Author: Achim Bräuning
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
ISBN: 2889451925
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 468
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Book Description
Trees are among the longest-living organisms. They are sensitive to extreme climatic events and document the effects of environmental changes in form of structural modifications of their tissues. These modifications represent an integrated signal of complex biological responses enforced by the environment. For example, temporal change in stem increment integrates multiple information of tree performance, and wood anatomical traits may be altered by climatic extremes or environmental stress. Recent developments in preparative tools and computational image analysis enable to quantify changes in wood anatomical features, like vessel density or vessel size. Thus, impacts on their functioning can be related to climatic forcing factors. Similarly, new developments in monitoring (cambial) phenology and mechanistic modelling are enlightening the interrelationships between environmental factors, wood formation and tree performance and mortality. Quantitative wood anatomy is a reliable indicator of drought occurrence during the growing season, and therefore has been studied intensively in recent years. The variability in wood anatomy not only alters the biological and hydraulic functioning of a tree, but may also influence the technological properties of wood, with substantial impacts in forestry. On a larger scale, alterations of sapwood and phloem area and their ratios to other functional traits provide measures to detect changes in a tree’s life functions, and increasing risk of drought-induced mortality with possible impacts on hydrological processes and species composition of plant communities. Genetic variability within and across populations is assumed to be crucial for species survival in an unpredictable future world. The magnitude of genetic variation and heritability of adaptive traits might define the ability to adapt to climate change. Is there a relation between genetic variability and resilience to climate change? Is it possible to link genetic expression and climate change to obtain deeper knowledge of functional genetics? To derive precise estimates of genetic determinism it is important to define adaptive traits in wood properties and on a whole-tree scale. Understanding the mechanisms ruling these processes is fundamental to assess the impact of extreme climate events on forest ecosystems, and to provide realistic scenarios of tree responses to changing climates. Wood is also a major carbon sink with a long-term residence, impacting the global carbon cycle. How well do we understand the link between wood growth dynamics, wood carbon allocation and the global carbon cycle? Papers contribution to this Research Topic will cover a wide range of ecosystems. However, special relevance will be given to Mediterranean-type areas. These involve coastal regions of four continents, making Mediterranean-type ecosystems extremely interesting for investigating the potential impacts of global change on growth and for studying responses of woody plants under extreme environmental conditions. For example, the ongoing trend towards warmer temperatures and reduced precipitation can increase the susceptibility to fire and pests. The EU-funded COST Action STREeSS (Studying Tree Responses to extreme Events: a SynthesiS) addresses such crucial tree biological and forest ecological issues by providing a collection of important methodological and scientific insights, about the current state of knowledge, and by opinions for future research needs.
Author: Jana Sillmann
Publisher:
ISBN: 0128148950
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 378
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Book Description
Climate extremes often imply significant impacts on human and natural systems, and these extreme events are anticipated to be among the potentially most harmful consequences of a changing climate. However, while extreme event impacts are increasingly recognized, methodologies to address such impacts and the degree of our understanding and prediction capabilities vary widely among different sectors and disciplines. Moreover, traditional climate extreme indices and large-scale multi-model intercomparisons that are used for future projections of extreme events and associated impacts often fall short in capturing the full complexity of impact systems. Climate Extremes and Their Implications for Impact and Risk Assessment describes challenges, opportunities and methodologies for the analysis of the impacts of climate extremes across various sectors to support their impact and risk assessment. It thereby also facilitates cross-sectoral and cross-disciplinary discussions and exchange among climate and impact scientists. The sectors covered include agriculture, terrestrial ecosystems, human health, transport, conflict, and more broadly covering the human-environment nexus. The book concludes with an outlook on the need for more transdisciplinary work and international collaboration between scientists and practitioners to address emergent risks and extreme events towards risk reduction and strengthened societal resilience. Provides an overview about past, present and future changes in climate and weather extremes and how to connect that knowledge to impact and risk assessment under global warming Presents different approaches to assess societal-relevant impacts and risk of climate and weather extremes, including compound events, and the complexity of risk cascades and the interconnectedness of societal risk Features applications across a diversity of sectors, including agriculture, health, ecosystem services and urban transport
Author: Katie M. Becklin
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 3030649261
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 407
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Book Description
Changes in atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations and global climate conditions have altered photosynthesis and plant respiration across both geologic and contemporary time scales. Understanding climate change effects on plant carbon dynamics is critical for predicting plant responses to future growing conditions. Furthermore, demand for biofuel, fibre and food production is rapidly increasing with the ever-expanding global human population, and our ability to meet these demands is exacerbated by climate change. This volume integrates physiological, ecological, and evolutionary perspectives on photosynthesis and respiration responses to climate change. We explore this topic in the context of modeling plant responses to climate, including physiological mechanisms that constrain carbon assimilation and the potential for plants to acclimate to rising carbon dioxide concentration, warming temperatures and drought. Additional chapters contrast climate change responses in natural and agricultural ecosystems, where differences in climate sensitivity between different photosynthetic pathways can influence community and ecosystem processes. Evolutionary studies over past and current time scales provide further insight into evolutionary changes in photosynthetic traits, the emergence of novel plant strategies, and the potential for rapid evolutionary responses to future climate conditions. Finally, we discuss novel approaches to engineering photosynthesis and photorespiration to improve plant productivity for the future. The overall goals for this volume are to highlight recent advances in photosynthesis and respiration research, and to identify key challenges to understanding and scaling plant physiological responses to climate change. The integrated perspectives and broad scope of research make this volume an excellent resource for both students and researchers in many areas of plant science, including plant physiology, ecology, evolution, climate change, and biotechnology. For this volume, 37 experts contributed chapters that span modeling, empirical, and applied research on photosynthesis and respiration responses to climate change. Authors represent the following seven countries: Australia (6); Canada (9), England (5), Germany (2), Spain (3), and the United States (12).
Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309380979
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 187
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Book Description
As climate has warmed over recent years, a new pattern of more frequent and more intense weather events has unfolded across the globe. Climate models simulate such changes in extreme events, and some of the reasons for the changes are well understood. Warming increases the likelihood of extremely hot days and nights, favors increased atmospheric moisture that may result in more frequent heavy rainfall and snowfall, and leads to evaporation that can exacerbate droughts. Even with evidence of these broad trends, scientists cautioned in the past that individual weather events couldn't be attributed to climate change. Now, with advances in understanding the climate science behind extreme events and the science of extreme event attribution, such blanket statements may not be accurate. The relatively young science of extreme event attribution seeks to tease out the influence of human-cause climate change from other factors, such as natural sources of variability like El Niño, as contributors to individual extreme events. Event attribution can answer questions about how much climate change influenced the probability or intensity of a specific type of weather event. As event attribution capabilities improve, they could help inform choices about assessing and managing risk, and in guiding climate adaptation strategies. This report examines the current state of science of extreme weather attribution, and identifies ways to move the science forward to improve attribution capabilities.
Author: Christopher Bouma
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :
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Book Description
Global climate has changed dramatically in the last century, much of which occurred in the last four decades. One result of this has been a change in the physiological response of biota. While some organisms adjust to this variation in climate by shifting their range, established trees must endure the new conditions imposed upon them. Recent findings indicate recent warming has resulted in increased radial growth throughout much of the eastern United States. However, this increase may not be ubiquitous across all locations or site types and growth patterns may vary across topographic positions. I measured the dendrochronology (annual tree rings) of two co-occurring yet contrasting tree species, the mesic red oak (Quercus rubra) and the more xeric chestnut oak (Quercus montana). The study sites were located across replicated topographic gradients (lower slope, southeast aspect, northwest aspect, and ridge top) in the Ridge and Valley province of central Pennsylvania. I evaluated radial growth as a function of site type, tree age and diameter, disturbance events, and climate (temperature, precipitation, and Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI)). Prior to the 1980s, growth rates on most sites were statistically similar. By the end of the 20th century, however, both species experienced significantly higher basal area increment (BAI) on southeast aspects than northwest sites. Increased growth rate was significantly correlated with increasing tree size. However, this relationship was disproportional across site types indicating other factors influenced growth. Throughout the study period, frequent disturbances from severe storms in the mid-1950s, 1966, and mid-1990s and gypsy moth outbreaks in the 1980s were also noted. Many stand-wide disturbances corresponded with significant climatic events, particularly on southeast aspect sites. Both species exhibited the highest tree ring release frequency on southeast aspects. Red oak and chestnut oak growth was also affected by temperature and precipitation as a function of topographic position, potentially facilitated by differences in disturbance. Red oak was negatively correlated with current year temperatures throughout the study period, particularly on northwest and ridge top sites. In contrast, chestnut oak on southeast and lower slope sites had a positive response to increasing temperature. Moreover, red oak BAI on northwest and ridge top locations were negatively correlated with winter temperatures while chestnut oak BAI was positively correlated with winter temperatures on lower slope and southeast sites. Chestnut oak growth on lower slope and southeast sites was also positively correlated with current year spring temperatures. Previous year precipitation was positively correlated with radial growth for both species on several sites types. Despite some predominant trends, differences in climate correlation did exist among similar sites. A transformed relative BAI (RBAI) produced the most significant climate correlations but with similar patterns to those with BAI and ring width index (RWI). Many environmental interactions and growth impacting factors changed in unison during the life of the study trees, including increasing temperature, precipitation, tree size, and disturbance events, making it difficult to isolate the impact of a single factor. Nevertheless, I conclude that changing climate patterns, including increased temperature, precipitation, and extreme climatic event intensity and frequency have and will continue to non-uniformly affect the growth rates of red oak and chestnut oak as a function of site type variation.
