Journal
TREE PHYSIOLOGY
Volume 35, Issue 10, Pages 1095-1105Publisher
OXFORD UNIV PRESS
DOI: 10.1093/treephys/tpv079
Keywords
C-13; dual isotope approach; O-18; Quercus petraea; Quercus robur; water shortage; wood
Categories
Funding
- Swiss National Science Foundation (SNF)
- Velux Foundation
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An increase in temperature along with a decrease in summer precipitation in Central Europe will result in an increased frequency of drought events and gradually lead to a change in species composition in forest ecosystems. In the present study, young oaks (Quercus robur L. and Quercus petraea (Matt.) Liebl.) were transplanted into large mesocosms and exposed for 3 years to experimental warming and a drought treatment with yearly increasing intensities. Carbon and oxygen isotopic (delta C-13 and delta O-18) patterns were analysed in leaf tissue and tree-ring cellulose and linked to leaf physiological measures and tree-ring growth. Warming had no effect on the isotopic patterns in leaves and tree rings, while drought increased delta O-18 and delta C-13. Under severe drought, an unexpected isotopic pattern, with a decrease in delta O-18, was observed in tree rings but not in leaves. This decrease in delta O-18 could not be explained by concurrent physiological analyses and is not supported by current physiological knowledge. Analysis of intra-annual tree-ring growth revealed a drought-induced growth cessation that interfered with the record of isotopic signals imprinted on recently formed leaf carbohydrates. This missing record indicates isotopic uncoupling of leaves and tree rings, which may have serious implications for the interpretation of tree-ring isotopes, particularly from trees that experienced growth-limiting stresses.
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