Douglas-fir(Pseudotsuga menziesii(Mirb.)Franco)is an important exotic tree species that was planted across a large part of Europe during the last century.In both experimental trials and conventional forest plantations...Douglas-fir(Pseudotsuga menziesii(Mirb.)Franco)is an important exotic tree species that was planted across a large part of Europe during the last century.In both experimental trials and conventional forest plantations,the trees grow at a high rate and produce high-quality timber.The present study investigated climate-growth relationships of Douglas-fi r at two Italian sites that contrast in climate:a Mediterranean area in southern Italy(Mercurella site)and a cooler,moister site in the northern Apennines without summer aridity(Acquerino).The relationship between tree-ring chronologies and monthly climatic variables was evaluated by a moving average and correlation analysis.Results showed that the minimum temperature in February and in March play a key role for Douglas-fi r at both sites,with a positive eff ect on growth.At the northern site,it is also highly sensitive to late summer temperatures(negative correlation)and spring–summer precipitation(positive correlation).Growth rates in southern latitudes were high even in Europe and in the Mediterranean environment,with low sensitivity to climatic fl uctuation.On the basis of our results,further common garden experiments should test adaptation and the interaction between genetics and environment of second-or third-generation seeds from old stands across Europe such as done by the old International Union of Forest Research Organizations(IUFRO)or the European Douglasfi r Improvement Research Cooperative(EUDIREC)experimentation programmes.展开更多
Background:Baseline levels of tree mortality can,over time,contribute to high snag densities and high levels of deadwood(down woody debris)if fire is infrequent and decomposition is slow.Deadwood can be important for ...Background:Baseline levels of tree mortality can,over time,contribute to high snag densities and high levels of deadwood(down woody debris)if fire is infrequent and decomposition is slow.Deadwood can be important for tree recruitment,and it plays a major role in terrestrial carbon cycling,but deadwood is rarely examined in a spatially explicit context.Methods:Between 2011 and 2019,we annually tracked all trees and snags≥1 cm in diameter and mapped all pieces of deadwood≥10 cm diameter and≥1 m in length in 25.6 ha of Tsuga heterophylla/Pseudotsuga menziesii forest.We analyzed the amount,biomass,and spatial distribution of deadwood,and we assessed how various causes of mortality that contributed uniquely to deadwood creation.Results:Compared to aboveground woody live biomass of 481 Mg ha^(−1)(from trees≥10 cm diameter),snag biomass was 74 Mg ha^(−1) and deadwood biomass was 109 Mg ha^(−1)(from boles≥10 cm diameter).Biomass from large-diameter trees(≥60 cm)accounted for 85%,88%,and 58%,of trees,snags,and deadwood,respectively.Total aboveground woody live and dead biomass was 668 Mg ha^(−1).The annual production of downed wood(≥10 cm diameter)from tree boles averaged 4 Mg ha^(−1) yr^(−1).Woody debris was spatially heterogeneous,varying more than two orders of magnitude from 4 to 587 Mg ha^(−1) at the scale of 20 m×20 m quadrats.Almost all causes of deadwood creation varied in importance between large-diameter trees and small-diameter trees.Biomass of standing stems and deadwood had weak inverse distributions,reflecting the long period of time required for trees to reach large diameters following antecedent tree mortalities and the centennial scale time required for deadwood decomposition.Conclusion:Old-growth forests contain large stores of biomass in living trees,as well as in snag and deadwood biomass pools that are stable long after tree death.Ignoring biomass(or carbon)in deadwood pools can lead to substantial underestimations of sequestration and stability.展开更多
基金Besides of the fi nancial support from the RGVFAO Project,Cristiano Castaldi has received the support by University of Tuscia(Italy)as Ph.D.student.The authors thank an anonymous reviewer for helpful suggestions on an earlier draft of this paper.
文摘Douglas-fir(Pseudotsuga menziesii(Mirb.)Franco)is an important exotic tree species that was planted across a large part of Europe during the last century.In both experimental trials and conventional forest plantations,the trees grow at a high rate and produce high-quality timber.The present study investigated climate-growth relationships of Douglas-fi r at two Italian sites that contrast in climate:a Mediterranean area in southern Italy(Mercurella site)and a cooler,moister site in the northern Apennines without summer aridity(Acquerino).The relationship between tree-ring chronologies and monthly climatic variables was evaluated by a moving average and correlation analysis.Results showed that the minimum temperature in February and in March play a key role for Douglas-fi r at both sites,with a positive eff ect on growth.At the northern site,it is also highly sensitive to late summer temperatures(negative correlation)and spring–summer precipitation(positive correlation).Growth rates in southern latitudes were high even in Europe and in the Mediterranean environment,with low sensitivity to climatic fl uctuation.On the basis of our results,further common garden experiments should test adaptation and the interaction between genetics and environment of second-or third-generation seeds from old stands across Europe such as done by the old International Union of Forest Research Organizations(IUFRO)or the European Douglasfi r Improvement Research Cooperative(EUDIREC)experimentation programmes.
基金Funding was received from the Utah Agricultural Experiment Station(projects 1153,1398,and 1423 to JAL)the National Science Foundation(DEB#1542681 to JAL and colleagues)the Smithsonian Institution ForestGEO.Research was performed under a 5-year permit(2016–2020)from the USDA Forest Service Pacific Northwest Research Station.
文摘Background:Baseline levels of tree mortality can,over time,contribute to high snag densities and high levels of deadwood(down woody debris)if fire is infrequent and decomposition is slow.Deadwood can be important for tree recruitment,and it plays a major role in terrestrial carbon cycling,but deadwood is rarely examined in a spatially explicit context.Methods:Between 2011 and 2019,we annually tracked all trees and snags≥1 cm in diameter and mapped all pieces of deadwood≥10 cm diameter and≥1 m in length in 25.6 ha of Tsuga heterophylla/Pseudotsuga menziesii forest.We analyzed the amount,biomass,and spatial distribution of deadwood,and we assessed how various causes of mortality that contributed uniquely to deadwood creation.Results:Compared to aboveground woody live biomass of 481 Mg ha^(−1)(from trees≥10 cm diameter),snag biomass was 74 Mg ha^(−1) and deadwood biomass was 109 Mg ha^(−1)(from boles≥10 cm diameter).Biomass from large-diameter trees(≥60 cm)accounted for 85%,88%,and 58%,of trees,snags,and deadwood,respectively.Total aboveground woody live and dead biomass was 668 Mg ha^(−1).The annual production of downed wood(≥10 cm diameter)from tree boles averaged 4 Mg ha^(−1) yr^(−1).Woody debris was spatially heterogeneous,varying more than two orders of magnitude from 4 to 587 Mg ha^(−1) at the scale of 20 m×20 m quadrats.Almost all causes of deadwood creation varied in importance between large-diameter trees and small-diameter trees.Biomass of standing stems and deadwood had weak inverse distributions,reflecting the long period of time required for trees to reach large diameters following antecedent tree mortalities and the centennial scale time required for deadwood decomposition.Conclusion:Old-growth forests contain large stores of biomass in living trees,as well as in snag and deadwood biomass pools that are stable long after tree death.Ignoring biomass(or carbon)in deadwood pools can lead to substantial underestimations of sequestration and stability.