Author: Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107025060
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 593
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Book Description
Extreme weather and climate events, interacting with exposed and vulnerable human and natural systems, can lead to disasters. This Special Report explores the social as well as physical dimensions of weather- and climate-related disasters, considering opportunities for managing risks at local to international scales. SREX was approved and accepted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) on 18 November 2011 in Kampala, Uganda.
Author: Eugene A. Vaganov
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 3540312986
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 362
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Book Description
Dendrochronologists have long estimated the impact of climate on tree-ring growth by empirical-statistical methods. The use of the model is illustrated with examples from widely differing environments, and possible future directions for model development and application are discussed. As forests are the main carbon sink on land, the results are of great importance for all global change studies.
Author: R. Tognetti
Publisher:
ISBN: 9788303080769
Category : Forests and forestry
Languages : en
Pages : 0
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Book Description
This open access book offers a cross-sectoral reference for both managers and scientists interested in climate-smart forestry, focusing on mountain regions. It provides a comprehensive analysis on forest issues, facilitating the implementation of climate objectives. This book includes structured summaries of each chapter. Funded by the EU's Horizon 2020 programme, CLIMO has brought together scientists and experts in continental and regional focus assessments through a cross-sectoral approach, facilitating the implementation of climate objectives. CLIMO has provided scientific analysis on issues including criteria and indicators, growth dynamics, management prescriptions, long-term perspectives, monitoring technologies, economic impacts, and governance tools.
Author: Mariangela Fotelli
Publisher:
ISBN: 9783036527505
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 172
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Book Description
Extreme climatic events, such as intense and prolonged droughts and heat waves, are occurring with increasing frequency and with pronounced impacts on forests. Forest trees, as long-lived organisms, need to develop adaptation mechanisms to successfully respond to such climatic extremes. Whether physiological adaptations on the tree level result in ecophysiological responses that ensure plasticity of forest ecosystems to climate change is currently in the core forest research. Within this Special Issue, forest species' responses to climatic variability were reported from diverse climatic zones and ecosystem types: from near-desert mountains in western USA to tropical forests in central America and Asia, and from Mediterranean ecosystems to temperate European forests. The clear effects of constraints related to climate change were evidenced on the tree level, such as in differentiated gene expression, metabolite abundance, sap flow rates, photosynthetic performance, seed germination, survival and growth, while on the ecosystem level, tree line shifts, temporal shifts in allocation of resources and species shifts were identified. Experimental schemes such as common gardens and provenance trails also provided long-term indications on the tolerance of forest species against drought and warming and serve to evaluate their performance under the predicted climate in near future. These findings enhance our knowledge on the potential resilience of forest species and ecosystems to climate change and provide an updated basis for continuing research on this topic.
Author: Fernando Ramirez
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3319142003
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 47
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Book Description
Global climate change is expected to produce increased carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere, higher temperatures, aberrant precipitation patterns and a host of other climatic changes that would affect all life on this planet. This review article addresses the impact of climate change on fruit trees and the response of the trees to a changing environment. The response of fruit trees to increasing carbon dioxide levels, phenological changes occurring in the trees themselves due to increased temperature and the lower chilling hours especially in the temperate regions, ecophysiological adaptations of the trees to the changing climate, impact of aberrant precipitation, etc. are reviewed. There is very little data on the impact of rising CO2 levels on fruit tree performance or productivity including the temperate region. Based on a large number of observations on the phenology, there is reason to believe that the flowering and fruiting of most species have advanced by quite a few days, but with variations in different crops and on different continents. The chilling hours have also grown shorter in many regions, causing considerable reductions in yield for several species. In the tropics, there is very little work on fruit trees; however, the available data show that precipitation is a major factor regulating their phenology and yield. The ecophysiological adaptations vary from species to species, and there is a need to develop phenological models in order to estimate the impact of climate change on plant development in different regions of the world. More research is also called for to develop adaptation strategies to circumvent the negative impacts of climate change.
