Tree-ring isotopes from the Swiss Alps reveal non-climatic fingerprints of cyclic insect population outbreaks over the past 700 years.

ABSTRACT: Recent experiments have underlined the potential of δ2H in tree-ring cellulose as a physiological indicator of shifts in autotrophic versus heterotrophic processes (i.e., the use of fresh versus stored non-structural carbohydrates). However, the impact of these processes has not yet been quantified under natural conditions. Defoliator outbreaks disrupt tree functioning and carbon assimilation, stimulating remobilization, therefore providing a unique opportunity to improve our understanding of changes in δ2H. By exploring a 700-year tree-ring isotope chronology from Switzerland, we assessed the impact of 79 larch budmoth (LBM, Zeiraphera griseana [Hübner]) outbreaks on the growth of its host tree species, Larix decidua [Mill]. The LBM outbreaks significantly altered the tree-ring isotopic s

SUBMITTER: Vitali V 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10177004 | biostudies-literature | 2023 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature