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Dendroecological Wood Anatomy and Xylogenesis

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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 2021) | Viewed by 21347

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Dr. Ignacio García-González

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Departamento de Botánica, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, EPSE, Campus Terra, 27002 Lugo, Spain
Interests: tree-ring dating; dendroecology; wood anatomy; forest history
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Dear Colleagues,

In recent years, dendrochronology analysis has evolved from the ‘classical’ analysis of tree-ring width to more functional-related trends in order to better understand the role of environmental factors on tree performance. Among them, wood anatomy is one of the fields that has deserved more attention, probably due to its close link to physiological processes within the tree. For the last two decades, the measurement of anatomical traits such as conduit size (cross-sectional surface of tracheids for conifers, and vessels for hardwoods) has been proven to broaden the possibilities to establish robust climate–growth relationships for many tree species and thus contribute to the study of their behavior to face global change. Moreover, the recent measurement of other anatomical traits beyond conductive elements, or the use of features such as intra-annual density fluctuations (IADFs) also constitute an additional source of information. However, understanding the environmental responses of trees requires not only the existence of a strong association but also the existence of reliable cause–effect relationships. The analysis of the dynamics of wood formation (xylogenesis) is a powerful tool to establish this link. Studies focusing on xylogenesis as well as other related processes such as hydraulic architecture and carbon storage dynamics also constitute raising fields of interest. In this Special Issue, we welcome all studies dealing with tree-ring formation and its relation to the environment, from cambial activity to the resulting wood structure, with a special focus on those characteristics or processes that provide information at an annual or intra-annual scale. It is our intention that the contributed studies help to better infer the future behavior of forests and the carbon cycle in a scenario of global change.

Prof. Dr. Ignacio García-González
Guest Editor

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Keywords

Tree ring
Dendrochronology
Quantitative wood anatomy
Image analysis
Conduit size
Hydraulic structure
Cambial dynamics
Climate–growth relationships

Published Papers (8 papers)

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Research

16 pages, 73192 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Evidences of Different Drought Sensitivity in Xylem Cell Developmental Processes in South Siberia Scots Pines

by Liliana V. Belokopytova, Patrick Fonti, Elena A. Babushkina, Dina F. Zhirnova and Eugene A. Vaganov

Forests 2020, 11(12), 1294; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/f11121294 - 30 Nov 2020

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2249

Abstract

Research Highlights: This study emphasized the importance of multi-parameter analyses along ecological gradients for a more holistic understanding of the complex mechanism of tree-ring formation. Background and Objectives: The analysis of climatic signals from cell anatomical features measured along series of tree-rings provides mechanistic details on how environmental drivers rule tree-ring formation. However, the processes of cell development might not be independent, limiting the interpretation of the cell-based climatic signal. In this study, we investigated the variability, intercorrelations and climatic drivers of wood anatomical parameters, resulting from consequent cell developmental processes. Materials and Methods: The study was performed on thin cross-sections from wood cores sampled at ~1.3 m stem height from mature trees of Pinus sylvestris L. growing at five sampling sites along an ecological gradient from cold and wet to hot and dry within continental Southern Siberia. Tracheid number per radial file, their diameters and wall thicknesses were measured along the radial direction from microphotographs for five trees per site. These parameters were then averaged at each site for earlywood and latewood over the last 50 tree rings to build site chronologies. Their correlations among themselves and with 21-day moving climatic series were calculated. Results: Our findings showed that wood formation was not simply the result of environmentally driven independent subprocesses of cell division, enlargement and wall deposition. These processes appear to be interconnected within each zone of the ring, as well as between earlywood and latewood. However, earlywood parameters tend to have more distinctive climatic responses and lower intercorrelations. On the other hand, there are clear indications that the mechanisms of cell division and enlargement share similar climatic drivers and are more sensitive to water limitation than the process of wall deposition. Conclusions: Indications were provided that (i) earlywood formation left a legacy on latewood formation, (ii) cell division and enlargement shared more similar drivers between each other than with wall deposition, and (iii) the mechanism of cell division and enlargement along the gradient switch from water to heat limitations at different thresholds than wall deposition. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Dendroecological Wood Anatomy and Xylogenesis)

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22 pages, 8849 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Relating Climate, Drought and Radial Growth in Broadleaf Mediterranean Tree and Shrub Species: A New Approach to Quantify Climate-Growth Relationships

by J. Julio Camarero and Álvaro Rubio-Cuadrado

Forests 2020, 11(12), 1250; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/f11121250 - 25 Nov 2020

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2811

Abstract

The quantification of climate–growth relationships is a fundamental step in tree-ring sciences. This allows the assessment of functional responses to climate warming, particularly in biodiversity and climate-change hotspots including the Mediterranean Basin. In this region, broadleaf tree and shrub species of pre-Mediterranean, subtropical origin, have to withstand increased aridification trends. However, they have not been widely studied to assess their long-term growth responses to climate and drought. Since these species evolved under less seasonal and wetter conditions than strictly Mediterranean species, we hypothesized that their growth would mainly respond to higher precipitation and water availability from spring to early summer. Here, we quantified climate–growth relationships in five of these broadleaf species showing different leaf phenology and wood type (Pistacia terebinthus L., Pistacia lentiscus L., Arbutus unedo L., Celtis australis L., and Laurus nobilis L.) by using dendrochronology. We calculated Pearson correlations between crossdated, indexed, mean ring width series of each species (chronologies) and monthly climate variables (mean temperature, total precipitation). We also calculated correlations between the species’ chronologies and a drought index on 7-day scales. Lastly, we compared the correlation analyses with “climwin” analyses based on an information-theoretic approach and subjected to cross-validation and randomization tests. As expected, the growth of all species was enhanced in response to wet and cool conditions during spring and early summer. In some species (P. lentiscus, A. unedo, C. australis,) high prior-winter precipitation also enhanced growth. Growth of most species strongly responded to 9-month droughts and the correlations peaked from May to July, except in L. nobilis which showed moderate responses. The “climwin” analyses refined the correlation analyses by (i) showing the higher explanatory power of precipitation (30%) vs. temperature (7%) models, (ii) selecting the most influential climate windows with June as the median month, and (iii) providing significant support to the precipitation model in the case of P. terebinthus confirming that the radial growth of this species is a robust proxy of hydroclimate variability. We argue that “climwin” and similar frameworks based on information-theoretic approaches should be applied by dendroecologists to critically assess and quantify climate–growth relationships in woody plants with dendrochronological potential. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Dendroecological Wood Anatomy and Xylogenesis)

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16 pages, 12266 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Linkages between Climate, Radial Growth and Defoliation in Abies pinsapo Forests from Southern Spain

by Rafael M. Navarro-Cerrillo, Antonio Gazol, Carlos Rodríguez-Vallejo, Rubén D. Manzanedo, Guillermo Palacios-Rodríguez and J. J. Camarero

Forests 2020, 11(9), 1002; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/f11091002 - 17 Sep 2020

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2928

Abstract

Systematic forest networks of health monitoring have been established to follow changes in tree vigor and mortality. These networks often lack long-term growth data, but they could be complemented with tree ring data, since both defoliation and radial growth are proxies of changes in tree vigor. For instance, a severe water shortage should reduce growth and increase tree defoliation in drought-prone areas. However, the effects of climatic stress and drought on growth and defoliation could also depend on tree age. To address these issues, we compared growth and defoliation data with recent climate variability and drought severity in Abies pinsapo old and young trees sampled in Southern Spain, where a systematic health network (Andalucía Permanent Plot Network) was established. Our aims were: (i) to assess the growth sensitivity of old and young A. pinsapo trees and (ii) to test if relative changes in radial growth were related with recent defoliation, for instance, after severe droughts. We also computed the resilience indices to quantify how old and young trees recovered growth after recent droughts. Wet-cool conditions during the prior autumn and the current early summer improved the growth of old trees, whereas late-spring wet conditions enhanced the growth of young trees. Old trees were more sensitive to wet and sunny conditions in the early summer than young trees. Old and young trees were more responsive to the Standardized Precipitation-Evapotranspiration Index drought index of June–July and July–August calculated at short (one–three months) and mid (three–six months) time scales, respectively. Old trees presented a higher resistance to a severe drought in 1995 than young trees. A positive association was found between stand defoliation and relative growth. Combining monitoring and tree ring networks is useful for the detection of early warning signals of dieback in similar drought-prone forests. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Dendroecological Wood Anatomy and Xylogenesis)

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29 pages, 2528 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Direct Versus Indirect Tree Ring Reconstruction of Annual Discharge of Chemora River, Algeria

by David M. Meko, Ramzi Touchan, Dalila Kherchouche and Said Slimani

Forests 2020, 11(9), 986; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/f11090986 - 14 Sep 2020

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1737

Abstract

Annual river discharge is a critical variable for water resources planning and management. Tree rings are widely used to reconstruct annual discharge, but errors can be large when tree growth fails to respond commensurately to hydrologically important seasonal components of climate. This paper contrasts direct and indirect reconstruction as statistical approaches to discharge reconstruction for the Chemora River, in semi-arid northeastern Algeria, and explores indirect reconstruction as a diagnostic tool in reconstruction error analysis. We define direct reconstruction as predictions from regression of annual discharge on tree ring data, and indirect reconstruction as predictions from a four-stage process: (1) regression of precipitation on tree rings, (2) application of the regression model to get reconstructed precipitation for grid cells over the basin, (3) routing of reconstructed precipitation through a climatological water balance (WB) model, and (4) summing model runoff over cells to get the reconstructed discharge at a gage location. For comparative purposes, the potential predictors in both modeling approaches are the same principal components of tree ring width chronologies from a network of drought-sensitive sites of Pinus halepensis and Cedrus atlantica in northern Algeria. Results suggest that both modeling approaches can yield statistically significant reconstructions for the Chemora River. Greater accuracy and simplicity of the direct method are countered by conceptual physical advantages of the indirect method. The WB modeling inherent to the indirect method is useful as a diagnostic tool in error analysis of discharge reconstruction, points out the low and declining importance of snowmelt to the river discharge, and gives clues to the cause of severe underestimation of discharge in the outlier high-discharge year 1996. Results show that indirect reconstruction would benefit most in this basin from tree ring resolution of seasonal precipitation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Dendroecological Wood Anatomy and Xylogenesis)

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10 pages, 2130 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Approaches to Understand Historical Changes of Mercury in Tree Rings of Japanese Cypress in Industrial Areas

by Young Sang Ahn, Raae Jung and Jae-Hyun Moon

Forests 2020, 11(8), 800; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/f11080800 - 25 Jul 2020

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 1938

Abstract

Historical changes of mercury (Hg) concentrations in tree rings of Japanese cypress (Chamaecyparis obtusa) and the role of dendrochemistry over the last 50 years in Yeosu and Gwangyang National Industrial Complexes of South Korea were evaluated. Mercury uptake in trees were found to be bidirectional and variable depending on atmospheric Hg conditions. With low atmospheric Hg concentrations, Hg concentrations in tree rings were significantly influenced by soil Hg concentrations via roots. With high atmospheric Hg concentrations, Hg concentrations in tree rings were dominated by atmospheric Hg uptake via foliage. Patterns of Hg concentration in sampling sites were divided into: (1) a linear increase in low concentration of Hg originated from soils via roots during 1967–1977 and (2) an elevated and constant concentration with spatial variation of Hg concentration due to foliar uptake from atmosphere during 1978–2014. Between 1967 and 1977, when shrubs and vegetation senesced each year, there was an annual source of Hg in soils due to continued deposition of Hg to soil via litterfall and debris. Thus, Hg concentration was increased over time. During these periods, Hg concentrations in tree rings reflected uptakes of Hg through roots under young forest and low atmosphere Hg conditions. Whether tree rings can serve as reliable proxies for atmosphere Hg concentrations remain unclear due to Hg uptakes from soils and limits from atmosphere under low atmospheric Hg conditions. Intensified chemical plants and steel mills have continued throughout Yeosu and Gwangyang industrial areas since late 1970s, resulting in high Hg emissions. Hg concentrations in tree rings during 1978–2014 showed elevated and constant levels. In addition, tree ring Hg concentrations at study sites were increased gradually with decreasing distance from industrial areas, with a high concentration of 11.15 ng/g at the Yeosu site located the nearest to industrial areas and a low concentration of 4.34 ng/g at the Suncheon site which was the farthest away from industrial areas. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Dendroecological Wood Anatomy and Xylogenesis)

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18 pages, 2997 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Plastic Responses of Magnolia schiedeana Schltdl., a Relict-Endangered Mexican Cloud Forest Tree, to Climatic Events: Evidences from Leaf Venation and Wood Vessel Anatomy

by Ernesto C. Rodríguez-Ramírez, Jeymy Adriana Valdez-Nieto, José Antonio Vázquez-García, Gregg Dieringer and Isolda Luna-Vega

Forests 2020, 11(7), 737; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/f11070737 - 07 Jul 2020

Cited by 13 | Viewed by 2744

Abstract

The Mexican tropical montane cloud forest trees occur under special and limited climatic conditions; many of these species are particularly more sensitive to drought stress. Hydric transport in leaf veins and wood features are influenced by climatic variations and individual intrinsic factors, which are essential processes influencing xylogenesis. We assessed the plastic response to climatic oscillation in two relict-endangered Magnolia schiedeana Schltdl. populations and associated the architecture of leaf vein traits with microenvironmental factors and wood anatomy features with climatic variables. The microenvironmental factors differed significantly between the two Magnolia populations and significantly influenced variation in M. schiedeana leaf venation traits. The independent chronologies developed for the two study forests were dated back 171–190 years. The climate-growth analysis showed that M. schiedeana growth is strongly related to summer conditions and growth responses to T_max, T_min, and precipitation. Our study highlights the use of dendroecological tools to detect drought effects. This association also describes modifications in vessel traits recorded before, during, and after drought events. In conclusion, our results advance our understanding of the leaf vein traits and wood anatomy plasticity in response to microenvironmental fluctuations and climate in the tropical montane cloud forest. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Dendroecological Wood Anatomy and Xylogenesis)

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21 pages, 5088 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Biogeographic, Atmospheric, and Climatic Factors Influencing Tree Growth in Mediterranean Aleppo Pine Forests

by J. Julio Camarero, Raúl Sánchez-Salguero, Montserrat Ribas, Ramzi Touchan, Laia Andreu-Hayles, Isabel Dorado-Liñán, David M. Meko and Emilia Gutiérrez

Forests 2020, 11(7), 736; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/f11070736 - 06 Jul 2020

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 2749

Abstract

There is a lack of knowledge on how tree species respond to climatic constraints like water shortages and related atmospheric patterns across broad spatial and temporal scales. These assessments are needed to project which populations will better tolerate or respond to global warming across the tree species distribution range. Warmer and drier conditions have been forecasted for the Mediterranean Basin, where Aleppo pine (Pinus halepensis Mill.) is the most widely distributed conifer in dry sites. This species shows plastic growth responses to climate, being particularly sensitive to drought. We evaluated how 32 Aleppo pine forests responded to climate during the second half of the 20th century by using dendrochronology. Climatic constraints of radial growth were inferred by fitting the Vaganov–Shashkin (VS-Lite) growth model to ring-width data from our Aleppo pine forest network. Our findings reported that Aleppo pine growth decreased and showed the highest common coherence among trees in dry, continental sites located in southeastern and eastern inland Spain and Algeria. In contrast, growth increased in wetter sites located in northeastern Spain. Overall, across the Aleppo pine network tree growth was enhanced by prior wet winters and cool and wet springs, whilst warm summers were associated with less growth. The relationships between site ring-width chronologies were higher in nearby forests. This explains why Aleppo pine growth was distinctly linked to indices of atmospheric circulation patterns depending on the geographical location of the forests. The western forests were more influenced by moisture and temperature conditions driven by the Western Mediterranean Oscillation (WeMO) and the Northern Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), the southern forests by the East Atlantic (EA) and the august NAO, while the Balearic, Tunisian and northeastern sites by the Arctic Oscillation (AO) and the Scandinavian pattern (SCA). The climatic constraints for Aleppo pine tree growth and its biogeographical variability were well captured by the VS-Lite model. The model performed better in dry and continental sites, showing strong growth coherence between trees and climatic limitations of growth. Further research using similar broad-scale approaches to climate–growth relationships in drought-prone regions deserves more attention. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Dendroecological Wood Anatomy and Xylogenesis)

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19 pages, 2983 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Xylem Plasticity in Pinus pinaster and Quercus ilex Growing at Sites with Different Water Availability in the Mediterranean Region: Relations between Intra-Annual Density Fluctuations and Environmental Conditions

by Angela Balzano, Giovanna Battipaglia, Paolo Cherubini and Veronica De Micco

Forests 2020, 11(4), 379; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/f11040379 - 27 Mar 2020

Cited by 14 | Viewed by 2944

Abstract

Fluctuations in climatic conditions during the growing season are recorded in Mediterranean tree-rings and often result in intra-annual density fluctuations (IADFs). Dendroecology and quantitative wood anatomy analyses were used to characterize the relations between the variability of IADF traits and climatic drivers in Pinus pinaster Aiton and Quercus ilex L. growing at sites with different water availability on the Elba island in Central Italy. Our results showed that both species present high xylem plasticity resulting in the formation of L-type IADFs (L-IADFs), consisting of earlywood-like cells in latewood. The occurrence of such IADFs was linked to rain events following periods of summer drought. The formation of L-IADFs in both species increased the hydraulic conductivity late in the growing season, due to their larger lumen area in comparison to “true latewood”. The two species expressed greater similarity under arid conditions, as unfavorable climates constrained trait variation. Wood density, measured as the percentage of cell walls over total xylem area, IADF frequency, as well as conduit lumen area and vessel frequency, specifically in the hardwood species, proved to be efficient proxies to encode climate signals recorded in the xylem. The response of these anatomical traits to climatic variations was found to be species- and site-specific. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Dendroecological Wood Anatomy and Xylogenesis)

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