Journal
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
Volume 690, Issue -, Pages 1254-1267Publisher
ELSEVIER
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.06.515
Keywords
Abies alba; Pinus sylvestris; Dendrochemistry; Wood density; X-ray fluorescence; Itrax; ICP-OES
Categories
Funding
- Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness [CGL2015-69186-C2-1-R, CGL2013-48843-C2-1-R, AMB95-0160, CGL2011-26654]
- EU
- FEDER funds [IJCI-2015-25845, FJCI 2016-30121]
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Drought-induced forest dieback is causing reductions in productivity, increasing tree mortality and impairing terrestrial carbon uptake worldwide. However, the role played by long-term nutrient imbalances during drought-induced dieback is still unknown. To improve our knowledge on the relationships between dieback and nutrient imbalances, we analysed wood anatomical traits (tree-ring width and wood density), soil properties and long-term chemical information in tree-ring wood (1900-2010) by non-destructive Micro X-ray fluorescence (mu XRF) and destructive (ICP-OES) techniques. We studied two major European conifers with ongoing drought-induced dieback in mesic (Abies alba, silver fir) and xeric (Pinus sylvestris, Scots pine) sites. In each site we compared coexisting declining (D) and non-declining (ND) trees. We used dendrochronology and generalized additive and linear mixed models to analyse trends in tree-ring nutrients and their relationships with wood traits. The D trees presented lower growth and higher minimum wood density than ND trees, corresponding to a smaller lumen area of earlywood tracheids and thus a lower theoretical hydraulic conductivity. These differences in growth and wood-anatomy were more marked in silver fir than in Scots pine. Moreover, most of the chemical elements showed higher concentrations in D than in ND trees during the last two-five decades (e.g., Mn, K and Mg), while Ca and Na increased in the sapwood of ND trees. The Mn concentrations, and related ratios (Ca:Mn, Mn:Al and P:Mn) showed the highest differences between D and ND trees for both tree species. These findings suggest that a reduced hydraulic conductivity, consistent with hydraulic impairment, is affecting the use of Pin D trees, making them more prone to drought-induced damage. The retrospective quantifications of Mn ratios may be used as early-warning signals of impending dieback. (C) 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available