Phenology of wood formation in larch ( Larix decidua Mill.) trees growing along a 1000-m elevation gradient in the Frenc
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RESEARCH PAPER
Phenology of wood formation in larch (Larix decidua Mill.) trees growing along a 1000-m elevation gradient in the French Southern Alps Seyedehmasoumeh Saderi 1
&
Cyrille B. K Rathgeber 1 & Philippe Rozenberg 2 & Meriem Fournier 1
Received: 1 March 2019 / Accepted: 4 July 2019 # INRA and Springer-Verlag France SAS, part of Springer Nature 2019
Abstract & Key message Spring temperature increase is the main driver of larch tree wood formation onset along a 1000-m elevation gradient in the Southern Alps, while its cessation is more probably controlled by water stress at the lowest elevation and photoperiod at higher ones. & Context The survival of perennial plants depends on their adaptation to changing environment and specially temperature, which in trees is notably implemented through wood formation process. & Aims Our main objective is to understand how the phenology of wood formation is related to environmental factors and to temperature in particular. & Methods We monitored the xylogenesis of 60 larch trees, distributed in four stands along an elevation gradient of 1000 m in the French Southern Alps. & Results Cambial activity started around mid-May at the lowest site (1350 m) and around mid-June at the highest one (2300 m), showing a delay of 5.4 days per °C. The onset of wall-thickening and mature phenophases followed the same linear trend with a delay of 5.2 and 3 days per °C, respectively. Phenophase cessations followed a parabolic trend with trees from the lowest site finishing their growth the first, while those from 1700 m finished the last. Our results show that the onset of xylem formation is mainly driven by spring temperature increase, while its cessation is more related to photoperiod, with water shortage being able to hasten it. & Conclusion Future climatic changes will most probably increase growing season length (but not necessarily wood production) and shift upwards the optimal elevation for larch growth in the Southern Alps. Keywords Cambial activity . Wood anatomy . Tree growth . Species adaptation . Climate change . Larix decidua
Handling Editor: Patrick Fonti Contributions of the co-authors Supervision: CBKR, MF; funding acquisition: PR, MF, CBKR; experimental design: CBKR; data acquisition: MS, CBKR; data analysis: MS, CBKR; first draft: MS, CBKR; final writing: MS, CBKR, PR, MF. This article is part of the topical collection on Wood formation and tree adaptation to climate * Seyedehmasoumeh Saderi [email protected]
Meriem Fournier [email protected]
Cyrille B. K Rathgeber [email protected]
1
AgroParisTech, INRA, Université de Lorraine, Silva, 54000 Nancy, France
Philippe Rozenberg [email protected]
2
UMR 0588 BIOFORA, INRA ONF, Orléans, 45075 Cedex 2, France
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1 Introduction Wood (i.e. xylem) is the tissue allowing trees to transport sap and stand upright. Wood formation (i.e. xylogenesis) is a key process determining tree functioning, adaptation, and survival. Trees, as long-lived fixed organisms, are exposed to varying env
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