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Updated: Feb 10, 2026
05:26
A Venturi Effect Can Help Cure Our Trees
Published on: October 1, 2013
18.4K
Below-ground biotic interactions moderated the postglacial range dynamics of trees
Jason Pither1, Brian J Pickles2,3, