Conifers Response to Water Stress

Conifers Response to Water Stress PDF Author: Ismail Koc
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781392111642
Category : Electronic dissertations
Languages : en
Pages : 186

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Book Description
Conifer species are the most extensively distributed on earth, and they are one of the most significant renewable resources with high economic value. Conifer species, Pinus and Abies species have been gaining popularity due to their desirable green color for products such as Christmas trees and are extensively used in landscaping. Not only inhabiting forest in their natural habitat, but also in plantations and reforestation areas usually outside their natural range where they have been exposed to water stress due to water shortage and the effects of climate change. Water stress is an important environmental factor for tree growth and development in plants. Therefore, we investigated the effect of irrigation and fertilization on balsam (Abies balsamae) and concolor fir (Abies concolor) and white pine (Pinus strobus ) seedlings in terms of tree morphology and physiology using a factorial design with three species and irrigation levels and two fertilization rates. Increased irrigation not only increased morphological traits such as diameter and height growth but also increased the net photosynthesis and stomatal conductance. The combination of each treatments had 5 seedlings for fir species and 4 seedlings for the pine species totaling 168 individual trees. White pine and balsam fir showed some drought tolerant mechanisms where concolor fir exhibited drought avoidance mechanisms. Fir species had higher net photosynthesis, stomatal conductance, transpiration rate and a lower water use efficiency compared to white pine. White pine had lower potassium concentration compared to two fir species, and balsam fir had higher calcium concentration compared to white pine and concolor fir under stress conditions, implying that fir species are more susceptible to water stress. We observed that concolor fir had a greater capacity for conserving water compared to white pine, leading to better above ground growth and shoot to root ratio. Balsam and concolor fir also had a greater foliar nitrogen concentration compared to white pine seedlings due to using an avoidance mechanism and maintaining nutrient uptake under water deficit conditions. White pine trees use drought tolerance strategies to reduce transpiration and maximize water uptake with increased root systems. White pine trees had higher below-ground biomass, with increased fine and coarse roots, and a lower nutrient use efficiency compared to two fir species. Moreover, we also tested the provenance and altitudinal variation of Turkish fir seedlings under water stress conditions. Morphological traits, such as relative root collar diameter, relative height growth, and stem volume index differed with seed source altitude as transplants from higher seed sources altitudes had greater growth compared to seedlings from lower altitudes. Overall, provenance had little effect on physiological parameters such as net photosynthesis, stomatal conductance, transpiration rate, internal CO2/ambient CO2 ratio, water use efficiency (WUE= A/E) and intrinsic water use efficiency (WUEi = A/gs), chlorophyll fluorescence (Fv/Fm) and carbon isotope discrimination rate (Delta13C). Provenances varied in stem water potential and net photosynthesis. Seedlings from the Karabuk provenances had high stem water potential and net photosynthesis. Intrinsic water use increased with altitude of the seed sources as seedlings from higher altitudes showed higher values compared to lower altitudes. Karabuk provenances might be more sensitive to water availability than Adapazari provenances. Adapazari provenances should be selected for the plantation and afforestation areas and production of Christmas trees.

Conifers Response to Water Stress

Conifers Response to Water Stress PDF Author: Ismail Koc
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781392111642
Category : Electronic dissertations
Languages : en
Pages : 186

Get Book Here

Book Description
Conifer species are the most extensively distributed on earth, and they are one of the most significant renewable resources with high economic value. Conifer species, Pinus and Abies species have been gaining popularity due to their desirable green color for products such as Christmas trees and are extensively used in landscaping. Not only inhabiting forest in their natural habitat, but also in plantations and reforestation areas usually outside their natural range where they have been exposed to water stress due to water shortage and the effects of climate change. Water stress is an important environmental factor for tree growth and development in plants. Therefore, we investigated the effect of irrigation and fertilization on balsam (Abies balsamae) and concolor fir (Abies concolor) and white pine (Pinus strobus ) seedlings in terms of tree morphology and physiology using a factorial design with three species and irrigation levels and two fertilization rates. Increased irrigation not only increased morphological traits such as diameter and height growth but also increased the net photosynthesis and stomatal conductance. The combination of each treatments had 5 seedlings for fir species and 4 seedlings for the pine species totaling 168 individual trees. White pine and balsam fir showed some drought tolerant mechanisms where concolor fir exhibited drought avoidance mechanisms. Fir species had higher net photosynthesis, stomatal conductance, transpiration rate and a lower water use efficiency compared to white pine. White pine had lower potassium concentration compared to two fir species, and balsam fir had higher calcium concentration compared to white pine and concolor fir under stress conditions, implying that fir species are more susceptible to water stress. We observed that concolor fir had a greater capacity for conserving water compared to white pine, leading to better above ground growth and shoot to root ratio. Balsam and concolor fir also had a greater foliar nitrogen concentration compared to white pine seedlings due to using an avoidance mechanism and maintaining nutrient uptake under water deficit conditions. White pine trees use drought tolerance strategies to reduce transpiration and maximize water uptake with increased root systems. White pine trees had higher below-ground biomass, with increased fine and coarse roots, and a lower nutrient use efficiency compared to two fir species. Moreover, we also tested the provenance and altitudinal variation of Turkish fir seedlings under water stress conditions. Morphological traits, such as relative root collar diameter, relative height growth, and stem volume index differed with seed source altitude as transplants from higher seed sources altitudes had greater growth compared to seedlings from lower altitudes. Overall, provenance had little effect on physiological parameters such as net photosynthesis, stomatal conductance, transpiration rate, internal CO2/ambient CO2 ratio, water use efficiency (WUE= A/E) and intrinsic water use efficiency (WUEi = A/gs), chlorophyll fluorescence (Fv/Fm) and carbon isotope discrimination rate (Delta13C). Provenances varied in stem water potential and net photosynthesis. Seedlings from the Karabuk provenances had high stem water potential and net photosynthesis. Intrinsic water use increased with altitude of the seed sources as seedlings from higher altitudes showed higher values compared to lower altitudes. Karabuk provenances might be more sensitive to water availability than Adapazari provenances. Adapazari provenances should be selected for the plantation and afforestation areas and production of Christmas trees.

Resource Physiology of Conifers

Resource Physiology of Conifers PDF Author: William K. Smith
Publisher: Gulf Professional Publishing
ISBN: 9780126528701
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 426

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Book Description
Coniferous forests are among the most important of ecosystems. These forests are widespread and influence both the financial and biological health of our globe. This book focuses attention on conifers and how these trees acquire, allocate, and utilize the resources that sustain this crucial productivity. An international team of experts has surveyed and synthesized information from an expanding area of inquiry. The first half of the book describes how resources are acquired both by means of photosynthesis and through root systems. The latter half of the volume focuses upon how resources are stored and used. As conifers continue as a resource and ever increasingly important contributor to the regional and global environmental sustainability, this book will help establish how much sustainability can be expected and maintained.

Resource Physiology of Conifers

Resource Physiology of Conifers PDF Author: William K. Smith
Publisher: Academic Press
ISBN: 008092591X
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 410

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Book Description
Coniferous forests are among the most important of ecosystems. These forests are widespread and influence both the financial and biological health of our globe. This book focuses attention on conifers and how these trees acquire, allocate, and utilize the resources that sustain this crucial productivity. An international team of experts has surveyed and synthesized information from an expanding area of inquiry. The first half of the book describes how resources are acquired both by means of photosynthesis and through root systems. The latter half of the volume focuses upon how resources are stored and used. As conifers continue as a resource and ever increasingly important contributor to the regional and global environmental sustainability, this book will help establish how much sustainability can be expected and maintained.

