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Forests
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The Physiology of Tree Response to Drought
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The Physiology of Tree Response to Drought

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (25 January 2021) | Viewed by 23953

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Rosana López Rodríguez

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
ETSI Montes, Forestal y del Medio Natural. C/ José Antonio Novais, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, 10, 28040 Madrid, Spain
Interests: plant hydraulics; water relations; drought resistance; wood anatomy; phenotypic plasticity
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Understanding the potential impacts of future drought events on trees is critical to managing forests for resilience to climate change. Drought resilience can be enhanced through a variety of forest management practices such as stand density and age management, species selection, management of disturbance regimes, and assisted tree migration. Managing forests for drought resilience requires the identification of tree physiological mechanisms that may affect drought avoidance, resistance, and recovery, particularly in mature trees, and forest management practices that may mitigate the impacts of drought. The goal of this Special Issue is to present novel research on tree physiological responses to drought that increase our understanding of key mechanisms related to tree and forest drought resilience. Articles in this Special Issue will contribute to the development of climate adaptation strategies for the management of forest ecosystems.

Dr. Rosana López Rodríguez
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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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

  • Drought
  • Climate Change
  • Forest Management
  • Water and Carbon Relations
  • Mortality
  • Drought Tolerance
  • Drought Resilience

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Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

16 pages, 4150 KiB  
Article
Long-Term Tree-Ring Response to Drought and Frost in Two Pinus halepensis Populations Growing under Contrasting Environmental Conditions in Peninsular Italy
by Alfredo Di Filippo, Michele Baliva, Michele Brunetti and Luca Di Fiore
Forests 2021, 12(3), 305; https://doi.org/10.3390/f12030305 - 6 Mar 2021
Cited by 13 | Viewed by 2678
Abstract
Pinus halepensis dominates coastal to mountain areas throughout the Mediterranean Basin. Its growth plasticity, based on polycyclic shoot formation and dynamic cambial activity, and tolerance to extreme drought and exceptional frosts, allows it to colonize a vast array of environments. We used tree-rings [...] Read more.
Pinus halepensis dominates coastal to mountain areas throughout the Mediterranean Basin. Its growth plasticity, based on polycyclic shoot formation and dynamic cambial activity, and tolerance to extreme drought and exceptional frosts, allows it to colonize a vast array of environments. We used tree-rings from codominant pines to compare lifespan, growth rates, age and size distribution in a typical coastal (i.e., prolonged drought, occasional low-intensity fires) vs. inland hilly (i.e., moister conditions, recurrent frosts) population. BAI trends, growth-limiting climate factors and tree-ring anatomical anomalies were analyzed considering the differences in climate and phenology obtained from multispectral satellite images. The species maximum lifespan was 100–125 years. Mortality was mainly due to fire on the coast, or heart-rot in the inland site. Populations differed in productivity, which was maintained over time despite recent warming. Site conditions affected the growing season dynamics, the control over ring formation by summer drought vs. winter cold and the frequency of anatomical anomalies. Recurrent frost rings, associated with temperatures below −10 °C, occurred only at the inland site. Pinus halepensis confirmed its remarkable growth plasticity to diverse and variable environmental conditions. Its ability to survive extreme events and sustain productivity confirmed its adaptability to climate change in coastal areas as well as on Mediterranean mountains. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Physiology of Tree Response to Drought)
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14 pages, 3264 KiB  
Article
Phenotypic Plasticity of Drought Tolerance Traits in a Widespread Eucalypt (Eucalyptus obliqua)
by Carola Pritzkow, Christopher Szota, Virginia G. Williamson and Stefan K. Arndt
Forests 2020, 11(12), 1371; https://doi.org/10.3390/f11121371 - 21 Dec 2020
Cited by 15 | Viewed by 3212
Abstract
Long-term studies of tree responses to drought stress help us to understand the capacity of species to adapt to their environment. In this study, we investigated how Eucalyptus obliqua adjusts physiological and morphological traits in response to seasonal and multi-year droughts. We monitored [...] Read more.
