Response of beech and fir to different light intensities along the Carpathian and Dinaric Mountains

0586500 - ÚVGZ 2025 RIV CH eng J - Journal Article
Čater, M. - Adamič, P. C. - Dařenová, Eva
Response of beech and fir to different light intensities along the Carpathian and Dinaric Mountains.
Frontiers in Plant Science. Roč. 15, MAY (2024), č. článku 1380275. ISSN 1664-462X. E-ISSN 1664-462X
R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GF21-47163L
Institutional support: RVO:86652079
Keywords : abies-alba mill. * fagus-sylvatica l. * tree spatial-patterns * silver fir * european beech * leaf-area * forests * growth * vegetation * ecology * silver fir * beech * light response * Carpathian Mountains * Dinaric Mountains * temperature * precipitation
OECD category: Forestry
Impact factor: 5.6, year: 2022
Method of publishing: Open access
https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/plant-science/articles/10.3389/fpls.2024.1380275/full

Predicting global change mitigations based on environmental variables, like temperature and water availability, although yielding insightful hypothesis still lacks the integration of environmental responses. Physiological limits should be assessed to obtain a complete representation of a species' fundamental niche. Detailed ecophysiological studies on the response of trees along the latitudinal gradient are rare. They could shed light on the behaviour under different light intensities and other studied traits. The forests of the Dinaric Mountains and the Carpathians represent the largest contiguous forest complexes in south-eastern Europe. In uneven-aged Carpathian (8 plots) and Dinaric Mountain (11 plots) forests, net assimilation (Amax) and maximum quantum yield (Phi) were measured for beech and fir in three predefined light intensity categories according to the indirect site factor (ISF%) obtained by the analysis of hemispherical photographs in managed and old growth forests, all located above 800 m a.s.l. The measurements were carried out under fixed environmental conditions in each light category per plot for three consecutive years. Data from the last 50-year average period from the CRU TS 4.01 dataset were used for the comparison between Amax, Phi, and climate. The highest Phi for beech were observed in the central part of the Dinaric Mountains and in the south westernmost and northwesternmost part of the Carpathians for both beech and fir, while they were highest for fir in the Dinaric Mountains in the northwesternmost part of the study area. The Phi-value of beech decreased in both complexes with increasing mean annual temperature and was highest in the open landscape. For fir in the Carpathians, Phi decreased with increasing mean annual temperature, while in the Dinaric Mountains it increased with higher temperature and showed a more scattered response compared to the Carpathians. Short-term ecophysiological responses of beech and fir were consistent to long-term radial growth observations observed on same locations. The results may provide a basis and an indication of the future response of two tree species in their biogeographical range to climate change in terms of competitiveness, existence and consequently forest management decisions.
Permanent Link: https://hdl.handle.net/11104/0353979