Size- and Age-Related Changes in Tree Structure and Function

Size- and Age-Related Changes in Tree Structure and Function PDF Author: Frederick C. Meinzer
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 9400712421
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 511

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Book Description
Millions of trees live and grow all around us, and we all recognize the vital role they play in the world’s ecosystems. Publicity campaigns exhort us to plant yet more. Yet until recently comparatively little was known about the root causes of the physical changes that attend their growth. Since trees typically increase in size by three to four orders of magnitude in their journey to maturity, this gap in our knowledge has been a crucial issue to address. Here at last is a synthesis of the current state of our knowledge about both the causes and consequences of ontogenetic changes in key features of tree structure and function. During their ontogeny, trees undergo numerous changes in their physiological function, the structure and mechanical properties of their wood, and overall architecture and allometry. This book examines the central interplay between these changes and tree size and age. It also explores the impact these changes can have, at the level of the individual tree, on the emerging characteristics of forest ecosystems at various stages of their development. The analysis offers an explanation for the importance of discriminating between the varied physical properties arising from the nexus of size and age, as well as highlighting the implications these ontogenetic changes have for commercial forestry and climate change. This important and timely summation of our knowledge base in this area, written by highly respected researchers, will be of huge interest, not only to researchers, but also to forest managers and silviculturists.

Influences on Conifer Drought Responses in Northern California

Influences on Conifer Drought Responses in Northern California PDF Author: Wallis L. Robinson
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Conifers
Languages : en
Pages : 102

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Book Description
California is experiencing increasingly severe and prolonged droughts, which are contributing to changes in tree stress and forest mortality. Many factors affect a tree’s drought response, including competition, climate, and site and tree characteristics. Northern California provides a suitable venue to explore the effects of these factors, as it spans a variety of site conditions and includes habitat for conifers with different adaptations and requirements. This study used annual 13C discrimination and growth metrics to assess differences in drought resistance and resilience in conifers adapted to coastal and montane ranges at both wet and dry sites, as well as differences in environmental factors that affect species-level drought responses. Coastal species (Sitka spruce and western hemlock) were more sensitive to drought than montane species (Shasta fir, Brewer spruce, sugar pine, and western white pine). Coastal trees were more sensitive to drought at dry sites than wet sites. Montane species exhibited smaller differences in drought resistance between wet and dry conditions, but varied in factors contributing to physiological response among species. This study suggests that in most situations, conifers in northern California weathered the 2012 – 2016 drought with reasonably high resistance and resilience. However, many of these trees may be at risk for increased stress and mortality in the event of longer and/or more frequent, severe drought. Management strategies for conifers in one region may not be suitable for the same species in another region, and the effects of competition and community composition on drought resistance and resilience must be carefully considered.

Plant Water Stress and Its Effect on Ecological Patterns of Behavior in Several Pacific Northwest Conifer Species

Plant Water Stress and Its Effect on Ecological Patterns of Behavior in Several Pacific Northwest Conifer Species PDF Author: Thomas Metcalf Hinckley
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Conifers
Languages : en
Pages : 354

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Book Description


An Atlas of the World's Conifers

An Atlas of the World's Conifers PDF Author: Aljos Farjon
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004211810
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 524

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Book Description
A 2014 Choice Magazine "Outstanding Academic Title" An Atlas of the World's Conifers is the first ever atlas of all known conifer species. It is based on locality information of ca. 37,000 collected herbarium specimens held in scientific institutions. As well as providing natural distribution maps for each species, Farjon and Filer give the reader comprehensive insight into the biogeography, diversity and conservation status of conifers on all continents, dispelling the widely held view that they are primarily a northern boreal plant group. Conifer diversity is analysed and presented with a taxonomic and geographic perspective. Distribution patterns are interpreted using the latest information on continental drift, dispersal and phylogeny. The entire dataset supporting the Atlas can be consulted and verified online. These data can also be used for further research and are an invaluable resource for anyone working on conifer systematics, biogeography or conservation. An Atlas of the World’s Conifers indicates the known distribution of all conifers including an analysis of their biogeography, diversity and conservation status. Also available from Brill is Aljos Farjon’s A Handbook of the World's Conifers, published in 2010 (ISBN 978 90 04 17718 5) which is a 2017 Choice Magazine "Outstanding Academic Title".

