Modeling the mechanisms of conifer mortality under seawater exposure
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- Biological Sciences Division Pacific Northwest National Lab PO Box 999 Richland WA 99352 USA
- Biological Sciences Division Pacific Northwest National Lab PO Box 999 Richland WA 99352 USA, School of Biological Sciences Washington State University PO Box 644236 Pullman WA 99164‐4236 USA
- Earth Systems Science Division Pacific Northwest National Lab Richland WA 99352 USA
- Marine and Coastal Research Laboratory Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Sequim WA 98382 USA
- Virginia Institute of Marine Science College of William and Mary Gloucester Point VA 23062 USA
- Smithsonian Environmental Research Center Edgewater MD 21037 USA
- CAS Key Laboratory of Mountain Ecological Restoration and Bioresource Utilization &, Ecological Restoration and Biodiversity Conservation Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences Chengdu 610041 China
- Shapotou Desert Research and Experiment Station Northwest Institute of Eco‐Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences Lanzhou 730000 China
- The Key Laboratory of Mountain Environment Evolution and Regulation Institute of Mountain Hazards and Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences Chengdu 610041 China
- State Key Laboratory of Herbage Improvement and Grassland Agro‐ecosystems, College of Pastoral Agriculture Science and Technology Lanzhou University Lanzhou 730020 China
- Joint Global Change Research Institute Pacific Northwest National Laboratory College Park MD 20740 USA
Summary Relative sea level rise (SLR) increasingly impacts coastal ecosystems through the formation of ghost forests. To predict the future of coastal ecosystems under SLR and changing climate, it is important to understand the physiological mechanisms underlying coastal tree mortality and to integrate this knowledge into dynamic vegetation models. We incorporate the physiological effect of salinity and hypoxia in a dynamic vegetation model in the Earth system land model, and used the model to investigate the mechanisms of mortality of conifer forests on the west and east coast sites of USA, where trees experience different form of sea water exposure. Simulations suggest similar physiological mechanisms can result in different mortality patterns. At the east coast site that experienced severe increases in seawater exposure, trees loose photosynthetic capacity and roots rapidly, and both storage carbon and hydraulic conductance decrease significantly within a year. Over time, further consumption of storage carbon that leads to carbon starvation dominates mortality. At the west coast site that gradually exposed to seawater through SLR, hydraulic failure dominates mortality because root loss impacts on conductance are greater than the degree of storage carbon depletion. Measurements and modeling focused on understanding the physiological mechanisms of mortality is critical to reducing predictive uncertainty.
- Research Organization:
- Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- National Natural Science Foundation of China; National Science Foundation (NSF); USDOE; USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER)
- Grant/Contract Number:
- AC05-76RL01830
- OSTI ID:
- 1987567
- Report Number(s):
- PNNL-SA-186478
- Journal Information:
- New Phytologist, Journal Name: New Phytologist Journal Issue: 5 Vol. 239; ISSN 0028-646X
- Publisher:
- Wiley-BlackwellCopyright Statement
- Country of Publication:
- United Kingdom
- Language:
- English
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