Abstract
Increased tree mortality associated with hotter-drought events has rarely been recorded in mature (>10 years old) commercial plantations. However, we report a recent (2021–2022 warm season) event of this kind that occurred across the Mesopotamian region of Argentina, South America. We aimed to elucidate the mortality timing, rate, and magnitude associated with environmental and stand characteristics at local scale to determine which conditions make these productive systems more vulnerable to extreme climatic events. Using Sentinel-2 satellite images and field-data we estimated the canopy mortality from November 2021 to October 2022, in Pinus spp afforestations (mainly P. taeda). We found that spatio-temporal heterogeneity in canopy mortality was associated with variation in soil and topographic characteristics, but not in stand age and size. We found that canopy mortality occurs at greater extent, earlier and faster in shallow soils (≤ 0.6 m), while the lowest mortality occurred at depressed and waterlogged areas. Intermediate levels of mortality were observed in deep soils (> 1 m), where relatively higher mortality occurred in areas with shallow water table signs, inhibiting deep root development. Our results suggest that sites allowing a deeper rooting system and/or where soil water availability is expected to be higher and long-lasting could represent areas with low-mortality risk for fast-growing pine plantations.
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Acknowledgements
The authors thank the technical and professional personnel of the private forestry company who collaborated in the field work and in the provision of forest management information. This work was supported by the Agencia Nacional de Promoción Científica y Tecnológica de Argentina, MinCyT under Grant PICT 2018–02510 Préstamo BID and Grant PICT-2021-I-INVI-00709 Préstamo BID. This research was developed in the framework of the International Associated Lab Forestia INRAE-INTA (France, Argentina). This manuscript arises from the interaction between researchers from CONICET and INTA (Argentina), in conjunction with policymakers and professionals from the forestry industry of the Mesopotamian region.
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G.G., J.G., and M.E.F. developed the methodology for mortality estimation and wrote the first version of the main manuscript text. G.G. processed and analyzed data. N.B. and N.P. provided the field data. F.D.T. provided forestry management information. All authors reviewed the manuscript.
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Gatica, G., Gyenge, J.E., Bulfe, N.M.L. et al. Unprecedented mortality induced by extreme hot-drought in commercial planted Pinus spp stands is locally modulated by soil characteristics. New Forests (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11056-024-10037-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11056-024-10037-x