An Eco-physiological Field Study of Three Sierra Conifers

An Eco-physiological Field Study of Three Sierra Conifers PDF Author: Mark Russell Rutter
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 252

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Book Description


The Physiological Response of Conifers to Fire

The Physiological Response of Conifers to Fire PDF Author: Raquel Partelli Feltrin
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Ecology
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
One of the grand unknowns of ecosystem science is how fire kills trees. Answering this question is critical to parameterize climate-vegetation models given the observed changes in global fire regimes, the feedbacks between fire and forests in the global carbon cycle, and the potential role of forest management in moderating anthropogenic climate change. In this dissertation I conducted three studies using Pinus ponderosa saplings burned under controlled conditions to improve the understanding how fire effects on tree physiology. First, I assessed the impact of two fire intensities on sapling mortality under two water status pre-fire (well-watered and drought-stressed). The results showed that saplings under drought-stress pre-fire were more vulnerable to mortality when exposed to low fire intensities. However, 100% of mortality was observed regardless of the pre-fire water status when saplings were exposed to high fire intensity. Thus, the data also suggest that there is a fire intensity threshold where the pre-fire water stress can have a significant influence on sapling mortality. Second, we investigated the short (one-day post-fire) and long-term (21-months post-fire) effects of fire on sapling water transport. In the short-term, fire did not have impact on sapling xylem hydraulic conductivity or were more vulnerable to drought-induced embolism. However, in the long-term, saplings were more vulnerable to cavitation. But no damage in the xylem conduits cell walls were observed. Thus, it was hypothesized that the new traumatic xylem formed in the edges of the fire scar and the pre-fire xylem clogging with resin could be responsible for increasing vulnerability to cavitation in these plants. Lastly, I evaluated the impact of a lethal fire intensity on sapling hydraulic conductivity and non-structural carbohydrates periodically for 28-days post-fire. Hydraulic conductivity was not affected any day. This confirmed the results found in the second study. Fire caused a decline in total NSC in burned plants compared with unburned saplings, but it was significantly only 28-days post-fire. The results suggest that tree mortality from fire is likely not due to hydraulic failure but may be related to carbon imbalance.

Drought Responses Across Diverse Conifer Species, Habitats, and Competitive Gradients in Northern California

Drought Responses Across Diverse Conifer Species, Habitats, and Competitive Gradients in Northern California PDF Author: Gabriel J. Roletti
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Conifers
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Frequent and intense drought events are rapidly altering stand dynamics in western North American forests. Climate, competition, and site characteristics can affect the growth responses of individual trees to drought stress. The ecological and geographical diversity of northern California provides a unique opportunity to measure these responses across species, habitat types, and levels of competitive pressure. This study used dendrochronological techniques and linear mixed-effects models to assess growth responses to drought in four montane and two coastal conifer species across 54 study sites (nine sites per species and 540 trees total) in northern California. Growth was evaluated from 2002-2018 and the drought period was from 2013-2015. There were significant differences among species and environments (coastal or montane) in growth, drought resistance and resilience, and annual latewood proportion. Growth in montane species was generally positively correlated with moisture availability (Palmer Drought Severity Index) and negatively correlated with competitive pressure. The four montane species maintained relatively stable drought resistance, resilience, and latewood proportion across the study period. In contrast, growth in the two coastal species was influenced more by tree size and crown ratio than moisture availability or competition. As the 2013-2015 drought proceeded, coastal species showed marked reductions in drought resistance and resilience and increases in latewood proportion. The six focal species endured this drought in northern California with reasonably high resistance and resilience. However, the lower resistance observed in coastal species suggests that they may be at risk for increased stress and mortality in the event of more severe, prolonged, and/or frequent droughts.