Younger trees in the upper canopy are more sensitive but also more resilient to drought

Tsun Fung Au; Justin T Maxwell; Scott M Robeson; Jinbao Li; Sacha M. O Siani; Kimberly A Novick; Matthew P Dannenberg; Richard P Phillips; Teng Li; Zhenju Chen; Jonathan Lenoir

doi:10.1038/s41558-022-01528-w

Back

Younger trees in the upper canopy are more sensitive but also more resilient to drought

Journal article

Peer reviewed

Younger trees in the upper canopy are more sensitive but also more resilient to drought

Tsun Fung Au, Justin T Maxwell, Scott M Robeson, Jinbao Li, Sacha M. O Siani, Kimberly A Novick, Matthew P Dannenberg, Richard P Phillips, Teng Li, Zhenju Chen, …

Nature climate change, Vol.12(12), pp.1168-1174

12/01/2022

DOI: 10.1038/s41558-022-01528-w

Files and links (1)

url

https://u-picardie.hal.science/hal-03928624View

Open Access

Abstract

As forest demographics are altered by the global decline of old trees and reforestation efforts, younger trees are expected to have an increasingly important influence on carbon sequestration and forest ecosystem functioning. However, the relative resilience of these younger trees to climate change stressors is poorly understood. Here we examine age-dependent drought sensitivity of over 20,000 individual trees across five continents and show that younger trees in the upper canopy layer have larger growth reductions during drought. Angiosperms show greater age differences than gymnosperms, and age-dependent sensitivity is more pronounced in humid climates compared with more arid regions. However, younger canopy-dominant trees also recover more quickly from drought. The future combination of increased drought events and an increased proportion of younger canopy-dominant trees suggests a larger adverse impact on carbon stocks in the short term, while the higher resilience of younger canopy-dominant trees could positively affect carbon stocks over time. The authors analyse the impacts of drought on tree growth for various species of various ages to assess the influences of forest demographic shift on future drought responses. The increasing proportion of young trees showing greater growth reduction to drought raises concern on future carbon storage.

Age

Age differences

Angiosperms

Arid climates

Arid regions

Arid zones

Canopies

Canopy

Carbon

Carbon sequestration

Carbon storage

Climate

Climate change

Demographics

Demography

Drought

Environmental impact

Forest ecosystems

Forests

Growth

Gymnosperms

Humid climates

Plant cover

Reforestation

Resilience

Sensitivity

Stocks

Storage

Terrestrial ecosystems

Tree growth

Trees

Details

Title: Subtitle: Younger trees in the upper canopy are more sensitive but also more resilient to drought
Creators: Tsun Fung Au - University of Michigan
Justin T Maxwell
Scott M Robeson
Jinbao Li
Sacha M. O Siani
Kimberly A Novick
Matthew P Dannenberg
Richard P Phillips
Teng Li
Zhenju Chen
Jonathan Lenoir
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: Nature climate change, Vol.12(12), pp.1168-1174
DOI: 10.1038/s41558-022-01528-w
ISSN: 1758-678X
eISSN: 1758-6798
Publisher: Nature Publishing Group
Grant note: DOI: 10.13039/100006733, name: Indiana University; name: Hong Kong Research Grants Council; DOI: 10.13039/501100001809, name: National Natural Science Foundation of China, award: 42105155, 41888101, 41871027, 41601045, 41571094, 31570632
Language: English
Date published: 12/01/2022
Academic Unit: Geographical and Sustainability Sciences
Record Identifier: 9984322059202771

Metrics

112 Record Views

81 Times Cited - Web of Science