response of understory vegetation to the mass dieback of Norway spruce in the European lowland temperate forest

Spruce-dominated forests are commonly exposed to disturbances associated with mass occurrences of bark beetles.The dieback of trees triggers many physical and chemical processes in the ecosystem resulting in rapid changes in the vegetation of the lower forest layers.We aimed to determine the response of non-tree understory vegetation to the mass dieback of Norway spruce(Picea abies)in the first years after the disturbance caused by the European spruce bark beetle(Ips typographus)outbreak.Our study area was the Białowieża Biosphere Reserve covering the Polish part of the emblematic Białowieża Forest,in total 597km^(2).The main data source comprised 3,900 phytosociological relevés(combined spring and summer campaigns)collected from 1,300 systematically distributed forest sites in 2016–2018–the peak years of the bark beetle outbreak.We found that the understory responded immediately to mass spruce dieback,with the most pronounced changes observed in the year of the disturbance and the subsequent year.Shade-tolerant forest species declined in the initial years following the mass spruce dieback,while hemicryptophytes,therophytes,light-demanding species associated with non-forest seminatural communities,as well as water-demanding forest species,expanded.Oxalis acetosella,the most common understory species in the Białowieża Forest,showed a distinct fluctuation pattern,with strong short-term expansion right after spruce dieback,followed by a gradual decline over the next 3–4 years to a cover level 5 percentage points lower than before the disturbance.Thus,our study revealed that mass spruce dieback selectively affects individual herb species,and their responses can be directional and non-directional(fluctuation).Furthermore,we demonstrated that the mass dieback of spruce temporarily increases plant species diversity(α-diversity).

Height increment of understorey Norway spruces under different tree canopies

Background:Stands having advance regeneration of spruce are logical places to start continuous cover forestry(CCF) in fertile and mesic boreal forests.However,the development of advance regeneration is poorly known.Methods:This study used regression analysis to model the height increment of spruce understorey as a function of seedling height,site characteristics and canopy structure.Results:An admixture of pine and birch in the main canopy improves the height increment of understorey.When the stand basal area is 20 m2ha-1 height increment is twice as fast under pine and birch canopies,as compared to spruce.Height increment of understorey spruce increases with increasing seedling height.Between-stand and within-stand residual variation in the height increment of understorey spruces is high.The increment of 1/6 fastest-growing seedlings is at least 50%greater than the average.Conclusions:The results of this study help forest managers to regulate the density and species composition of the stand,so as to obtain a sufficient height development of the understorey.In pure and almost pure spruce stands,the stand basal area should be low for a good height increment of the understorey.

Crown Morphology of Norway Spruce from Usual Tree Measurements

The crown morphology of Norway spruce (Picea abies Karst) was studied from 617 sample trees. In order to model branch and crown descriptors the linear and nonlinear regression methods were extensively used. Results show that the branch length can be fairly well predicted from the distance to the apex of the tree and that the branch spread has a high correlation with the branch length and the insertion angle. Models have been set up to predict the crown ratio, height to the base of the living crown, height to the first living branch and the height to the first dead branch from the usual whole-tree measurements, namely diameter at breast height total height and total age.

Remote sensing of bark beetle damage in Norway spruce individual tree canopies using thermal infrared and airborne laser scanning data fusion

Background:Increasing threat to Central Europe’s forests from the growing population of the European spruce bark beetle Ips typographus (L.) calls for developing highly effective methods of detection of the infestation spots. The main goal of this study was to establish an automatic workflow for detection of dead trees and trees in poor condition of Picea abies using Middle Wave Infrared spectral range obtained from the aircraft.Methods:The studies were conducted in Wigry National Park (Poland) in 2020. A fusion of aircraft thermal data and laser scanning was used. Synchronous with thermal data acquisition ground reference data were obtained for P. abies in different health conditions. Determination of the range of canopy temperatures characteristic of the three condition states (‘healthy’,‘poor condition’,‘dead’) was performed using K-mean clustering. The accuracy of the method was evaluated on two validation sets:(1) individual tree canopies determined by photointerpretation, and (2) automatic segmentation of laser scanning data.Results:The results showed that the average temperature of ‘healthy’trees was 27.70℃, trees in ‘poor condition’28.57℃, and ‘dead’trees 30.17℃. High temperature differences between ‘healthy’and ‘dead’P. abies made it possible to distinguish these two condition classes with high accuracy. Lower accuracies were obtained for the class of ‘poor condition’, which was found to be confusing with both ‘healthy’and ‘dead’trees. According to results from the first validation set, a high overall accuracy of 0.60 was obtained. For the second validation set, the overall accuracy was reduced by 11%.Conclusions:This study indicates that canopy temperature recorded from the airborne level is a variable that differentiates ‘healthy’spruces from those in ‘poor condition’and the ‘dead’trees. The results confirmed that thermal and airborne laser scanning data fusion allows for creating a quick and simple workflow, which can successfully separate individual tree canopies and identify P. abies attacked by I. typographus. Further research is needed to identify trees in the early stages of invasion.

