Declining growth and changes in biomass allocation with warming in rainforest trees from temperate to tropical climates.

ABSTRACT: Australian rainforests occur from temperate to tropical latitudes, but how climate warming will affect tree growth along this climate gradient remains poorly understood. We examined how changes in biomass allocation, leaf area, and photosynthetic capacity were linked to the capacity to maintain growth rates with +3.5, +7 and +10.5 °C warming in seedlings of 12 tropical, subtropical, and temperate rainforest tree species. Temperate species maintained or increased final biomass (+14%), leaf area, and leaf area ratio (the ratio of leaf area to plant dry mass) with warming, along with similar or increased leaf mass fraction (+14%). Subtropical species increased biomass with +3.5 °C (+28%) and +7 °C (+17%) warming but were negatively impacted with >10 °C warming (-31%). Tropical species reduced

SUBMITTER: Choury Z 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12448803 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature