Site factors and stand conditions associated with Persian oak decline in Zagros mountain forests
Abstract
Aim of study: Drought and stand structure are major and interconnected drivers of forest dynamics. Water shortage and tree-to-tree competition may interact under the current climate change scenario, increasing tree mortality. In this study, we aimed to investigate climate trends, site and stand structure effects on tree mortality, with the main hypothesis that drought-induced mortality is higher as competition increases.
Area of study: Persian oak forests from Zagros Range, western Iran.
Material and Methods: We split the study area into 20 topographical units (TUs), based on aspect, slope and elevation. In each TU, three 0.1 ha plots were established to quantify site and stand characteristics, namely the diameter of all trees and shrubs, stand density and basal area, canopy dieback and mortality. In addition, soil profiles were analyzed to obtain physical and chemical soil properties. Six transects 100 m length were established per TU to measure tree-to-tree competition for alive and dead trees.
Main Results: The highest mortality rates and crown dieback were found at higher elevations and southern and western aspects. Our findings confirm increasing rates of tree mortality in stands with higher tree density and shallow soils. As regard links between climate change and forest decline, our results suggest that changing forest structure may have a significant impact on dust emission.
Research highlights: Despite severe dry years occurred recently the study area, they are not significantly different than those recorded in the past. Stand structure appears as a modulating factor of climate change effects, linked to competition-related tree vulnerability to drought.
Downloads
References
Allen CD, Breshears DD, 1998. Drought-induced shift of a forest-woodland ecotone: rapid landscape to climate variation. PNAS 95: 14839-14842. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.95.25.14839
Allen CD, Macalady AK, Chenchouni H, Bachelet D, McDowell N, Vennetier M, Kitzberger T, Rigling A, Breshears DD, Hogg EH, et al., 2010. A global overview of drought and heat-induced tree mortality reveals emerging climate change risks for forests. Forest Ecol Manag 259 (4): 660-684. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2009.09.001
Anderegg WR, Kane JM, Anderegg LD, 2012. Consequences of widespread tree mortality triggered by drought and temperature stress. Nature Clim Chang 3: 30-36. https://doi.org/10.1038/nclimate1635
Asakereh H, 2007. Temporal and spatial variations of precipitation in Iran during the last decades. Iran J Geogr Devel 10: 145-164.
Azizi G, Arsalani M, Bräuning A, Moghimi E, 2013. Precipitation variations in the central Zagros Mountains (Iran) since A.D. 1840 based on oak tree rings. Paleog Paleoclim Paleoecol 386: 96-103. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2013.05.009
Bordbar K, Sagheb-Talebi KH, Hamzehpour M, Joukar L, Pakparvar M, Abbasi AR, 2010. Impact of environmental factors on distribution and some quantitative characteristics of Manna oak (Quercus brantii Lindl.) in Fars province. Iran J For Poplar Res 18: 390-404.
Brasier CM, 1996. Phytophthora cinnamomi and oak decline in southern Europe. Environmental constraints including climate change. Ann For Sci 53 (2-3): 347-358. https://doi.org/10.1051/forest:19960217
Camarero JJ, Sanguesa-Barreda G, Vergarechea M, 2016. Prior height, growth, and wood anatomy differently predispose to drought induced dieback in two Mediterranean oak species. Ann For Sci 73: 341-351. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13595-015-0523-4
Carnicer J, Coll M, Ninyerola M, Pons X, Sánchez G, Peñuelas, J. 2011. Widespread crown condition decline, food web disruption, and amplified tree mortality with increased climate change-type drought. PNAS 108: 1474-1478. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1010070108
Cescatti A, Piutti E, 1998. Silvicultural alternatives, competition regime and sensitivity to climate in a European beech forest. For Ecol Manage 102: 213-223.
Chapman RA, Heitzman E, Shelton MG, 2006. Long-term changes in forest structure and species composition of an upland oak forest in Arkansas. For Ecol Manage 236: 85-92.
Christensen JH, Hewitson B, Busuioc A, Chen A, Gao X, et al., 2007. Regional climate projections. In: Climate change 2007: The physical science bases; Solomon S, et al. (eds), pp: 847-943. Cambridge University Press.
Clark JS, Iverson L, Woodall CW, Allen CD, Bell DM, Bragg DC, et al., 2016. The impacts of increasing drought on forest dynamics, structure, and biodiversity in the United States. Glob Change Biol 22 (7): 2329-2352. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.13160
Colangelo M, Camarero JJ, Battipaglia G, Borghetti M, De Micco V, Gentilesca T, Ripullone F, 2017a. A multi-proxy assessment of dieback causes in a Mediterranean oak. Tree Physiol 37: 617-631. https://doi.org/10.1093/treephys/tpx002
Colangelo M, Camarero JJ, Borghetti M, Gazol A, Ripullone F, 2017b. Size matters a lot: drought-affected Italian oaks are smaller and show lower growth prior to tree death. Front Plant Sci 8: 135. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2017.00135
Das AJ, Battles JJ, van Mantgem PJ, Stephenson NL, 2008. Spatial elements of mortality risk in old-growth forests. Ecology 89: 1744-1756. https://doi.org/10.1890/07-0524.1
Das A, Battles J, Stephenson NL, van Mantgem PJ, 2011. The contribution of competition to tree mortality in old-growth coniferous forests. Forest Ecol Manage 261: 1203-1213. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2010.12.035
Di Filippo A, Alessandrini A, Biondi F, Blasi S, Portoghesi L, Piovesan G, 2010. Climate change and oak growth decline: dendroecology and stand productivity of a Turkey oak (Quercus cerris L.) old stored coppice in Central Italy. Ann ForSci 67 (7): 706. https://doi.org/10.1051/forest/2010031
Engelstaedter S, Kohfeld KE, Tegen I, Harrison SP, 2003. Controls of dust emissions by vegetation and topographic depressions: An evaluation using dust storm frequency data. Geophys Res Lett 30 (6): 1294. https://doi.org/10.1029/2002GL016471
Erfanifard Y, Feghhi J, Zobeiri M, Namiranian M, 2009. Spatial pattern analysis in Persian oak (Quercus brantii var. persica) forests on B&W aerial photographs. Environ Monit Assess 150: 251-259. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-008-0227-4
Espelta JM, Riba M, Retana J, 1995. Patterns of seedling recruitment in West-Mediterranean Quercus ilex forests influenced by canopy development. J Veg Sci 6: 465-472. https://doi.org/10.2307/3236344
ESRI, 2006. ArcGIS: Release 9.2, Environmental Systems Research Institute, 1999-2006, Redlands, CA, USA. https://www.esri.com
Fan Z, Kabrick JM, Spetich MA, Shifley SR, Jensen RG, 2008. Oak mortality associated with crown dieback and oak borer attack in the Ozark Highlands. Forest Ecol Manage 255: 2297-2305. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2007.12.041
Fan Z, Fan X, Crosby MK, Moser WK, He H, Spetich MA, Shifley SR, 2012. Spatio-temporal trends of oak decline and mortality under periodic region drought in the Ozark Highlands of Arkansas and Missouri. Forests 3: 614-631. https://doi.org/10.3390/f3030614
Fatahi M, 1995. The study of Zagros' oak forests and the most important factors of its destruction. Forests and Pastures Research Institute, Tehran, Iran.
Franklin JF, Shugart HH, Harmon ME, 1987. Tree death as an ecological process. Bioscience 27: 259-288. https://doi.org/10.2307/1310665
Galiano L, Martínez-Vilalta J, Lloret F, 2010. Drought-induced multifactor decline of Scots pine in the Pyrenees and potential vegetation change by the expansion of co-occurring oak species. Ecosystems 13 (7): 978-991. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-010-9368-8
Gea-Izquierdo G, Martín-Benito D, Cherubini P, Isabel C, 2009. Climate-growth variability in Quercus ilex L. west Iberian open woodlands of different stand density. Ann For Sci 66 (8): 802. https://doi.org/10.1051/forest/2009080
Gómez-Aparicio L, Pérez-Ramos IM, Mendoza I, Matías L, Quero JL, Castro J, Zamora R, Marañón T, 2008. Oak seedling survival and growth along resource gradients in Mediterranean forests: implications for regeneration in current and future environmental scenarios. Oikos 117: 1683-1699. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0706.2008.16814.x
Grier CC, Elliott KJ, McCullough DG, 1992. Biomass distribution and productivity of Pinus edulis-Juniperus monosperma woodlands of north-central Arizona. Forest Ecol Manage 50: 331-350. https://doi.org/10.1016/0378-1127(92)90346-B
Haavik LJ, Billings SA, Guldin JM, Stephen FM, 2015. Emergent insects, pathogens and drought shape changing patterns in oak decline in North America and Europe. Forest Ecol Manage 354: 190-205. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2015.06.019
Hamzehpour M, Kia-Daliri H, Bordbar K, 2011. Preliminary study of manna oak (Quercus brantii Lindl.) tree decline in Dashte-Barm of Kazeroon, Fars province. Iran J For Poplar Res 19 (2): 352-363.
Hassanzad-Navroodi I, Zarkami R, Basati M, Mohammadi-Limaei S, 2015. Quantitative and qualitative characteristics of Persian oak along altitudinal gradation and gradient (Case study: Ilam province, Iran). J Forest Sci 61 (7): 297-305. https://doi.org/10.17221/13/2015-JFS
Heitzman E, Grell A, Spetich M, Starkey D, 2007. Changes in forest structure associated with oak decline in severely impacted areas of northern Arkansas. South J Appl For 31: 17-22.
Hegyi F, 1974. A simulation model for managing jack-pine stands. In: Growth models for tree and stand simulation; Fries J (ed.), pp: 74-90. Royal College of Forestry, Stockholm.
Hosseini A, 2012. Infestation of forest trees to the borer beetle and its relation to habitat conditions in the Persian oak (Quercus brantii) forests in Ilam Province. J Forest Range Prot Res 9 (1): 53-67.
Jenkins MA, Pallardy SG, 1995. The influence of drought on red oak group species growth and mortality in the Missouri Ozarks. Can J For Res 25: 1119-1127. https://doi.org/10.1139/x95-124
Johnson DW, Trettin CC, Todd DE, 2016. Changes in forest floor and soil nutrients in a mixed oak forest 33 years after stem only and whole-tree harvest. Forest Ecol Manage 361: 56-68. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2015.11.012
Kabrick JM, Dey DC, Jensen RG, Wallendorf M, 2008. The role of environmental factors in oak decline and mortality in the Ozark Highlands. Forest Ecol Manage 255 (5-6): 1409-1417. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2007.10.054
Keyser TL, Brown PM, 2016. Drought response of upland oak (Quercus L.) species in Appalachian hardwood forests of the southeastern USA. Ann For Sci 73: 971. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13595-016-0575-0
Lechuga V, Carraro V, Viñegla B, Carreira JA, Linares JC, 2017. Managing drought-sensitive forests under global change. Low competition enhances long-term growth and water uptake in Abies pinsapo. Forest Ecol Manage 406: 72-82. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2017.10.017
Linares JC, Camarero JJ, Carreira JA, 2010. Competition modulates the adaptation capacity of forests to climatic stress: insights from recent growth decline and death in relict stands of the Mediterranean fir Abies pinsapo. J Ecol 98: 592-603. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2745.2010.01645.x
Lloret F, Siscart D, Dalmases C, 2004. Canopy recovery after drought dieback in holm-oak Mediterranean forests of Catalonia (NE Spain). Glob Change Biol 10: 2092-2099. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2486.2004.00870.x
Manion PD, 1991. Tree disease concepts, 2nd Ed. Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, USA. 402 pp.
McEwan RW, Dyer JM, Pederson N, 2011. Multiple interacting ecosystem drivers: toward an encompassing hypothesis of oak forest dynamics across eastern North America. Ecography 34: 244-256. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0587.2010.06390.x
Natalini F, Alejano R, Vázquez-Piqué J, Cañellas I, Gea-Izquierdo G, 2016. The role of climate change in the widespread mortality of holm oak in open woodlands of Southwestern Spain. Dendrochronologia 38: 51-60. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dendro.2016.03.003
Ogaya R, Peñuelas J, 2007. Tree growth, mortality, and above-ground biomass accumulation in a holm oak forest under a five year experimental field drought. Plant Ecol 189: 291-299. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11258-006-9184-6
Pausas J, Marañón T, Caldeira MC, Pons J, 2009. Natural regeneration. In: Cork oak woodlands on the edge: Ecology, adaptive management and restoration; Aronson J, Pereira JS & Pausas JG (eds), pp: 115-124. Island Press, Washington.
Pérez-Ramos IM, Rodríguez-Calcerrada J, Ourcival JM, Rambal S, 2013. Quercus ilex recruitment in a drier world: a multi-stage demographic approach. Perspec Plant Ecol Evol Syst 15 (2): 106-117. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ppees.2012.12.005
Rahimzadeh F, Asgari A, Fattahi E, 2009. Variability of extreme temperature and precipitation in Iran during recent decades. Int J Climatol 29: 329-343. https://doi.org/10.1002/joc.1739
Rizzo DM, Garbelotto M, 2003. Sudden oak death: endangering California and Oregon forest ecosystems. Front Ecol Envir 1: 197-204. https://doi.org/10.1890/1540-9295(2003)001[0197:SODECA]2.0.CO;2
Ruiz-Benito P, Lines ER, Gómez-Aparicio L, Zavala MA, Coomes DA, 2013. Patterns and drivers of tree mortality in Iberian forests: climatic effects are modified by competition. Plos One 8 (2): e56843. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0056843
Sánchez-Salguero R, Camarero JJ, Grau JM, de la Cruz AC, Gil PM, Minaya M, Fernández-Cancio A, 2017. Analysing atmospheric processes and climatic drivers of tree defoliation to determine forest vulnerability to climate warming. Forests 8: 13. https://doi.org/10.3390/f8010013
Sangüesa-Barreda G, Linares JC, Camarero JJ, 2015. Reduced growth sensitivity to climate in bark-beetle infested Aleppo pines: Connecting climatic and biotic drivers of forest dieback. Forest Ecol Manage 357: 126-137. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2015.08.017
Shakeri Z, Marvi Mohajer MR, Namiraninan M, Etemad V, 2009. Comparison of seedling and coppice regeneration in pruned and undisturbed oak forests of Northern Zagros (Case study: Baneh, Kurdistan province). Iran J For Poplar Res 17: 73-84.
Sheffer E, Canham CD, Kigel J, Perevolotsky A, 2013. Landscape-scale density-dependent recruitment of oaks in planted forests: More is not always better. Ecology 94: 1718-1728. https://doi.org/10.1890/12-2121.1
Soltani M, Laux P, Kunstmann H, Stan K, Sohrabi MM, Molanejad M, Sabziparvar AA, Ranjbar SaadatAbadi A, Ranjbar F, Rousta I et al., 2015. Assessment of climate variations in temperature and precipitation extreme events over Iran. Theor Appl Climatol 126 (3-4): 775-795. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00704-015-1609-5
Sparks DL, Page AL, Helmke PA, Loeppert RH (Eds.), 1996. Methods of soil analysis, Part 3- Chemical methods. Soil Sci Soc Am, Am Soc Agron, Madison, WI, USA.
Starkey DA, Oak SW, 1989. Site factors and stand conditions associated with oak decline in southern upland hardwood forests. Proc of the 7th Central Hardwood Forest Conf. Gen Tech Rep NC-132. USDA, Forest Service, North Central For Exp Station, St. Paul, MN, USA, pp: 95-102.
Tegen I, Harrison SP, Kohfeld KE, Prentice IC, Coe M, Heimann M, 2002. Impact of vegetation and preferential source areas on global dust aerosol: Results from a model study, J Geophys Res 107 (D21): 4576. https://doi.org/10.1029/2001JD000963
Urbieta IR, Zavala MA, Marañón T, 2008. Human and non-human determinants of forest composition in southern Spain: evidence of shifts towards cork oak dominance as a result of management over the past century. J Biogeo 35: 1688-1700. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2699.2008.01914.x
Voelker SL, Muzika RM, Guyette RP, 2008. Individual tree and stand level influences on the growth, vigor, and decline of red oaks in the Ozarks. Forest Sci 54 (1): 8-20.
© CSIC. Manuscripts published in both the printed and online versions of this Journal are the property of Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, and quoting this source is a requirement for any partial or full reproduction.
All contents of this electronic edition, except where otherwise noted, are distributed under a “Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International” (CC BY 4.0) License. You may read here the basic information and the legal text of the license. The indication of the CC BY 4.0 License must be expressly stated in this way when necessary.
Self-archiving in repositories, personal webpages or similar, of any version other than the published by the Editor, is not allowed.