Abstract
Key message
At the eastern range limit of silver fir, there is moderate population differentiation in tolerance to frost damages. Differentiated management measures accounting for climate change are required, as some populations are not responding similar to drought and frost damage.
Abstract
Under ongoing climate change, it is expected that in Europe 35% of forests will be at risk of frost, especially in the eastern part. In trees, frost effects are imprinted in rings and our study was conducted in juvenile individuals of silver fir from a trial comprising nine provenances from the eastern species distribution range. We analyzed the main characteristics of frost rings, their climate determinants and influence on height growth. Compared with other species, we found a slightly higher proportion of frost rings, and that the tracheid form was significantly influenced by the position within the ring and the intensity of damage. The climate covariates best explaining the frost damage in the initial and late frost rings were the March minimum temperature and the May mean temperature, respectively. A test of local adaptation indicated two characteristics related to the climatic determined late frost—the growing degree days accumulations until late frost and its day of the year, as significant triggers of the initial and late frost rings. In the initial frost ring, the height growth was negatively influenced by the proportion of annual rings affected over 50% by frost; in the late frost ring, an unexpected-positive influence on height growth of the proportion of total damaged annual rings was identified, possibly related to favorable growing seasons with prolonged autumn activity. Our study identified differentiation between provenances, which was more evident in the initial frost ring, suggesting maladaptation of eastern populations to frost-related events.
Similar content being viewed by others
Data availability
The datasets used in the current study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
References
Aitken SN, Bemmels JB (2016) Time to get moving: assisted gene flow of forest trees. Evol Appl 9:271–290. https://doi.org/10.1111/eva.12293
Aitken SN, Yeaman S, Holliday JA et al (2008) Adaptation, migration or extirpation: climate change outcomes for tree populations. Evol Appl 1:95–111. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1752-4571.2007.00013.x
Akaike H (1974) A new look at the statistical model identification. IEEE Trans Autom Control 19:716–723. https://doi.org/10.1109/TAC.1974.1100705
Alberto FJ, Aitken SN, Alía R et al (2013) Potential for evolutionary responses to climate change evidence from tree populations. Glob Change Biol 19:1645–1661. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.12181
Arco Molina JG, Hadad MA, Patón Domínguez D, Roig FA (2016) Tree age and bark thickness as traits linked to frost ring probability on Araucaria araucana trees in northern Patagonia. Dendrochronologia 37:116–125. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dendro.2016.01.003
Barbosa AC, Stahle DW, Burnette DJ et al (2019) Meteorological factors associated with frost rings in Rocky Mountain bristlecone pine at Mt. Goliath, Colorado. Tree-Ring Res 75:101–115. https://doi.org/10.3959/1536-1098-75.2.101
Begum S, Kudo K, Rahman MH et al (2018) Climate change and the regulation of wood formation in trees by temperature. Trees 32:3–15. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00468-017-1587-6
Blödner C, Skroppa T, Johnsen Ø, Polle A (2005) Freezing tolerance in two Norway spruce (Picea abies [L.] Karst.) Progenies is physiologically correlated with drought tolerance. J Plant Physiol 162:549–558. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jplph.2004.09.005
Bosela M, Popa I, Gömöry D et al (2016) Effects of post-glacial phylogeny and genetic diversity on the growth variability and climate sensitivity of European silver fir. J Ecol 104:716–724. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2745.12561
Brooks M, Kristensen K, Van Benthem K et al (2017) glmmTMB balances speed and flexibility among packages for zero-inflated generalized linear mixed modeling. R Journal 9:378
Burnham KP, Anderson DR, Huyvaert KP (2011) AIC model selection and multimodel inference in behavioral ecology: some background, observations, and comparisons. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 65:23–35
Chamberlain CJ, Cook BI, García de Cortázar-Atauri I, Wolkovich EM (2019) Rethinking false spring risk. Glob Change Biol 25:2209–2220. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.14642
Charrier G, Martin-StPaul N, Damesin C et al (2021) Interaction of drought and frost in tree ecophysiology: rethinking the timing of risks. Ann for Sci 78:1–15. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13595-021-01052-5
Christensen RHB (2018) Cumulative link models for ordinal regression with the R package ordinal. https://cran.r-project.org/web/packages/ordinal/vignettes/clm_article.pdf. Accessed 15 june 2023.
