Journal
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Volume 109, Issue 1, Pages 233-237Publisher
NATL ACAD SCIENCES
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1107891109
Keywords
carbon starvation; ecosystem shift; biosphere-atmosphere feedbacks; drought impacts; global change ecology
Categories
Funding
- Bill Lane Center for the American West
- Morrison Institute
- Phi Beta Kappa Northern California Association
- Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve
- Stanford Biology small grants program
- Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science
- DOE [DE-AC05-06OR23100]
- Division Of Integrative Organismal Systems
- Direct For Biological Sciences [743148] Funding Source: National Science Foundation
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Forest ecosystems store approximately 45% of the carbon found in terrestrial ecosystems, but they are sensitive to climate-induced dieback. Forest die-off constitutes a large uncertainty in projections of climate impacts on terrestrial ecosystems, climate-ecosystem interactions, and carbon-cycle feedbacks. Current understanding of the physiological mechanisms mediating climate-induced forest mortality limits the ability to model or project these threshold events. We report here a direct and in situ study of the mechanisms underlying recent widespread and climate-induced trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides) forest mortality in western North America. We find substantial evidence of hydraulic failure of roots and branches linked to landscape patterns of canopy and root mortality in this species. On the contrary, we find no evidence that drought stress led to depletion of carbohydrate reserves. Our results illuminate proximate mechanisms underpinning recent aspen forest mortality and provide guidance for understanding and projecting forest die-offs under climate change.
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