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Response of Tree Species to Abiotic Stresses in a Changing...
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Response of Tree Species to Abiotic Stresses in a Changing Environment

A special issue of Forests (ISSN 1999-4907). This special issue belongs to the section "Forest Ecophysiology and Biology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (10 June 2017) | Viewed by 34048

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Fausto Manes

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Guest Editor
Department of Environmental Biology, Sapienza University of Rome, P.le Aldo Moro 5, Rome, Italy
Interests: natural capital and ecosystem services; biodiversity and ecosystem processes in Mediterranean areas; global change; air pollution and effects on vegetation; urban ecosystems, human health and wellbeing; green infrastructure; nature-based solutions; remote sensing and GIS
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Lina Fusaro

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Sapienza University of Rome | La Sapienza, Department of Environmental Biology, Ple Aldo Moro 5, I-00185 Rome, RM, Italy
Interests: plant ecophysiology; plant functional traits; multi-stress environment; climate change; nitrogen deposition; air pollution effects on Mediterranean tree species; green infrastructures; urban and peri-urban forests; regulating ecosystem services; multi-scale approach
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Elisabetta Salvatori

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Guest Editor
Department for Sustainability (SSPT-STS), Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development (ENEA), R.C. Casaccia, Via Anguillarese, 301-00123 S.Maria di Galeria, Rome, Italy
Interests: nature-based solutions; ecosystem services; urban and peri-urban forests; plant functional traits; ecophysiology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

During the last decades, ecosystems have been subjected to rapid changes in environmental conditions and the intensity and duration of stress factors has increased. In the global changes scenario, in which stress events are expected to became more frequent and unpredictable, plants have to deal with multiple simultaneous stressors that affect their functional and structural traits. In addition, stressors due to climate change, such as prolonged drought, increase of temperature, alteration of seasonal meteorological patterns, excess of light (including UV radiation), also anthropogenic stressors insist on vegetation worldwide. Particulate matter, gaseous pollutants as tropospheric ozone, heavy metals, nitrogen deposition and accordingly soil acidification, soil salinity caused by overexploitation of groundwater, and also land-use changes, are among the major threats. These factors affect the health of ecosystems and their capacity to provide Ecosystem Services (ES), and, thus, to improve human well-being The effects of multiple stresses and their interaction can jeopardize the provisioning of many ES, in terms of quality, quantity and temporal continuity, in natural and urban context. Moreover, it has been proven that biodiversity also declines under the pressure of the current changing environment, and more studies are needed to define the effect of biodiversity loss on ecosystem health and services provision. Understanding how plants respond to the concurrent action of different stresses, is fundamental to develop a successful strategy to preserve biodiversity and ecosystems functionality.

Manuscripts dealing with these topics in different environmental context (natural and urban environment), adopting various experimental approaches (from leaf, organism, whole-plant to ecosystem levels) in field or controlled conditions are welcome.

Prof. Fausto Manes
Dr. Lina Fusaro
Dr. Elisabetta Salvatori
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Forests is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Global Changes
  • Air Pollution
  • Biodiversity
  • Natural Ecosystems
  • Ecosystem Services
  • Land Use and Sustainable Management
  • Urban and Periurban Forests
  • Green Infrastructure

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Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

