Variación intraespecífica en resistencia a la sequía de Nothofagus antarctica (G. Forst.) Oerst. (Nothofagaceae)

Futuros escenarios climáticos limitarían el establecimiento de plántulas en bosques de los Andes del sur debido al estrés hídrico. Comparamos la resistencia a la sequía de plántulas de Nothofagus antarctica de dos límites arbóreos: Termas de Chillán (clima mediterráneo) y Antillanca (clima superhúmedo). También comparamos la resistencia a la sequía de plántulas de dos altitudes diferentes de Antillanca. No encontramos diferencias en resistencia a la sequía entre plántulas de los dos límites arbóreos. Las plántulas del límite arbóreo de Antillanca resultaron más resistentes que las de una menor elevación.Futuros escenarios climáticos limitarían el establecimiento de plántulas en bosques de los Andes del sur debido al estrés hídrico. Comparamos la resistencia a la sequía de plántulas de Nothofagus antarctica de dos límites arbóreos: Termas de Chillán (clima mediterráneo) y Antillanca (clima superhúmedo). También comparamos la resistencia a la sequía de plántulas de dos altitudes diferentes de Antillanca. No encontramos diferencias en resistencia a la sequía entre plántulas de los dos límites arbóreos. Las plántulas del límite arbóreo de Antillanca resultaron más resistentes que las de una menor elevación

Similar variation in carbon storage between deciduous and evergreen treeline species across elevational gradients

Background and Aims The most plausible explanation for treeline formation so far is provided by the growth limitation hypothesis (GLH), which proposes that carbon sinks are more restricted by low temperatures than by carbon sources. Evidence supporting the GLH has been strong in evergreen, but less and weaker in deciduous treeline species. Here a test is made of the GLH in deciduous-evergreen mixed species forests across elevational gradients, with the hypothesis that deciduous treeline species show a different carbon storage trend from that shown by evergreen species across elevations. Methods Tree growth and concentrations of non-structural carbohydrates (NSCs) in foliage, branch sapwood and stem sapwood tissues were measured at four elevations in six deciduous-evergreen treeline ecotones (including treeline) in the southern Andes of Chile (40°S, Nothofagus pumilio and Nothofagus betuloides; 46°S, Nothofagus pumilio and Pinus sylvestris) and in the Swiss Alps (46°N, Larix decidua and Pinus cembra). Key Results Tree growth (basal area increment) decreased with elevation for all species. Regardless of foliar habit, NSCs did not deplete across elevations, indicating no shortage of carbon storage in any of the investigated tissues. Rather, NSCs increased significantly with elevation in leaves (P < 0·001) and branch sapwood (P = 0·012) tissues. Deciduous species showed significantly higher NSCs than evergreens for all tissues; on average, the former had 11 % (leaves), 158 % (branch) and 103 % (sapwood) significantly (P < 0·001) higher NSCs than the latter. Finally, deciduous species had higher NSC (particularly starch) increases with elevation than evergreens for stem sapwood, but the opposite was true for leaves and branch sapwood. Conclusions Considering the observed decrease in tree growth and increase in NSCs with elevation, it is concluded that both deciduous and evergreen treeline species are sink limited when faced with decreasing temperatures. Despite the overall higher requirements of deciduous tree species for carbon storage, no indication was found of carbon limitation in deciduous species in the alpine treeline ecoton

Single-provenance mature conifers show higher non-structural carbohydrate storage and reduced growth in a drier location

Since growth is more sensitive to drought than photosynthesis, trees inhabiting dry regions are expected to exhibit higher carbohydrate storage and less growth than their conspecifics from more humid regions. However, the same pattern can be the result of different genotypes inhabiting contrasting humidity conditions. To test if reduced growth and high carbohydrate storage are environmentally driven by drought, we examined the growth and non-structural carbohydrate (NSC) concentrations in single-provenance stands of mature trees of Pinus contorta Douglas and Pinus ponderosa Douglas ex C. Lawson planted at contrasting humidity conditions (900 versus 300 mm of annual precipitation) in Patagonia, Chile. Individual tree growth was measured for each species and at each location as mean basal area increment of the last 10 years (BAI10), annual shoot elongation for the period 2011-14, and needle length for 2013 and 2014 cohorts. Additionally, needle, branch, stem sapwood and roots were collected from each sampled tree to determine soluble sugars, starch and total NSC concentrations. The two species showed lower mean BAI10 and 2013 needle length in the dry site; P. ponderosa also had lower annual shoot extension for 2011 and 2014, and lower 2014 needle length, in the dry than in the mesic site. By contrast, NSC concentrations of all woody tissues for both species were either similar or higher in the dry site when compared with the mesic site. Patterns of starch and sugars were substantially different: starch concentrations were similar between sites except for roots of P. ponderosa, which were higher in the dry site, while sugar concentrations of all woody tissues in both species were higher in the dry site. Overall, our study provides evidence that reduced growth along with carbon (C) accumulation is an environmentally driven response to drought. Furthermore, the significant accumulation of low-molecular weight sugars in the dry site is compatible with a prioritized C allocation for osmoregulation. However, since this accumulation did not come at the expense of reduced starch, it is unlikely that growth was limited by C supply in the dry site

Non-structural carbohydrates in woody plants compared among laboratories

Non-structural carbohydrates (NSC) in plant tissue are frequently quantified to make inferences about plant responses to environmental conditions. Laboratories publishing estimates of NSC of woody plants use many different methods to evaluate NSC. We asked whether NSC estimates in the recent literature could be quantitatively compared among studies. We also asked whether any differences among laboratories were related to the extraction and quantification methods used to determine starch and sugar concentrations. These questions were addressed by sending sub-samples collected from five woody plant tissues, which varied in NSC content and chemical composition, to 29 laboratories. Each laboratory analyzed the samples with their laboratory-specific protocols, based on recent publications, to determine concentrations of soluble sugars, starch and their sum, total NSC. Laboratory estimates differed substantially for all samples. For example, estimates for Eucalyptus globulus leaves (EGL) varied from 23 to 116 (mean = 56) mg g⁻¹ for soluble sugars, 6–533 (mean = 94) mg g⁻¹ for starch and 53–649 (mean = 153) mg g⁻¹ for total NSC. Mixed model analysis of variance showed that much of the variability among laboratories was unrelated to the categories we used for extraction and quantification methods (method category R² = 0.05–0.12 for soluble sugars, 0.10–0.33 for starch and 0.01–0.09 for total NSC). For EGL, the difference between the highest and lowest least squares means for categories in the mixed model analysis was 33 mg g⁻¹ for total NSC, compared with the range of laboratory estimates of 596 mg g⁻¹. Laboratories were reasonably consistent in their ranks of estimates among tissues for starch (r = 0.41–0.91), but less so for total NSC (r = 0.45–0.84) and soluble sugars (r = 0.11–0.83). Our results show that NSC estimates for woody plant tissues cannot be compared among laboratories. The relative changes in NSC between treatments measured within a laboratory may be comparable within and between laboratories, especially for starch. To obtain comparable NSC estimates, we suggest that users can either adopt the reference method given in this publication, or report estimates for a portion of samples using the reference method, and report estimates for a standard reference material. Researchers interested in NSC estimates should work to identify and adopt standard methods.This is the publisher’s final pdf. The published article is copyrighted by the author(s) and published by Oxford University Press. The published article can be found at: http://treephys.oxfordjournals.org/Keywords: soluble sugars, starch, particle size, reference method, standardization, non-structural carbohydrate chemical analysis, extraction and quantification consistenc

Seedling size influences relationships of shade tolerance with carbohydrate-storage patterns in a temperate rainforest

1. Carbohydrate storage has been attributed an important role in the ability to tolerate shade, yet empirical support for this idea has been patchy. We asked if carbohydrate-storage patterns of seedling evergreens in low light are correlated with variation in shade tolerance, and how these patterns change with seedling size. 2. We measured biomass distribution and total non-structural carbohydrate (NSC) concentrations of leaves, stems and roots of two seedling size classes of six evergreens growing in a temperate rainforest understorey. Light requirements of the six species were quantified by calculating the 10th percentile of the distribution of established seedlings in relation to canopy openness. 3. NSC averaged 14% of the dry mass of small seedlings (40-60 mm tall), and 22% of that of large seedlings (400-600 mm tall). This difference was entirely due to variation in starch reserves, which on average accounted for 60% of NSC in small seedlings and 84% in large seedlings. 4. NSC concentrations of leaves and roots (but not stems) of large seedlings were negatively correlated with species' shade tolerance, but no such pattern was found in small seedlings. Leaf NSC on an area basis was not related to species' shade tolerance in either size class. 5. Partitioning of the NSC pool between leaves, stems and roots of small seedlings was closely related to variation in shade tolerance. Small seedlings of shade-tolerant species had a relatively low proportion of their NSC pool in leaves and a high proportion in roots. This is likely to ensure the retention of the greater part of the NSC pool even in the event of extensive defoliation, and the availability of reserves to replace lost leaves. In contrast, the large leaf-mass fraction of large seedlings of shade-tolerant species (46-47% of biomass) meant that these plants had a large proportion of their NSC pool in foliage. 6. Results suggest that, in Chilean rainforest evergreens, any adaptive relationship of carbohydrate storage with shade tolerance may be confined to young seedlings, involving interspecific variation in the partitioning of reserves between leaves and other organs, rather than especially high NSC concentrations in shade-tolerant species.9 page(s

Data from: An assessment of carbon and nutrient limitations in the formation of the southern Andes treeline

Although the principal mechanism determining tree line formation appears to be carbon (C)-sink limitations due to low temperatures, few studies have assessed the complementary role of reduced soil nutrient availability with elevation. We tested the hypothesis that nutrient (especially nitrogen, N) limitations at tree line may directly (via C-source) or indirectly (via C-sink) reduce the growth of a winter deciduous tree line species. If a shortage of soil N with elevation is involved in tree line formation, it should occur in two alternative ways: (i) through sink limitations because N is required for tissue formation, which would indirectly limit C investments (N decreases and C reserves increase with elevation), and (ii) through C limitations because this would lead directly to a reduction of photoassimilates (N and C reserves decrease with elevation). In testing our hypothesis, we analysed tree growth rates (basal area increment), twig non-structural carbohydrate (NSC) and N concentrations, leaf N, phosphorus (P), N:P ratio concentrations, and soil nutrient levels (NO3−, NH4+, Olsen–P) in four disparate climate and soil Nothofagus pumilio tree lines spanning 18 degrees of latitude in the southern Andes of Chile. We found a significant decrease in tree growth with elevation. Twig NSC concentrations pooled across locations also decreased significantly with elevation (starch constituted most of the NSC and was highly responsible for the negative trend), although this trend was mostly driven by the northernmost locations. Contrary to soil N availability, leaf N and P concentrations increased significantly with elevation. Twig N concentrations, soil P and leaf N:P ratios did not change with elevation. Synthesis. The elevational decrease in NSC concentrations supports C-source limitation in N. pumilio trees at tree line elevation. In the light of this, we assert that the current global explanation for tree line formation (C-sink-limitation driven by low temperatures) must be revisited. Given that leaf N and P concentrations increased and twig N concentrations did not change with elevation, nutrient limitation is not likely to be involved in the C-limitations and could not therefore be an explanation for tree line formation

nutrients treeline

File containing data from C reserves and leaf nutrient concentrations of a treeline species (Nothofagus pumilio) in the southern Andes of Chil

Size effects data for DRYAD

Excel file with original data used in the meta-analysis. These data were either digitalized or directly extracted from tables or text