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Forests
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Analyses of Stress Impact on Forest Ecosystems Connected with Global...
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Analyses of Stress Impact on Forest Ecosystems Connected with Global Climate Changes

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 September 2023) | Viewed by 10048

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Eva Pšidová

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Plant Ecophysiology, Institute of Forest Ecology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Štúrova 2, 960 53 Zvolen, Slovakia
Interests: tree physiology; stress physiology; climate change adaptation; drought
Dr. Srdjan Stojnic

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Lowland Forestry and Environment, University of Novi Sad, Novi Sad, Serbia
Interests: tree physiology; genetic diversity; climate change adaptation; conservation of forest genetic resources
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Katarína Střelcová

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Natural Environment, Technical University in Zvolen, Zvolen, Slovakia
Interests: forest ecology; bioclimatology; water balance; tree water stress

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Climate is the most important ecological factor that affects the composition of tree species and contributes to species diversity, possessing a central role in shaping the overall performance of forest ecosystems. Global climate changes are expected to lead to an increase in the frequency, intensity, and duration of extreme stress events, which can negatively affect forest communities, limiting their capacity to provide the full scope of ecosystem services.

A significant aspect of the scientific work conducted on forest ecology in recent years has been dealing with the analysis of the complex interaction between stress factors that essentially limit the functioning of forest ecosystems and different components of forest tree species adaptation mechanisms. It is well documented that the adaptation of trees to stress factors is made possible by physiological, morphological, phenological, biochemical, and molecular responses. However, despite the significant progress in this field, many important questions remain unanswered. The scope of the Special Issue is, therefore, to collect the latest findings regarding these issues and address the following questions: (a) How will stress factors driven by global climate changes impact forest ecosystems worldwide? (b) Which short- and long-term response mechanisms can be exploited by forest trees to adapt to altered environmental conditions? (c) How can the new knowledge be transferred and integrated into forest practice?

We welcome papers that deal with the effects of different biotic and abiotic stress factors, including extreme climatic events, such as drought, heat, late frosts and floods, on tree's performances and timber production. The Special Issue calls for original research articles, review articles, and meta-analyses contributing to this important topic.

Dr. Eva Pšidová
Dr. Srdjan Stojnic
Dr. Katarína Střelcová
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

  • tree species
  • climate change
  • adaptation
  • forest ecology
  • biotic and abiotic stresses
  • extreme events

