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Warm springs alter timing but not total growth of temperate deciduous trees

Author

Listed:
  • Cameron Dow

    (Conservation Ecology Center, Smithsonian’s National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute
    Purdue University)

  • Albert Y. Kim

    (Conservation Ecology Center, Smithsonian’s National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute
    Statistical & Data Sciences, Smith College)

  • Loïc D’Orangeville

    (Harvard Forest
    University of New Brunswick)

  • Erika B. Gonzalez-Akre

    (Conservation Ecology Center, Smithsonian’s National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute)

  • Ryan Helcoski

    (Conservation Ecology Center, Smithsonian’s National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute)

  • Valentine Herrmann

    (Conservation Ecology Center, Smithsonian’s National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute)

  • Grant L. Harley

    (University of Idaho)

  • Justin T. Maxwell

    (Indiana University)

  • Ian R. McGregor

    (Conservation Ecology Center, Smithsonian’s National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute
    North Carolina State University)

  • William J. McShea

    (Conservation Ecology Center, Smithsonian’s National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute)

  • Sean M. McMahon

    (Smithsonian Environmental Research Center
    Forest Global Earth Observatory, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute)

  • Neil Pederson

    (Harvard Forest)

  • Alan J. Tepley

    (Conservation Ecology Center, Smithsonian’s National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute
    Canadian Forest Service, Northern Forestry Centre
    Cal Poly Humboldt University)

  • Kristina J. Anderson-Teixeira

    (Conservation Ecology Center, Smithsonian’s National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute
    Forest Global Earth Observatory, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute)

Abstract

As the climate changes, warmer spring temperatures are causing earlier leaf-out1–3 and commencement of CO2 uptake1,3 in temperate deciduous forests, resulting in a tendency towards increased growing season length3 and annual CO2 uptake1,3–7. However, less is known about how spring temperatures affect tree stem growth8,9, which sequesters carbon in wood that has a long residence time in the ecosystem10,11. Here we show that warmer spring temperatures shifted stem diameter growth of deciduous trees earlier but had no consistent effect on peak growing season length, maximum growth rates, or annual growth, using dendrometer band measurements from 440 trees across two forests. The latter finding was confirmed on the centennial scale by 207 tree-ring chronologies from 108 forests across eastern North America, where annual ring width was far more sensitive to temperatures during the peak growing season than in the spring. These findings imply that any extra CO2 uptake in years with warmer spring temperatures4,5 does not significantly contribute to increased sequestration in long-lived woody stem biomass. Rather, contradicting projections from global carbon cycle models1,12, our empirical results imply that warming spring temperatures are unlikely to increase woody productivity enough to strengthen the long-term CO2 sink of temperate deciduous forests.

Suggested Citation

  • Cameron Dow & Albert Y. Kim & Loïc D’Orangeville & Erika B. Gonzalez-Akre & Ryan Helcoski & Valentine Herrmann & Grant L. Harley & Justin T. Maxwell & Ian R. McGregor & William J. McShea & Sean M. McM, 2022. "Warm springs alter timing but not total growth of temperate deciduous trees," Nature, Nature, vol. 608(7923), pages 552-557, August.
  • Handle: RePEc:nat:nature:v:608:y:2022:i:7923:d:10.1038_s41586-022-05092-3
    DOI: 10.1038/s41586-022-05092-3
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Rui Yin & Wenkuan Qin & Xudong Wang & Dong Xie & Hao Wang & Hongyang Zhao & Zhenhua Zhang & Jin-Sheng He & Martin Schädler & Paul Kardol & Nico Eisenhauer & Biao Zhu, 2023. "Experimental warming causes mismatches in alpine plant-microbe-fauna phenology," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-9, December.
    2. Xianliang Zhang & Tim Rademacher & Hongyan Liu & Lu Wang & Rubén D. Manzanedo, 2023. "Fading regulation of diurnal temperature ranges on drought-induced growth loss for drought-tolerant tree species," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-10, December.

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