Cornes RC, van der Schrier G, van den Besselaar EJM, Jones PD (2018) An ensemble version of the E-OBS temperature and precipitation data sets. J Geophys Res Atmos 123:9391–9409. https://doi.org/10.1029/2017JD028200
Dittmar C, Fricke W, Elling W (2006) Impact of late frost events on radial growth of common beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) In Southern Germany. Eur J Forest Res 125:249–259. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10342-005-0098-y
Eckert CG, Samis KE, Lougheed SC (2008) Genetic variation across species’ geographical ranges: the central marginal hypothesis and beyond. Mol Ecol 17:1170–1188. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-294X.2007.03659.x
Fady B, Aravanopoulos FA, Alizoti P et al (2016) Evolution-based approach needed for the conservation and silviculture of peripheral forest tree populations. For Ecol Manag 375:66–75. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2016.05.015
Frich P, Alexander LV, Della-Marta P et al (2002) Observed coherent changes in climatic extremes during the second half of the twentieth century. Clim Res 19:193–212. https://doi.org/10.3354/cr019193
Gärtner H, Schweingruber FH (2013) Microscopic preparation techniques for plant stem analysis. Kessel, Remagen-Oberwinter, Originalausg
Gazol A, Camarero JJ, Gutiérrez E et al (2015) Distinct effects of climate warming on populations of silver fir (Abies alba) across Europe. J Biogeogr 42:1150–1162. https://doi.org/10.1111/jbi.12512
Gazol A, Camarero JJ, Colangelo M et al (2019) Summer drought and spring frost, but not their interaction, constrain European beech and silver fir growth in their southern distribution limits. Agric for Meteorol 278:107695. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agrformet.2019.107695
Glerum C, Farrar J (1966) Frost ring formation in the stems of some coniferous species. Can J Bot 44:879–886. https://doi.org/10.1139/b66-103
Gurskaya MA, Shiyatov SG (2006) Distribution of frost injuries in the wood of conifers. Russ J Ecol 37:7–12. https://doi.org/10.1134/S1067413606010024
Hadad MA, Amoroso MM, Roig Juñent FA (2012) Frost ring distribution in Araucarua araucana trees from the xeric forests of Patagonia, Argentina. Bosque (valdivia) 33:27–28. https://doi.org/10.4067/S0717-92002012000300014
Housset JM, Tóth EG, Girardin MP et al (2021) Tree-rings, genetics and the environment: complex interactions at the rear edge of species distribution range. Dendrochronologia 69:125863. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dendro.2021.125863
Inouye DW (2000) The ecological and evolutionary significance of frost in the context of climate change. Ecol Lett 3:457–463. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1461-0248.2000.00165.x
Ishizuka W, Kon H, Kita K et al (2021) Local adaptation to contrasting climatic conditions in Sakhalin fir (Abies sachalinensis) revealed by long-term provenance trials. Ecol Res 36:720–732. https://doi.org/10.1111/1440-1703.12232
Janssen W (2009) Definition des Vegetationsanfanges. Internal Report, Deutscher Wetterdienst, Abteilung Agrarmeteorologie.