Long-term studies of tree responses to drought stress help us to understand the capacity of species to adapt to their environment. In this study, we investigated how Eucalyptus obliqua adjusts physiological and morphological traits in response to seasonal and multi-year droughts. We monitored physiological and morphological traits over multiple years in undisturbed control and throughfall reduction plots in a eucalypt forest in south-eastern Australia. The throughfall reduction treatment did not induce significantly lower soil moisture in the throughfall reduction plots compared with the control plots. However, natural variability in precipitation and evaporative demand induced drought stress of varying intensity each summer in all plots. We observed a significant relationship between seasonal precipitation and leaf pre-dawn water potential (ΨPD), with less precipitation over summer, resulting in a decline in ΨPD and drought stress when ΨPD fell below −0.75 MPa. Eucalyptus obliqua responded to short-term summer drought through rapid leaf osmotic adjustment which lowered the leaf water potential at the turgor loss point beyond the minimum leaf water potential. Morphological adjustments, such as the reduction of leaf area to sapwood area (higher Huber Value) were moderate during the measurement period and only occurred under severe drought stress (pre-dawn water potential < −1.2 MPa). Overall, E. obliqua responded to short-term mild drought stress through physiological trait plasticity, while morphological adjustment only occurred under a more severe water deficit. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Physiology of Tree Response to Drought)
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21 pages, 5545 KiB  
Article
Counter-Intuitive Response to Water Limitation in a Southern European Provenance of Frangula alnus Mill. in a Common Garden Experiment
by Kristine Vander Mijnsbrugge, Lise De Clerck, Nele Van der Schueren, Stefaan Moreels, Amy Lauwers, Kathy Steppe, Liselotte De Ligne, Matteo Campioli and Jan Van den Bulcke
Forests 2020, 11(11), 1186; https://doi.org/10.3390/f11111186 - 10 Nov 2020
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2228
Abstract
Climate change will intensify drought periods during the growing season in Western Europe. We mimicked this prediction by withholding water in summer from young rooted cuttings of Frangula alnus Mill., a common shrub species, originating from different latitudes in Europe (Italy, Belgium and [...] Read more.
Climate change will intensify drought periods during the growing season in Western Europe. We mimicked this prediction by withholding water in summer from young rooted cuttings of Frangula alnus Mill., a common shrub species, originating from different latitudes in Europe (Italy, Belgium and Sweden) and growing in a common garden environment in Belgium. We followed the responses to the drought up to two years after the treatment. Counter-intuitively, the Italian provenance displayed earlier symptoms and stronger effects of water limitation than the other two provenances. A putative higher transpiration in this provenance could be suggested based on a relative larger shoot growth, larger leaves and a higher stomatal density. After the post-drought re-watering, the droughted plants of the Italian provenance entered leaf senescence later than the control plants, likely as a compensation mechanism for the lost growing time. Bud burst in the first year after the drought treatment and leaf senescence in the next autumn were both advanced in the drought treated group when compared with the control plants. Bud burst in the second year after the drought treatment did not display any differentiation anymore between control and drought treated plants. Growth traits also displayed legacies of the water limitation. For example, the drought treated plants showed a lower number of reshoots upon pruning in the year after the drought treatment. Our results suggest that assisted migration from southern Europe to western Europe as a climate change adaptation strategy might not always follow the expected patterns. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Physiology of Tree Response to Drought)
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20 pages, 4235 KiB  
Article
Leaf Habit and Stem Hydraulic Traits Determine Functional Segregation of Multiple Oak Species along a Water Availability Gradient
by Maribel Arenas-Navarro, Felipe García-Oliva, Teresa Terrazas, Andrés Torres-Miranda and Ken Oyama
Forests 2020, 11(8), 894; https://doi.org/10.3390/f11080894 - 18 Aug 2020
Cited by 13 | Viewed by 3766
Abstract
Oaks are a dominant woody plant genus in the northern hemisphere that occupy a wide range of habitats and are ecologically diverse. We implemented a functional trait approach that included nine functional traits related to leaves and stems in order to explain the [...] Read more.
Oaks are a dominant woody plant genus in the northern hemisphere that occupy a wide range of habitats and are ecologically diverse. We implemented a functional trait approach that included nine functional traits related to leaves and stems in order to explain the species coexistence of 21 oak species along a water availability gradient in a temperate forest in Mexico. This particular forest is characterized as a biodiversity hotspot, with many oak species including some endemics. Our main aim was to investigate whether the different oak species had specific trait associations that allow them to coexist along an environmental gradient at regional scale. First, we explored trait covariation and determined the main functional dimensions in which oaks were segregated. Second, we explored how environmental variation has selected for restricted functional dimensions that shape oak distributions along the gradient, regardless of their leaf life span or phylogeny (section level). Third, we quantified the niche overlap between the oak functional spaces at different levels. The analyzed species showed three functional dimensions of trait variation: a primary axis related to the leaf economic spectrum, which corresponds to the segregation of the species according to leaf habit; a second axis that reflects the stem hydraulic properties and corresponds to species segregation followed by phylogenetic segregation, reflecting some degree of trait conservatism, and a third axis, represented mainly by leaf area and plant height, that corresponds to species segregation. Finally, our findings indicated that the functional space measured with leaf traits and stem traits such as hydraulic capacity was integrally linked to niche differentiation. This linkage suggests that the earliest mechanism of species segregation was related to habitat suitability and that the stem hydraulic trade-off reflects differences between phylogenetic sections; these traits may promote coexistence between distantly related oak species. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Physiology of Tree Response to Drought)
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18 pages, 4680 KiB  
Article
Drought Hardening Contributes to the Maintenance of Proportions of Non-Embolized Xylem and Cambium Status during Consecutive Dry Treatment in Container-Grown Seedling of Japanese Cedar (Cryptomeria japonica)
by Shin-Taro Saiki, Yuho Ando, Kenichi Yazaki and Hiroyuki Tobita
Forests 2020, 11(4), 441; https://doi.org/10.3390/f11040441 - 13 Apr 2020
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 3430
Abstract
Climate models in Japan predict that the annual mean air temperature and number of consecutive dry days will increase in the future, leading to high seedling mortality rates. Maintaining high survival rates of Cryptomeria japonica seedlings, a commercially important tree species, is therefore, [...] Read more.
Climate models in Japan predict that the annual mean air temperature and number of consecutive dry days will increase in the future, leading to high seedling mortality rates. Maintaining high survival rates of Cryptomeria japonica seedlings, a commercially important tree species, is therefore, important in terms of appropriate forest management under climate change. Although drought hardening, in which seedlings are acclimated to dry conditions in the nursery prior to planting, contributes to increased survival under drought conditions, little is known about the effective irrigation frequency of drought hardening in C. japonica seedlings. In this study, we therefore, examine the effectiveness of different drought-hardening treatments in C. japonica. We first clarify the effects on physiological and morphological traits by comparing three drought-hardening treatments [control (C): Irrigation once daily; mild (M): irrigation once every three days; and severe (S): irrigation once every five days] for one month. Next, to confirm the effects during consecutive dry treatment, we stopped irrigation for 13 days and once again compared the physiological traits between the three drought-hardening treatments. Drought hardening reduced whole-plant transpiration (Ewhole), resulting in conserved water use, and this tendency was particularly evident under the S treatment. Moreover, during consecutive dry treatment, the Ewhole, proportions of non-embolized xylem, and cambium status of basal stem regions were maintained for the longest duration under the S treatment, followed by the M treatment. Our findings suggest that the efficiency of drought hardening increased with drought severity. Furthermore, one month of drought hardening contributed to both water conservation and the maintenance of cell differentiation under consecutive dry treatment, likely increasing the tolerance and survival of C. japonica seedlings under prolonged drought. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Physiology of Tree Response to Drought)
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21 pages, 3565 KiB  
Article
Responses to Water Deficit and Salt Stress in Silver Fir (Abies alba Mill.) Seedlings
by Irina Maria Todea (Morar), Sara González-Orenga, Monica Boscaiu, Mariola Plazas, Adriana F. Sestras, Jaime Prohens, Oscar Vicente and Radu E. Sestras
