When density matters : the spatial balance between early and latewood

Royo-Navascues, Maria (author), Martinez Del Castillo, Edurne (author), Serrano-Notivoli, Roberto (author), Tejedor, Ernesto (author), Novak, Klemen (author), Longares, Luis Alberto (author), Saz Sánchez, Miguel Ángel (author), de Luis Arrillaga, Martín (author)

Understanding the influence of the current climate on the distribution, composition, and carbon storage capacity of Mediterranean tree species is key to determining future pathways under a warmer and drier climate scenario. Here, we evaluated the influence of biotic and environmental factors on earlywood (EW) and latewood (LW) growth in Aleppo pine (Pinus halepensis Mill.). Our investigation was based on a dense dendrochronological network (71 sites), which covered the entire distribution area of the species in the Iberian Peninsula (around 119.652 km$^2$), and a high-resolution climate dataset of the Western Mediterranean area. We used generalized linearmixed models to determine the spatial and temporal variations of EW and LW across the species distribution. Our results showed an intense but differentiated climatic influence on both EW and LW growth components. The climatic influence explained significant variations across the environmental gradients in the study area, which suggested an important adaptation through phenotypic plasticity and local adaptation to varying climatic conditions. In addition, we detected a clear spatial tradeoff between efficiency and safety strategy in the growth patterns across the species distribution. Additionally, in more productive areas, the trees presented a higher proportion of EW (more efficient to water transport), while, in more xeric conditions, the LW proportion increased (more safety to avoid embolisms), implying an adaptation to more frequent drought episodes and a higher capacity of carbon depletion. We therefore concluded that Mediterranean forests adapted to dryer conditions might be more efficient as carbon reservoirs than forests growing in wetter areas. Finally, we advocated for the need to consider wood density (EW/LW proportion) when modeling current and future forest carbon sequestrations.

• Language: English
• Keywords: earlywood, latewood, Pinus halepensis, Aleppo pine, dendrochronology, droughts, Iberian Peninsula
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: BF - Biotechnical Faculty
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2021
• Number of pages: 17 str.
• Numbering: Vol. 12, iss. 7, art. 818
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-136191
• UDC: 630*1
• ISSN on article: 1999-4907
• DOI: 10.3390/f12070818
• COBISS.SI-ID: 67941891
• Publication date in RUL: 19.04.2022

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Forests
• Shortened title: Forests
• Publisher: MDPI
• ISSN: 1999-4907
• COBISS.SI-ID: 3872166

Licences

• License: CC BY 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Description: This is the standard Creative Commons license that gives others maximum freedom to do what they want with the work as long as they credit the author.
• Licensing start date: 01.07.2021

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Keywords: Iberski polotok, alepski bor, rani les, kasni les, klimatske lastnosti, prirast