Joshi J, Schmid B, Caldeira M et al (2001) Local adaptation enhances performance of common plant species. Ecol Lett 4:536–544. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1461-0248.2001.00262.x
Kidd KR, Copenheaver CA, Zink-Sharp A (2014) Frequency and factors of earlywood frost ring formation in jack pine (Pinus banksiana) across northern lower Michigan. Écoscience 21:157–167. https://doi.org/10.2980/21-2-3708
Koprowski M (2013) Reaction of silver fir (Abies alba) growing outside its natural range to extreme weather events and a long-term increase in March temperature. Tree-Ring Res 69:49–61. https://doi.org/10.3959/1536-1098-69.2.49
Kreyling J, Buhk C, Backhaus S et al (2014) Local adaptations to frost in marginal and central populations of the dominant forest tree Fagus sylvatica L. as affected by temperature and extreme drought in common garden experiments. Ecol Evol 4:594–605. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.971
Lamichhane JR (2021) Rising risks of late-spring frosts in a changing climate. Nat Clim Change 11:554–555. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-021-01090-x
Latreille AC, Pichot C (2017) Local-scale diversity and adaptation along elevational gradients assessed by reciprocal transplant experiments: lack of local adaptation in silver fir populations. Ann for Sci 74:77. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13595-017-0673-7
Latreille A, Davi H, Huard F, Pichot C (2017) Variability of the climate-radial growth relationship among Abies alba trees and populations along altitudinal gradients. For Ecol Manag 396:150–159. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2017.04.012
Lebourgeois F, Rathgeber CBK, Ulrich E (2010) Sensitivity of French temperate coniferous forests to climate variability and extreme events (Abies alba, Picea abies and Pinus sylvestris). J Veg Sci 21:364–376. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1654-1103.2009.01148.x
Lira-Noriega A, Manthey JD (2014) Relationship of genetic diversity and niche centrality: a survey and analysis. Evolution 68:1082–1093. https://doi.org/10.1111/evo.12343
Ma Q, Huang J-G, Hänninen H, Berninger F (2019) Divergent trends in the risk of spring frost damage to trees in Europe with recent warming. Glob Change Biol 25:351–360. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.14479
Marquis B, Bergeron Y, Simard M, Tremblay F (2020a) Growing-season frost is a better predictor of tree growth than mean annual temperature in boreal mixedwood forest plantations. Glob Change Biol 26:6537–6554. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.15327
Marquis B, Bergeron Y, Simard M, Tremblay F (2020b) Probability of spring frosts, not growing degree-days, drives onset of spruce bud burst in plantations at the boreal-temperate forest ecotone. Front Plant Sci. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2020.01031
Matisons R, Gärtner H, Elferts D et al (2020) Occurrence of “blue” and “frost” rings reveal frost sensitivity of eastern Baltic provenances of Scots pine. For Ecol Manag 457:117729. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2019.117729
Mazza G, Gallucci V, Manetti MC, Urbinati C (2014) Climate-growth relationships of silver fir (Abies alba Mill.) in marginal populations of Central Italy. Dendrochronologia 32:181–190. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dendro.2014.04.004
Menzel A (1997) Phänologie von Waldbäumen unter sich ändernden Klimabedingungen: Auswertung der Beobachtungen in den internationalen phänologischen Gärten und Möglichkeiten der Modellierung von Phänodaten. Frank
Mihai G, Bîrsan M-V, Dumitrescu A et al (2018) Adaptive genetic potential of European silver fir in Romania in the context of climate change. Ann for Res. https://doi.org/10.15287/afr.2018.1021
Mihai G, Teodosiu M, Birsan M-V et al (2020) Impact of climate change and adaptive genetic potential of Norway spruce at the south-eastern range of species distribution. Agric for Meteorol 291:108040. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agrformet.2020.108040
Mihai G, Alexandru AM, Stoica E, Birsan MV (2021) Intraspecific growth response to drought of Abies alba in the Southeastern Carpathians. Forests 12:387. https://doi.org/10.3390/f12040387
Mock CJ, Mojzisek J, McWaters M et al (2007) The winter of 1827 over eastern North America: a season of extraordinary climatic anomalies, societal impacts, and false spring. Clim Change 83:87–115. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-006-9126-2
Montwé D, Isaac-Renton M, Hamann A, Spiecker H (2018) Cold adaptation recorded in tree rings highlights risks associated with climate change and assisted migration. Nat Commun. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-04039-5
Muñoz-Salazar T, LeQuesne C, Rozas V et al (2022) Examining the potential of Austrocedrus chilensis tree rings as indicators of past late-spring frost events in central Chile. Dendrochronologia 74:125962. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dendro.2022.125962
Payette S, Delwaide A, Simard M (2010) Frost-ring chronologies as dendroclimatic proxies of boreal environments. Geophys Res Lett. https://doi.org/10.1029/2009GL041849
Puchałka R, Koprowski M, Przybylak J et al (2016) Did the late spring frost in 2007 and 2011 affect tree-ring width and earlywood vessel size in pedunculate oak (Quercus robur) in northern Poland? Int J Biometeorol 60:1143–1150. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00484-015-1107-6
