Rapid functional shifts across high latitude forests over the last 65 years

Global environmental changes have strongly affected forest demographic rates, particularly amplified tree mortality in high latitude forests (e.g., two to five times greater mortality probability over the half-century). Although forest functional composition is critical for multitrophic biodiversity and ecosystem functioning, it remains unclear how functional composition has changed over time across large high latitude regions, which have been warming twice the rate of the globe as a whole. Using extensive spatial and long-term forest inventory data (17,107 plots monitored 1951-2016) across Canada, we found that after accounting for stand age-dependent functional shifts, functional composition shifted toward fast-growing deciduous broadleaved trees and higher drought tolerance over time. The temporal shift toward deciduous broadleaved trees was consistent across the baseline climate. However, over the study period, drought tolerance increased (or shade tolerance decreased) by 300% in colder boreal regions, while drought tolerance did not shift significantly in warmer temperate climates. A further analysis accounting for temporal changes in atmospheric CO2, temperature, and water availability indicated that the functional composition of colder regions shifted toward drought tolerance more rapidly with rising CO2 than warmer regions, suggesting the greater vulnerability of boreal forests than temperate forests under ongoing global environmental changes. Future ecosystem management practices should consider spatial differences in functional responses to global environmental change, focusing on high latitude forests experiencing higher rates of warming and compositional changes.

Automated summary

The study found that the functional composition of Canadian forests shifted towards fast-growing deciduous broadleaved trees and higher drought tolerance over time. Over the study period, drought tolerance increased significantly in colder boreal regions, while temperate climates did not undergo significant changes.