Examining approaches for modeling individual tree growth response to thinning in Norway spruce

Using periodic measurements from permanent plots in non-thinned and thinned Norway spruce(Picea abies(L.)H.Karst.)stands in Norway,individual-tree growth models were developed to predict annual diameter increment,height increment,and height to crown base increment.Based on long-term data across a range of thinning regimes and stand conditions,alternative approaches for modeling response to treatment were assessed.Dynamic thinning response functions in the form of multiplicative modifiers that predict no effect at the time of thinning,a rapid increase followed by an early maximum before the effect gradually declines to zero could not be fitted to initially derived baseline models without thinning related predictors.However,alternative approaches were used and found to perform well.Specifically,indicator variables representing varying time periods after thinning were statistically significant and behaved in a robust manner as well as consistent with general expectations.In addition,they improved overall prediction accuracy when incorporated as fixed effects into the baseline models for diameter and height to crown base increment.Further,more simply,including exponentially decreasing multiplicative thinning response functions improved prediction accuracy for height increment and height to crown base increment.Irrespective of studied attribute and modelling approach,improvement in performance of these extended models was relatively limited when compared to the corresponding baseline models and more pronounced in trees from thinned stands.We conclude that the largely varying and often multi-year measurement intervals of the periodic data used in this study likely prevented the development of more sophisticated thinning response functions.However,based on the evaluation of the final models’overall performance such complex response functions may not to be necessary to reliably predict individual tree growth after thinning for certain conditions or species,which should be further considered in future analyses of similar nature.

Decomposition of labile and recalcitrant coniferous litter fractions affected by temperature during the growing season

Temperate coniferous forest soils are considered important sinks of soil organic carbon(C).Fresh C inputs may,however,affect soil microbial activity,leading to increased organic matter decomposition and carbon dioxide production.Litter consists of labile and recalcitrant fractions which are thought to be utilized by distinct microbial communities and at different rates during the growing season.In this study,we incubated the whole litter(LC+RC),the labile(LC)and the recalcitrant(RC)fractions with the coniferous soil at two temperatures representing spring/autumn(10℃)and summer(20℃)for one month.Soil respiration and microbial community composition were regularly determined using phospholipid fatty acids as biomarkers.The LC fraction greatly increased soil respiration at the beginning of the incubation period but this effect was rather short-term.The effect of the RC fraction persisted longer and,together with the LC+RC fraction,respiration increased during the whole incubation period.Decomposition of the RC fraction was more strongly affected by higher temperatures than decomposition of the more labile fractions(LC and LC+RC).However,when we consider the relative increase in soil respiration compared to the dH2 O treatment,respiration increased more at a lower temperature,suggesting that available C is more important for microbial metabolism at lower temperatures.Although C was added only once in our study,no changes in microbial community composition were detected,possibly because the microbial community is adapted to relatively low amounts of additional C such as the amounts naturally found in litter.

Influence of environmental predispositions on temperate mountain forest damage at different spatial scales during alternating drought and flood periods:case study in Hruby Jeseník Mts.(Czech Republic)

Mountain forests are more prone to environmental predispositions(EPs)than submountain ones.While remote sensing of mountain forests enables instantaneous damage mapping,the investigation of the causes requires field data.However,a local field or regionally modeled environmental characteristics influence remote data evaluation differently.This study focused on the evaluation of EPs effects damaging mountain forests between various spatial resolutions during environmental change.The evaluation was divided into managed and natural forests in the Hruby Jeseník Mts.(Czech Republic;240-1491 m a.s.l.;50.082°N,17.231°E).Damage was assessed through the discrimination analysis of the normalised difference vegetation index(NDVI)by MODIS VI during alternating drought and flood periods 2003-2014.The local environmental influence was assessed using the discrimination function(DF)separability of forest damage in the training sets.The regional influence was assessed through map algebra estimated via the DF and a forest decline spatial model based on EPs from differences between risk growth conditions and biomass fuzzy sets.Management,EPs and soil influenced forest NDVI at different levels.The management afflicted the NDVI more than the EPs.The EPs afflicted the NDVI more than the soil groups.Strong winters and droughts had a greater influence on the NDVI than the flood events,with the winter of 2005/2006 inverting the DF direction,and the 2003 drought increasing differences in managed forest biomass and decreasing differences in natural forest biomasses.More than 50% of declining managed forests in the training sets occurred on Leptosols,Podzols and Histosols.On a regional scale,the soil influence was eliminated by multiple predispositions.The EPs influenced 96% of natural forest and 65% of managed forest,though managed forest damage was more evident.The mountain forest NDVI decline was dependent on both management and risk predispositions.

The Equilibrium Moisture Content of Five Lesser Utilized Species of Ghana Contrasted with Three European Species

Equilibrium moisture contents (EMC) of wood species are very necessary in the utilization of these in service. This study investigated the EMC of five lesser utilized species of Ghana and compared it with that of three European species. Sixteen randomly sampled specimens of each of the eight species (heartwood and sapwood) with dimensions 3 cm × 3 cm × 3 cm were exposed at various relative humidity conditions of 30%, 45%, 60%, 75% and 90% in a temperature and humidity-controlled climate chamber at a temperature of 25&deg;C in accordance to German standard DIN 52182. The species are Albies alba, Fagus sylvatica and Picea abies which are European species and Amphimas pterocarpoides, Antiaris toxicaria, Canarium schweinfurthii, Celtis zenkeri and Cola gigantea are wood species from Ghana. Internal wood temperature and humidity were measured with datalogger. Samples were considered to have reached equilibrium at any given humidity when the daily weight changes were less than 0.1 mg according to German standard DIN 52183. After the last measurements of the weight changes, the samples were dried at 103&deg;C until there was a constant weight. The five tropical hardwoods had low sorption values recorded and high sorption values for the European species and this could be attributed to differences in the microstructure of these woods.