Puchałka R, Koprowski M, Gričar J, Przybylak R (2017) Does tree-ring formation follow leaf phenology in pedunculate oak (Quercus robur L.)? Eur J for Res 136:259–268. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10342-017-1026-7
R Core Team (2021) R: A language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna
Rossi S, Deslauriers A, Griçar J et al (2008) Critical temperatures for xylogenesis in conifers of cold climates. Glob Ecol Biogeogr 17:696–707. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1466-8238.2008.00417.x
Rossi S, Morin H, Deslauriers A, Plourde P-Y (2011) Predicting xylem phenology in black spruce under climate warming. Glob Change Biol 17:614–625. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2486.2010.02191.x
Rossi S, Anfodillo T, Čufar K et al (2016) Pattern of xylem phenology in conifers of cold ecosystems at the Northern Hemisphere. Glob Change Biol 22:3804–3813. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.13317
Rummukainen M (2012) Changes in climate and weather extremes in the 21st century. Wiley Interdiscip Rev Clim Change 3:115–129. https://doi.org/10.1002/wcc.160
Ruosch M, Spahni R, Joos F et al (2016) Past and future evolution of Abies alba forests in Europe - comparison of a dynamic vegetation model with palaeo data and observations. Glob Change Biol 22:727–740. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.13075
Sebastian-Azcona J, Hacke U, Hamann A (2020) Xylem anomalies as indicators of maladaptation to climate in forest trees: Implications for assisted migration. Front Plant Sci. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2020.00208
Tardif JC, Salzer MW, Conciatori F et al (2020) Formation, structure and climatic significance of blue rings and frost rings in high elevation bristlecone pine (Pinus longaeva D.K. Bailey). Quat Sci Rev 244:106516. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2020.106516
Teodosiu M, Mihai G, Fussi B, Ciocîrlan E (2019) Genetic diversity and structure of silver fir (Abies alba Mill.) at the south-eastern limit of its distribution range. Ann for Res. https://doi.org/10.15287/afr.2019.1436
Teodosiu M, Botezatu A, Ciocîrlan E, Mihai G (2023) Variation of cones production in a silver fir (Abies alba Mill.) clonal seed orchard. Forests 14:17. https://doi.org/10.3390/f14010017
Ummenhofer CC, Meehl GA (2017) Extreme weather and climate events with ecological relevance: a review. Philos Trans R Soc B Biol Sci 372:20160135. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2016.0135
Vanoni M, Bugmann H, Nötzli M, Bigler C (2016) Drought and frost contribute to abrupt growth decreases before tree mortality in nine temperate tree species. For Ecol Manag 382:51–63. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2016.10.001
Vitasse Y, Rebetez M (2018) Unprecedented risk of spring frost damage in Switzerland and Germany in 2017. Clim Change 149:233–246. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-018-2234-y
Vitasse Y, Bottero A, Cailleret M et al (2019a) Contrasting resistance and resilience to extreme drought and late spring frost in five major European tree species. Glob Change Biol 25:3781–3792. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.14803
Vitasse Y, Bottero A, Rebetez M et al (2019b) What is the potential of silver fir to thrive under warmer and drier climate? Eur J for Res 138:547–560. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10342-019-01192-4
von Wilpert K (1990) Die Jahrringstruktur von Fichten in Abhängigkeit vom Bodenwasserhaushalt auf Pseudogley und Parabraunerde: Ein Methodenkonzept zur Erfassung standortsspezifischer Wasserstreßdispostion. In: Freiburger Bodenkundliche Abhandlungen. pp 106–108
Zohner CM, Rockinger A, Renner SS (2019) Increased autumn productivity permits temperate trees to compensate for spring frost damage. New Phytol 221:789–795. https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.15445
Zohner CM, Mo L, Renner SS et al (2020) Late-spring frost risk between 1959 and 2017 decreased in North America but increased in Europe and Asia. Proc Natl Acad Sci 117:12192–12200. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1920816117
Funding
This study was carried out within the framework of the Nucleu Programme (project PN23090303) financed by the Romanian Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digitalization.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
ASF, MT and AB—collection and analysis of data, writing of the manuscript; ASF and AB—supervision of the rings analysis, and writing of the manuscript; MT—initiation of the the study, supervision of the whole data collection and processing, and writing of the manuscript.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Competing interests
The authors have no financial or non-financial interests to disclose.
Additional information
Communicated by Camarero.
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Supplementary Information
Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Semeniuc Fecioru, A., Teodosiu, M. & Botezatu, A. Climate triggers and growth effects of cold damage in silver fir (Abies alba Mill.) populations from Eastern Carpathians. Trees (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00468-024-02505-w
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00468-024-02505-w