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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29 pages, 8802 KiB  
Article
Effect of Provenance and Environmental Factors on Tree Growth and Tree Water Status of Norway Spruce
by Adriana Leštianska, Peter Fleischer, Jr., Katarína Merganičová, Peter Fleischer, Sr., Paulína Nalevanková and Katarína Střelcová
Forests 2023, 14(1), 156; https://doi.org/10.3390/f14010156 - 14 Jan 2023
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2578
Abstract
Changes in temperature regime, and a higher frequency of extreme weather conditions due to global warming are considered great risks for forest stands worldwide because of their negative impact on tree growth and vitality. We examined tree growth and water balance of two [...] Read more.
Changes in temperature regime, and a higher frequency of extreme weather conditions due to global warming are considered great risks for forest stands worldwide because of their negative impact on tree growth and vitality. We examined tree growth and water balance of two provenances of Norway spruce growing in Arboretum Borová hora (350 m a.s.l., Zvolen, central Slovakia) that originated from climatologically cooler conditions. The research was performed during three meteorologically different years from 2017 to 2019. We evaluated the impact of climatic and soil factors on intra-species variability in radial stem growth and tree water status that were characterised by seasonal radial increment, stem water deficit and maximum daily shrinkage derived from the records of stem circumference changes obtained from band dendrometers installed on five mature trees of each provenance. The impact of environmental factors on the characteristics was evaluated using the univariate factor analysis and four machine learning models (random forest, support vector machine, gradient boosting machine and neural network). The responses to climatic conditions differed between the provenances. Seasonal radial increments of the provenance from cooler conditions were greater than those of the provenance originating from cooler and wetter conditions due to the long-term shortage of water the latter provenance had to cope with in the current environment, while the provenance from the cooler region was more sensitive to short-term changes in environmental conditions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Analyses of Stress Impact on Forest Ecosystems Connected with Global Climate Changes)
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13 pages, 2353 KiB  
Article
Seasonality of Photosynthetic Physiology and Leaf Anatomy in Three Different Quercus L. Section Cyclobalanopsis Seedlings of Quercus chungii, Quercus gilva, and Quercus glauca in the Subtropical Region of South China
by Hui-Min Yin, Mo-Hua Yang, Peng-Le Li, Xun-Lin Yu, Huan Xiong, Qian-Yu Xu, Feng-Lan Zou, You Chen, Wei-Hong Dai, Yin Jiang and Yue-Lin Li
Forests 2022, 13(12), 2067; https://doi.org/10.3390/f13122067 - 4 Dec 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1765
Abstract
The increasing demand for precious timber resources promotes immediate efforts to develop high-valuable hardwood resources in afforestation. However, the lack of valuable tree species seedlings for afforestation and their ecological adaptability must primarily be addressed. To explore a valuable tree species for precious [...] Read more.
The increasing demand for precious timber resources promotes immediate efforts to develop high-valuable hardwood resources in afforestation. However, the lack of valuable tree species seedlings for afforestation and their ecological adaptability must primarily be addressed. To explore a valuable tree species for precious timber resourcing in afforestation, a comparative analysis of the characteristics of photosynthetic physiology and leaf anatomy in three different Quercus L. Section Cyclobalanopsis seedlings of Quercus chungii, Quercus gilva, and Quercus glauca was performed during three growth stages (July, September, and November) in South China. The results showed that there are significant differences in photosynthetic physiological characteristic parameters, chlorophyll content, and leaf anatomical structure among the three seedlings in each growth stage (p < 0.05). The photosynthetic parameters, i.e., Pn, Gs, Tr, WUE and Ci in each tree species all had the same trend of increase from July to September and decrease from September to November, and with a pick point in September during the three stages. The Pn in Q. chungii was higher than that in the other two species in each stage, and the highest Pn with an average value of 8.26 μmol·m−2·s−1 was obtained in September in Q. chungii, which was 13.77% and 20.06% higher than that of in Q. gilva and Q. glauca at the same time, respectively. Significant differences were also detected in the chlorophyll fluorescence of Fo, Fm, Fv/Fm, Y, ETR, qP, and NPQ among three seedlings within each growth stage from July to November (p < 0.05). The thickness of the mature leaf was decreased in order as Q. chungii, Q. glauca, and Q. gilva. From July to September, more notable changes were observed in Q. chungii in September, with a drop of 3.49% in leaf thickness, and a drop of 3.34% and 10.06% in the volume of palisade tissue and sponge tissue, respectively. Consequently, increasing tightness and deducing looseness were observed in Q. chungii. The principal component analysis (PCA) on photosynthesis and leaf anatomy showed that Q. chungii displayed a stronger photosynthetic physiology with a positive coordination on water, air, light, and heat. These findings facilitate the evaluation of ecological adaptability among the three Quercus seedlings and provide compelling evidence for the application of Q. chungii for precious timber resources in afforestation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Analyses of Stress Impact on Forest Ecosystems Connected with Global Climate Changes)
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28 pages, 5691 KiB  
Article
Ectomycorrhizal Fungi Modulate Biochemical Response against Powdery Mildew Disease in Quercus robur L.
by Marko Kebert, Saša Kostić, Milica Zlatković, Srdjan Stojnic, Eleonora Čapelja, Martina Zorić, Biljana Kiprovski, Dragana Budakov and Saša Orlović
Forests 2022, 13(9), 1491; https://doi.org/10.3390/f13091491 - 15 Sep 2022
Cited by 15 | Viewed by 3067
Abstract
In light of climate change, pedunculate oak (Q. robur L.) was marked as the most threatened European tree species. Pedunculate oak is particularly jeopardized by powdery mildew disease caused by Erysiphe alphitoides. We hypothesized that priming of this tree species with ectomycorrhizal [...] Read more.
In light of climate change, pedunculate oak (Q. robur L.) was marked as the most threatened European tree species. Pedunculate oak is particularly jeopardized by powdery mildew disease caused by Erysiphe alphitoides. We hypothesized that priming of this tree species with ectomycorrhizal fungi could mitigate biotic stress and produce bioprotective properties against the disease. In this study, we have compared oaks’ foliar physiological and biochemical responses upon infection with E. alphitoides in the presence and absence of ectomycorrhizal fungi (ECM). The main aim of this study was to inspect how ECM modulate an oak’s biochemical response to infection with E. alphitoides, particularly at the level of the accumulation of the main polyamines (putrescine, spermidine, and spermine), soluble osmolytes (proline and glycine betaine), and phenolics (total phenolic content, flavonoids, and condensed tannins). A polyamine quantification was performed after derivatization by using high-performance liquid chromatography (HLPC) coupled with fluorescent detection. Oak seedlings inoculated with ECM fungi exhibited significantly higher levels of putrescine, spermine, and proline compared to non-inoculated seedlings, indicating the priming properties of the ECM. E. alphitoides caused an increase in individual and total polyamine content and lipid peroxidation in oak leaves regardless of the effect of ECM, while causing a decrease in physiological and antioxidative parameters and water use efficiency (WUE). Common biochemical parameters may contribute to understanding the underpinning plant defense mechanisms in three-way interactions among plants and pathogenic and ectomycorrhizal fungi and can be used as reliable adaptability descriptors in the context of climate change. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Analyses of Stress Impact on Forest Ecosystems Connected with Global Climate Changes)
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14 pages, 2579 KiB  
Systematic Review
Climate Seasonality Mediates Global Patterns of Foliar Carbon and Nitrogen Isotopes
by Lan Du, Yan Li and Xinjun Zheng
Forests 2023, 14(3), 461; https://doi.org/10.3390/f14030461 - 24 Feb 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1815
Abstract
Frequent extreme climate events have significantly affected plant intrinsic water-use efficiency (iWUE) and forest nitrogen (N) availability. Understanding the coupling between climate seasonality and plant water, carbon, and nitrogen may provide insights into how plants respond to climate change. Here, we integrated Δ [...] Read more.
Frequent extreme climate events have significantly affected plant intrinsic water-use efficiency (iWUE) and forest nitrogen (N) availability. Understanding the coupling between climate seasonality and plant water, carbon, and nitrogen may provide insights into how plants respond to climate change. Here, we integrated Δ13C and δ15N in woody plant leaves as a probe to elucidate the iWUE and N availability patterns of plants under global change and found that woody plants from sites with high climate seasonality, especially precipitation seasonality, tend to have improved iWUE and N availability compared with those with low seasonality. Specifically, high potential evapotranspiration, solar radiation, vapor pressure deficit, and low precipitation during the growth season are the driving factors. The intra-annual and annual climate explained 43% and 49% of Δ13C and 40% and 53% of δ15N, respectively, suggesting that the intra-annual climate is at least as important as the annual climate. These results suggest that not only the direction (decrease vs. increase) of decadal climate should be counted but also the abnormal fluctuation of intra-annual should be considered. Climate seasonality is a more suitable ecological filter for determining plant distribution across terrestrial ecosystems. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Analyses of Stress Impact on Forest Ecosystems Connected with Global Climate Changes)
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