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Impact of Extreme Drought and Warming on Survival and Growth Characteristics of Different Provenences of Juvenile Quercus pubescens Willd

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Abstract

In the context of climatic changes, the adaptive potential of organisms toward new environmental challenges is becoming of central interest in modern ecology. Here we investigate the response of growth characteristics and survival in juveniles of four European provenances (Bulgaria, Germany, Hungary and Italy) of Quercus pubescens Willd. to extreme drought and warming in a full factorial common garden experiment. Our results show that extreme durations of drought exceed the tolerance of Quercus pubescens of all provenances. Plants of Italian provenance showed the highest capacity of whole-individual survival, and those of Bulgarian provenance showed the highest maintenance of the apex under extreme drought. Bud bank characteristics showed no general differences among provenances but responded to warming manipulations. The warming effect resulted in a reduction of collar buds and biomass. In Italian individuals it caused an increase of the apical budbank. This is suggestive of a better adaptation for height growth under warming. Our results imply that significant local adaptation of growth characteristics and survival occurs in Quercus pubescens. However, our findings do not support the idea that southern provenances are a general predictor of better plant performance.

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Acknowledgements

We thank C. Beierkuhnlein, J. Kreyling, D. Thiel and all members of the EVENT experiments at the University of Bayreuth, the team of the Ecological Botanical Garden (University of Bayreuth, DE), and G. Campetella (University of Camerino, IT) for their support. We appreciate the support of G. Huber and M. Konnert (Bavarian Institute for Forest Seeding and Planting (ASP), Teisendorf, DE), who cultivated our plants prior to the experiment. We are indebted to J. Klimešová (Institute of Botany, Třeboň, CZ), Petr Dostál and two anonymous reviewers whose critical comments and suggestions largely improved this contribution. We thank B. Reineking (University of Bayreuth, DE) for his advice on statistics and L. Mucina (University of Western Australia, AU) for correcting the English of the final version. The research was funded within the FORKAST project by the Bavarian State Ministry of Sciences, Research and the Arts.

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  1. Camilla Wellstein

    Present address: Faculty of Science and Technology, Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, Piazza Università 5, 39100, Bozen, Italy

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  1. Biogeography, University of Bayreuth, Universitätsstr. 30, 95447, Bayreuth, Germany

    Camilla Wellstein

  2. Department of Environmental Science, Botany and Ecology Section, University of Camerino, Via Pontoni, 5, 62032, Camerino, MC, Italy

    Kevin Cianfaglione

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Correspondence to Camilla Wellstein.

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Wellstein, C., Cianfaglione, K. Impact of Extreme Drought and Warming on Survival and Growth Characteristics of Different Provenences of Juvenile Quercus pubescens Willd. Folia Geobot 49, 31–47 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12224-013-9186-9

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