The role of nutritional impairment in carbon-water balance of silver fir drought-induced dieback.

ABSTRACT: Rear-edge populations at the xeric distribution limit of tree species are particularly vulnerable to forest dieback triggered by drought. This is the case of silver fir (Abies alba) forests located in Southwestern Europe. While silver fir drought-induced dieback patterns have been previously explored, information on the role played by nutritional impairment is lacking despite its potential interactions with tree carbon-water balances. We performed a comparative analysis of radial growth, intrinsic water-use efficiency (iWUE), oxygen isotopes (δ¹⁸ O) and nutrient concentrations in leaves of declining (DD) and non-declining (ND) trees in silver fir in four forests in the Spanish Pyrenees. We also evaluated the relationships among dieback predisposition, intraspecific trait variati

SUBMITTER: Gonzalez de Andres E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9540818 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature