Trait Acclimation Mitigates Mortality Risks of Tropical Canopy Trees under Global Warming.

ABSTRACT: There is a heated debate about the effect of global change on tropical forests. Many scientists predict large-scale tree mortality while others point to mitigating roles of CO2 fertilization and - the notoriously unknown - physiological trait acclimation of trees. In this opinion article we provided a first quantification of the potential of trait acclimation to mitigate the negative effects of warming on tropical canopy tree growth and survival. We applied a physiological tree growth model that incorporates trait acclimation through an optimization approach. Our model estimated the maximum effect of acclimation when trees optimize traits that are strongly plastic on a week to annual time scale (leaf photosynthetic capacity, total leaf area, stem sapwood area) to maximize carbon gain. We s

SUBMITTER: Sterck F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4863428 | biostudies-literature | 2016

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature