Reductions in tree performance during hotter droughts are mitigated by shifts in nitrogen cycling

Grossiord, Charlotte; Gessler, Arthur; Reed, Sasha C.; Borrego, Isaac; Collins, Adam D.; Dickman, Lee T.; Ryan, Max; Schonbeck, Leonie; Sevanto, Sanna; Vilagrosa, Alberto; McDowell, Nate G.

doi:10.1111/pce.13389

Reductions in tree performance during hotter droughts are mitigated by shifts in nitrogen cycling

Journal Article · Thu Jul 05 00:00:00 EDT 2018 · Plant, Cell and Environment

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1111/pce.13389· OSTI ID:1460658

^[1]; Gessler, Arthur ^[2]; Reed, Sasha C. ^[3]; Borrego, Isaac ^[3]; ^[4]; ^[4]; ^[4]; Schonbeck, Leonie ^[2]; ^[4]; Vilagrosa, Alberto ^[5]; McDowell, Nate G. ^[6]

Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Swiss Federal Inst. for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL), Birmensdorf (Switzerland)
Swiss Federal Inst. for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL), Birmensdorf (Switzerland)
U.S. Geological Survey, Moab, UT (United States). Southwest Biological Science Center (SBSC)
Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
Univ. of Alicante-Joint Research Unit (JRU) (Spain). Center for Environmental Studies of the Mediterranean (CEAM)
Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States). Earth Systems Science Division

Climate warming should result in hotter droughts of unprecedented severity in this century. Such droughts have been linked with massive tree mortality and data suggest warming interacts with drought to aggravate plant performance. Yet, how forests will respond to hotter droughts remains unclear, as does the suite of mechanisms trees use to deal with hot droughts. For this study, we used an ecosystem-scale manipulation of precipitation and temperature on piñon pine (Pinus edulis) and juniper (Juniperus monosperma) trees to investigate nitrogen (N) cycling-induced mitigation processes related to hotter droughts. We found that while negative impacts on plant carbon and water balance are manifest after prolonged drought, performance reductions were not amplified by warmer temperatures. Rather, increased temperatures for five years stimulated soil N cycling under piñon trees and modified tree N allocation for both species, resulting in mitigation of hotter drought impacts on tree water and carbon functions. These findings suggest that adjustments in N cycling are likely after multi-year warming conditions and that such changes may buffer reductions in tree performance during hotter droughts. Furthermore, the results highlight our incomplete understanding of trees’ ability to acclimate to climate change, raising fundamental questions about the resistance potential of forests to long-term, compound climatic stresses.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: European Regional Development Fund (ERDF); Generalitat Valenciana (Spain); Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO) (Spain); Swiss National Science Foundation (SNF); US Geological Survey (USGS). Ecosystems Mission Area; USDOE; USDOE Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) Program; USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER) (SC-23)

Grant/Contract Number:: AC52-06NA25396; SC0008168

OSTI ID:: 1460658

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 1633051
OSTI ID: 1464839

Report Number(s):: LA-UR--18-24941

Journal Information:: Plant, Cell and Environment, Journal Name: Plant, Cell and Environment Journal Issue: 11 Vol. 41; ISSN 0140-7791

Publisher:: WileyCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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Related Subjects

15N
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
Biological Science
Earth Sciences
Juniperus monosperma
Pinus edulis
acclimation
climate change
forest ecosystems
nitrogen allocation
warming

Reductions in tree performance during hotter droughts are mitigated by shifts in nitrogen cycling

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References (53)

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