Forests 2020, 11(4), 395; https://doi.org/10.3390/f11040395 - 2 Apr 2020
Cited by 17 | Viewed by 3710
Abstract
Forest ecosystems are frequently exposed to abiotic stress, which adversely affects their growth, resistance and survival. For silver fir (Abies alba), the physiological and biochemical responses to water and salt stress have not been extensively studied. Responses of one-year-old seedlings to [...] Read more.
Forest ecosystems are frequently exposed to abiotic stress, which adversely affects their growth, resistance and survival. For silver fir (Abies alba), the physiological and biochemical responses to water and salt stress have not been extensively studied. Responses of one-year-old seedlings to a 30-day water stress (withholding irrigation) or salt stress (100, 200 and 300 mM NaCl) treatments were analysed by determining stress-induced changes in growth parameters and different biochemical markers: accumulation of ions, different osmolytes and malondialdehyde (MDA, an oxidative stress biomarker), in the seedlings, and activation of enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidant systems. Both salt and water stress caused growth inhibition. The results obtained indicated that the most relevant responses to drought are based on the accumulation of soluble carbohydrates as osmolytes/osmoprotectants. Responses to high salinity, on the other hand, include the active transport of Na+, Cl− and Ca2+ to the needles, the maintenance of relatively high K+/Na+ ratios and the accumulation of proline and soluble sugars for osmotic balance. Interestingly, relatively high Na+ concentrations were measured in the needles of A. alba seedlings at low external salinity, suggesting that Na+ can contribute to osmotic adjustment as a ‘cheap’ osmoticum, and its accumulation may represent a constitutive mechanism of defence against stress. These responses appear to be efficient enough to avoid the generation of high levels of oxidative stress, in agreement with the small increase in MDA contents and the relatively weak activation of the tested antioxidant systems. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Physiology of Tree Response to Drought)
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22 pages, 2833 KiB  
Article
Tree Water Use, Water Use Efficiency, and Carbon Isotope Discrimination in Relation to Growth Potential in Populus deltoides and Hybrids under Field Conditions
by Christopher A. Maier, Joel Burley, Rachel Cook, Solomon B. Ghezehei, Dennis W. Hazel and Elizabeth G. Nichols
Forests 2019, 10(11), 993; https://doi.org/10.3390/f10110993 - 6 Nov 2019
Cited by 20 | Viewed by 3830
Abstract
We explored the relationship between tree growth, water use, and related hydraulic traits in Populus deltoides Bartr. ex Marsh.and hybrid clones, to examine potential trade-offs between growth and water use efficiency. Nine genotypes, six P. deltoides and three hybrid clones, that represented genotypes [...] Read more.
We explored the relationship between tree growth, water use, and related hydraulic traits in Populus deltoides Bartr. ex Marsh.and hybrid clones, to examine potential trade-offs between growth and water use efficiency. Nine genotypes, six P. deltoides and three hybrid clones, that represented genotypes with high (Group H), intermediate (Group I), and low (Group L) growth performance were selected for study, based on year-two standing stem biomass in a replicated field trial. In year four, tree growth, transpiration (Et), canopy stomatal conductance (Gs), whole-tree hydraulic conductance (Gp), and carbon isotope discrimination (Δ13C) were measured. Tree sap flux was measured continuously using thermal dissipation probes. We hypothesized that Group H genotypes would have increased growth efficiency (GE), increased water use efficiency of production (WUEp, woody biomass growth/Et), lower Δ13C, and greater Gp than slower growing genotypes. Tree GE increased with relative growth rate (RGR), and mean GE in Group H was significantly greater than L, but not I. Tree WUEp ranged between 1.7 and 3.9 kg biomass m3 H2O−1, which increased with RGR. At similar levels of Et, WUEp was significantly greater in Group H (2.45 ± 0.20 kg m−3), compared to I (2.03 ± 0.18 kg m−3) or L (1.72 ± 0.23 kg m−3). Leaf and wood Δ13C scaled positively with stem biomass growth but was not correlated with WUEp. However, at a similar biomass increment, clones in Group H and I had significantly lower leaf Δ13C than Group L. Similarly, Group H clones had a significantly lower wood Δ13C than Group L, supporting our hypothesis of increased WUE in larger trees. Tree physiological and hydraulic traits partially explain differences in WUEp and Δ13C, and suggest that clone selection and management activities that increase tree biomass production will likely increase tree and stand WUE. However, more research is needed to discern the underlying hydraulic mechanisms responsible for the higher WUE exhibited by large trees and distinct clones. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Physiology of Tree Response to Drought)
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