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.

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.

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.

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.

Ecophysiology of Coniferous Forests

Ecophysiology of Coniferous Forests PDF Author: William K. Smith
Publisher: Academic Press
ISBN: 0080925936
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 352

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Book Description
Conifers--pine, fir, and spruce trees--are dominant species in forests around the world. This book focuses on the physiology of conifers and how these physiological systems operate. Special consideration is devoted to the means by which ecophysiological processes influence organismal function and distribution. Chapters focus on the genetics of conifers, their geographic distribution and the factors that influence this distribution, the impact of insect herbivory on ecophysiological parameters, the effects of air pollution, and the potential impact that global climatic changes will have upon conifers. Because of the growing realization that forests have a crucial role to play in global environmental health, this book will appeal to a developing union of ecologists, physiologists and more theoretically minded foresters.

Longleaf Pine

Longleaf Pine PDF Author: Thomas C. Croker
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Forests and forestry
Languages : en
Pages : 44

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Book Description


Effects of Fire, Insect, and Pathogen Damage on Wood Quality of Dead and Dying Western Conifers

Effects of Fire, Insect, and Pathogen Damage on Wood Quality of Dead and Dying Western Conifers PDF Author: Eini C. Lowell
Publisher: DIANE Publishing
ISBN: 1437935281
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 80

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Book Description
Contents: Intro.; The Changing Mgmt. Context; Previous Studies on Effects of Disturbance on Wood Quality; After the Fire: Changes in Dead and Dying Conifers; Predicting Conifer Mortality Following Fires; Types of Changes in the Wood of Dead Conifers; Insect Damage to Conifers; Stain and Decay Fungi Damage to Conifers; Factors Influencing the Rate of Deterioration; Species-Specific Changes in Wood Quality of Dead and Dying Conifers; Douglas-Fir; Englemann Spruce and White Spruce; Grand Fir and White Fir; Lodgepole Pine; Ponderosa, Sugar, Western White, and Jeffrey Pine; Subalpine Fir; Western Hemlock; Western Larch; Wood Quality Changes and Econ. Values; Visual Classification Systems; Volume and Value Loss. Conclusions.

A Method for Determining Fire History in Coniferous Forests of the Mountain West

A Method for Determining Fire History in Coniferous Forests of the Mountain West PDF Author: Stephen F. Arno
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Conifers
Languages : en
Pages : 36

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Book Description
Describes a method for determining historic fire frequency, intensity, and size from cross sections collected from fire-scarred trees and tree age classes determined through increment borings. Tells how to interpret the influence of fire in stand composition and structure and how to identify effects of modern fire suppression.

Development of a Spatial Severity Model for the Quantification of Wildland Fire Effects in Coniferous Forests

Development of a Spatial Severity Model for the Quantification of Wildland Fire Effects in Coniferous Forests PDF Author: Aaron M. Sparks
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780355044638
Category : Conifers
Languages : en
Pages : 214

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Book Description
Fire is an integral change agent in the Earth system and plays key roles in nutrient cycling, plant species distribution, atmospheric composition and ecosystem service function at temporal scales ranging from years to centuries and spatial scales ranging from micro to continental. Increased fire activity (intensity, frequency, and size) in North American forested ecosystems has been observed and predicted under warmer and drier climate conditions. As forested ecosystems serve as significant carbon sinks, there is an urgent need to improve our understanding of fire intensity impacts on forest productivity and recovery post-fire. The research within this dissertation is focused on advancing our current understanding by identifying mechanistic relationships between fire intensity and post-fire tree response (e.g. mortality, physiology, growth and vulnerability) that enable spatiotemporal characterization of fire effects. This research tested the hypothesis that increasing quantities, or 'doses', of fire intensity lead to predictable responses in terms of tree mortality or physiological function. This hypothesis was first tested using nursery grown Pinus contorta and Larix occidentalis seedlings subjected to highly controlled laboratory surface fires. A dose-response relationship was demonstrated between fire radiative energy and post-fire seedling mortality and physiological function. Additionally, this relationship was shown to be detectable using spectral indices common to plant physiology research. The dose-response hypothesis was further tested at the mature tree scale by using prescribed fires in mature Pinus ponderosa forest stands. Increasing levels of peak fire radiative power were observed to lead to reduced post-fire radial growth. Permanent defense structures, axial resin ducts, were found to increase in density, size, and area per growth ring post-fire regardless of fire intensity. Finally, observations from satellite based remote sensing were used to test the dose-response hypothesis at the landscape spatial scale. Similar to observations at the tree scale, satellite measures of forest productivity decreased with increasing fire radiative power. Species composition was demonstrated to influence the magnitude of productivity loss post-fire. Ultimately, the work in this dissertation demonstrates a framework to spatially characterize individual tree and forest condition post-fire, improving our understanding of the carbon cycle and ability to sustainably manage forests.

The Physiological Ecology of Woody Plants

The Physiological Ecology of Woody Plants PDF Author: Theodore T. Kozlowski
Publisher: Academic Press
ISBN: 0323138004
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 678

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Book Description
The efficient management of trees and other woody plants can be improved given an understanding of the physiological processes that control growth, the complex environmental factors that influence those processes, and our ability to regulate and maintain environmental conditions that facilitate growth. Emphasizes genetic and environmental interactions that influence woody plant growth Outlines responses of individual trees and tree communities to environmental stress Explores cultural practices useful for efficient management of shade, forest, and fruit trees, woody vines, and shrubs

The Ecology of Fire

The Ecology of Fire PDF Author: Robert J. Whelan
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 0521328721
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 364

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Book Description
Wildfires kill many animals, but are populations of animals affected? How do animals survive the passage of fire? Why do some tree species survive and others die in a fire? Do frequent fires cause changes in plant community composition? Answering questions such as these requires an understanding of the ecological effects of fire. Aimed at senior undergraduate students, researchers, foresters and other land managers, Dr Whelan's book examines the changes wrought by fires with reference to general ecological theory. The impacts of fires on individual organisms, populations and communities are examined separately, and emphasis is placed on the importance of fire regime. Each chapter includes a listing of 'outstanding questions' that identify gaps in current knowledge. The book finishes by summarising the major aspects of ecology that are of particular relevance to management of fires - both protection against wildfires and deliberate use of fire.