Journal article
Asymmetric effects of hydroclimate extremes on eastern US tree growth: Implications on current demographic shifts and climate variability
Global change biology, Vol.30(8), e17474
08/2024
DOI: 10.1111/gcb.17474
PMID: 39162051
Abstract
Forests around the world are experiencing changes due to climate variability and human land use. How these changes interact and influence the vulnerability of forests are not well understood. In the eastern United States, well‐documented anthropogenic disturbances and land‐use decisions, such as logging and fire suppression, have influenced forest species assemblages, leading to a demographic shift from forests dominated by xeric species to those dominated by mesic species. Contemporarily, the climate has changed and is expected to continue to warm and produce higher evaporative demand, imposing stronger drought stress on forest communities. Here, we use an extensive network of tree‐ring records from common hardwood species across ~100 sites and ~1300 trees in the eastern United States to examine the magnitude of growth response to both wet and dry climate extremes. We find that growth reductions during drought exceed the positive growth response to pluvials. Mesic species such as Liriodendron tulipifera and Acer saccharum, which are becoming more dominant, are more sensitive to drought than more xeric species, such as oaks (Quercus) and hickory (Carya), especially at moderate and extreme drought intensities. Although more extreme droughts produce a larger annual growth reduction, mild droughts resulted in the largest cumulative growth decreases due to their higher frequency. When using global climate model projections, all scenarios show drought frequency increasing substantially (3–9 times more likely) by 2100. Thus, the ongoing demographic shift toward more mesic species in the eastern United States combined with drier conditions results in larger drought‐induced growth declines, suggesting that drought will have an even larger impact on aboveground carbon uptake in the future in the eastern United States.
In the eastern United States, land use decisions have impacted what species are present in forests. The climate of the region has also changed and is expected to continue to warm and produce stronger drought stress on forest communities. Using an extensive network of tree‐ring records, we found that species that prefer wetter environments, which are becoming more common in forests, are more sensitive to drought. Thus, the ongoing species shift in the eastern United States combined with drier conditions suggests that drought will have an even larger impact on aboveground carbon uptake in the future in the eastern United States.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Asymmetric effects of hydroclimate extremes on eastern US tree growth: Implications on current demographic shifts and climate variability
- Creators
- Justin T. Maxwell - Indiana University BloomingtonTsun Fung Au - University of Michigan–Ann ArborSteven A. Kannenberg - West Virginia UniversityGrant L. Harley - University of IdahoMatthew P. Dannenberg - University of IowaDarren L. Ficklin - Indiana University BloomingtonScott M. Robeson - Indiana University BloomingtonMacarena Férriz - Indiana University BloomingtonMichael C. Benson - University of Illinois Urbana-ChampaignBenjamin R. Lockwood - Pennsylvania State UniversityKimberly A. Novick - Indiana University BloomingtonRichard P. Phillips - Indiana University BloomingtonMaegen L. Rochner - University of LouisvilleNeil Pederson - Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Global change biology, Vol.30(8), e17474
- Publisher
- WILEY
- DOI
- 10.1111/gcb.17474
- PMID
- 39162051
- ISSN
- 1354-1013
- eISSN
- 1365-2486
- Number of pages
- 15
- Grant note
- Indiana University Vice Provost for Research Faculty Research Program Bloomington Harvard Forest Bullard Fellowship, Harvard University National Institute of Food and Agriculture (2017‐67013‐26191) Division of Atmospheric and Geospace Sciences (1805276; 1805617)
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 08/2024
- Academic Unit
- Geographical and Sustainability Sciences
- Record Identifier
- 9984699520402771
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