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3426 KiB  
Article
Vertical Ozone Gradients above Forests. Comparison of Different Calculation Options with Direct Ozone Measurements above a Mature Forest and Consequences for Ozone Risk Assessment
by Giacomo Gerosa, Riccardo Marzuoli, Beatrice Monteleone, Maria Chiesa and Angelo Finco
Forests 2017, 8(9), 337; https://doi.org/10.3390/f8090337 - 9 Sep 2017
Cited by 13 | Viewed by 4823
Abstract
The estimation of the ozone (O3) stomatal dose absorbed by a forest is a crucial step for O3 risk assessment. For this purpose, data on O3 concentrations at the forest top-canopy are needed. However, O3 is barely measured [...] Read more.
The estimation of the ozone (O3) stomatal dose absorbed by a forest is a crucial step for O3 risk assessment. For this purpose, data on O3 concentrations at the forest top-canopy are needed. However, O3 is barely measured at that height, while more often it is measured at a lower height above a different surface, typically a grassland near to the forest edge. The DO3SE model for O3 stomatal flux calculation estimates the top-canopy O3 concentration in near neutral stability conditions. However, near-neutrality is quite rare in the field, particularly in southern Europe. In this work, we present a modification of the DO3SE gradient calculation scheme to include the atmospheric stability. The performance of the new calculation scheme was tested against the direct measurements above a mature forest. Different gradient estimation options were also tested and evaluated. These options include simplified gradient calculation schemes and the techniques of the tabulated gradients described in the UN/ECE Mapping Manual for O3 risk assessment. The results highlight that the inclusion of the atmospheric stability in the DO3SE model greatly improves the accuracy of the stomatal dose estimation. However, the simpler technique of the tabulated gradients had the best performance on a whole-season time frame. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Response of Tree Species to Abiotic Stresses in a Changing Environment)
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3062 KiB  
Article
Effects of Environmental Changes on the Occurrence of Oreomunnea mexicana (Juglandaceae) in a Biodiversity Hotspot Cloud Forest
by Cecilia Alfonso-Corrado, Francisco Naranjo-Luna, Ricardo Clark-Tapia, Jorge E. Campos, Octavio R. Rojas-Soto, María Delfina Luna-Krauletz, Barbara Bodenhorn, Montserrat Gorgonio-Ramírez and Nelly Pacheco-Cruz
Forests 2017, 8(8), 261; https://doi.org/10.3390/f8080261 - 26 Jul 2017
Cited by 25 | Viewed by 5269
Abstract
The tropical montane cloud forests are recognized as one of the most biodiverse ecosystems. In spite of this, they are among the most threatened ecosystems in the world. This study integrates three ecological approaches generally studied separately: climate change scenery, ecological niche and [...] Read more.
The tropical montane cloud forests are recognized as one of the most biodiverse ecosystems. In spite of this, they are among the most threatened ecosystems in the world. This study integrates three ecological approaches generally studied separately: climate change scenery, ecological niche and population dynamics of Oreomunnea mexicana (an endangered and relict species), to understand how environmental change affects the population structure in the cloud forest that will allow its conservation. Potential distribution under future climatic scenarios of the species at national and regional levels was generated from the Maxent algorithm. Also, the current abundance, distribution and the ecological niche of the species were analyzed at the regional level. Changes in potential distribution under two climatic models suggest a habitat reduction from 36% to 55% nationally, and 2% to 9% at a regional level, for 2050 and 2070, respectively. The current distribution of the species is fragmented and consists of subpopulations that have spatial structures of aggregated populations and a size structure in reversed “J” form. The ecological niche of the species is highly specialized and sensitive to environmental changes. O. mexicana is a flagship species of biological and cultural importance to the region’s inhabitants and could be fundamental to the conservation of tropical montane cloud forests. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Response of Tree Species to Abiotic Stresses in a Changing Environment)
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1014 KiB  
Article
Cross-Talk between Physiological and Metabolic Adjustments Adopted by Quercus cerris to Mitigate the Effects of Severe Drought and Realistic Future Ozone Concentrations
by Lorenzo Cotrozzi, Damiano Remorini, Elisa Pellegrini, Lucia Guidi, Giacomo Lorenzini, Rossano Massai, Cristina Nali and Marco Landi
Forests 2017, 8(5), 148; https://doi.org/10.3390/f8050148 - 29 Apr 2017
Cited by 28 | Viewed by 4792
Abstract
Global climate change represents a moving target for plant acclimation and/or adaptation, especially in the Mediterranean basin. In this study, the interactions of severe drought (20% of the effective daily evapotranspiration) and O3 fumigation (80 ppb, 5 h day−1, for [...] Read more.
Global climate change represents a moving target for plant acclimation and/or adaptation, especially in the Mediterranean basin. In this study, the interactions of severe drought (20% of the effective daily evapotranspiration) and O3 fumigation (80 ppb, 5 h day−1, for 28 consecutive days) on (i) photosynthetic performance, (ii) cell membrane stability, (iii) hydric relations, (iv) accumulation of compatible solutes, and (v) lipophilic antioxidant compounds were investigated in young Quercus cerris plants. In addition to the typical drought-induced stomatal closure, imposition of water withholding dramatically influenced the profile of stress-associated metabolites, i.e., abscisic acid (ABA), proline, and lipophilic antioxidants. However, plants were not able to delay or prevent the negative effects of water deficit, the greatest impacting factor in this study. This translated into a steep decline of photosynthetic efficiency, leaf hydration, and membrane fluidity and permeability. When water stress was coupled with O3, plants orchestrated cross-talk among ABA, proline, and sugar in fully-expanded mature leaves, partially leading to a premature senescence. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Response of Tree Species to Abiotic Stresses in a Changing Environment)
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1900 KiB  
Article
Urbanization Drives SOC Accumulation, Its Temperature Stability and Turnover in Forests, Northeastern China
by Chang Zhai, Wenjie Wang, Xingyuan He, Wei Zhou, Lu Xiao and Bo Zhang
Forests 2017, 8(4), 130; https://doi.org/10.3390/f8040130 - 20 Apr 2017
Cited by 33 | Viewed by 5247
Abstract
Global urbanization is a vital process shaping terrestrial ecosystems but its effects on forest soil carbon (C) dynamics are still not well defined. To clarify the effects of urbanization on soil organic carbon (SOC) variation, 306 soil samples were collected and analyzed under [...] Read more.
Global urbanization is a vital process shaping terrestrial ecosystems but its effects on forest soil carbon (C) dynamics are still not well defined. To clarify the effects of urbanization on soil organic carbon (SOC) variation, 306 soil samples were collected and analyzed under two urban–rural gradients, defined according to human disturbance time and ring road development in Changchun, northeast China. Forest SOC showed a linear increase with increasing human disturbance time from year 1900 to 2014 (13.4 g C m−2 year−1), and a similar trend was found for the ring road gradient. Old-city regions had the longest SOC turnover time and it increased significantly with increasing urbanization (p = 0.011). Along both urban–rural gradients SOC stability toward temperature variation increased with increasing urbanization, meaning SOC stability in old-city regions was higher than in new regions. However, none of the urban–rural gradients showed marked changes in soil basal respiration rate. Both Pearson correlation and stepwise regression proved that these urbanization-induced SOC patterns were closely associated with landscape forest (LF) proportion and soil electrical conductivity (EC) changes in urban–rural gradients, but marginally related with tree size and compositional changes. Overall, Changchun urbanization-induced SOC accumulation was 60.6–98.08 thousand tons, accounting for 12.8–20.7% of the total forest C biomass sequestration. Thus, China’s rapid urbanization-induced SOC sequestration, stability and turnover time, should be fully estimated when evaluating terrestrial C balance. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Response of Tree Species to Abiotic Stresses in a Changing Environment)
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1511 KiB  
Article
Phenotypic Plasticity Explains Response Patterns of European Beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) Saplings to Nitrogen Fertilization and Drought Events
by Christoph Dziedek, Andreas Fichtner, Leonor Calvo, Elena Marcos, Kirstin Jansen, Matthias Kunz, David Walmsley, Goddert Von Oheimb and Werner Härdtle
Forests 2017, 8(3), 91; https://doi.org/10.3390/f8030091 - 20 Mar 2017
Cited by 14 | Viewed by 6042
Abstract
Abstract: Climate and atmospheric changes affect forest ecosystems worldwide, but little is known about the interactive effects of global change drivers on tree growth. In the present study, we analyzed single and combined effects of nitrogen (N) fertilization and drought events (D) on [...] Read more.
Abstract: Climate and atmospheric changes affect forest ecosystems worldwide, but little is known about the interactive effects of global change drivers on tree growth. In the present study, we analyzed single and combined effects of nitrogen (N) fertilization and drought events (D) on the growth of European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) saplings in a greenhouse experiment. We quantified morphological and physiological responses to treatments for one‐ and two‐year‐old plants. N fertilization increased the saplings’ aboveground biomass investments, making them more susceptible to D treatments. This was reflected by the highest tissue dieback in combined N and D treatments and a significant N × D interaction for leaf δ13C signatures. Thus, atmospheric N deposition can strengthen the drought sensitivity of beech saplings. One‐year‐old plants reacted more sensitively to D treatments than two‐year‐old plants (indicated by D‐induced shifts in leaf δ13C signatures of one‐year‐old and two‐year‐old plants by +0.5‰ and −0.2‰, respectively), attributable to their higher shoot:root‐ratios (1.8 and 1.2, respectively). In summary, the saplings’ treatment responses were determined by their phenotypic plasticity (shifts in shoot:root‐ratios), which in turn was a function of both the saplings’ age (effects of allometric growth trajectories = apparent plasticity) and environmental impacts (effects of N fertilization = plastic allometry). Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Response of Tree Species to Abiotic Stresses in a Changing Environment)
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Review

