Stable carbon isotope analysis reveals widespread drought stress in boreal black spruce forests

被引:102
作者
Walker, Xanthe J. [1 ]
Mack, Michelle C. [2 ]
Johnstone, Jill F. [1 ]
机构
[1] Univ Saskatchewan, Dept Biol, Saskatoon, SK S7N 5E2, Canada
[2] No Arizona Univ, Dept Biol Sci, Flagstaff, AZ 86011 USA
基金
加拿大自然科学与工程研究理事会; 美国国家科学基金会;
关键词
black spruce; boreal forest; climate change; drought stress; Picea mariana; radial growth; stable carbon isotopes; tree rings; TREE-RINGS; PICEA-MARIANA; WHOLE WOOD; CLIMATE; GROWTH; ALASKA; PRODUCTIVITY; SENSITIVITY; TOPOGRAPHY; DELTA-C-13;
D O I
10.1111/gcb.12893
中图分类号
X176 [生物多样性保护];
学科分类号
090705 ;
摘要
Unprecedented rates of climate warming over the past century have resulted in increased forest stress and mortality worldwide. Decreased tree growth in association with increasing temperatures is generally accepted as a signal of temperature-induced drought stress. However, variations in tree growth alone do not reveal the physiological mechanisms behind recent changes in tree growth. Examining stable carbon isotope composition of tree rings in addition to tree growth can provide a secondary line of evidence for physiological drought stress. In this study, we examined patterns of black spruce growth and carbon isotopic composition in tree rings in response to climate warming and drying in the boreal forest of interior Alaska. We examined trees at three nested scales: landscape, toposequence, and a subsample of trees within the toposequence. At each scale, we studied the potential effects of differences in microclimate and moisture availability by sampling on northern and southern aspects. We found that black spruce radial growth responded negatively to monthly metrics of temperature at all examined scales, and we examined C-13 responses on a subsample of trees as representative of the wider region. The negative C-13 responses to temperature reveal that black spruce trees are experiencing moisture stress on both northern and southern aspects. Contrary to our expectations, C-13 from trees on the northern aspect exhibited the strongest drought signal. Our results highlight the prominence of drought stress in the boreal forest of interior Alaska. We conclude that if temperatures continue to warm, we can expect drought-induced productivity declines across large regions of the boreal forest, even for trees located in cool and moist landscape positions.
引用
收藏
页码:3102 / 3113
页数:12
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