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945 KiB  
Review
Traditional and Novel Indicators of Climate Change Impacts on European Forest Trees
by Filippo Bussotti and Martina Pollastrini
Forests 2017, 8(4), 137; https://doi.org/10.3390/f8040137 - 24 Apr 2017
Cited by 33 | Viewed by 6602
Abstract
The concern for the fate of forest ecosystems under climate change demands the development of a prompt and effective system for detecting the impacts of pressure factors, such as rising temperatures, drought conditions, and extreme climatic events. In ongoing European monitoring programs, the [...] Read more.
The concern for the fate of forest ecosystems under climate change demands the development of a prompt and effective system for detecting the impacts of pressure factors, such as rising temperatures, drought conditions, and extreme climatic events. In ongoing European monitoring programs, the health condition of trees is only assessed visually as a matter of course and there is limited evidence that enhanced crown defoliation implies physiological disturbance and reduced tree growth. The progress of the research makes it possible to apply methods developed in experimental conditions in forests for the fast and reliable assessment of impacts and of stress conditions. In this review, we analyze the most promising indicators of tree and forest health (at individual plant and ecosystem levels) for their potential application in forest ecosystems and their ability to support and integrate the traditional visual assessment, provide information on influential factors, and improve the prediction of stand dynamics and forest productivity. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Response of Tree Species to Abiotic Stresses in a Changing Environment)
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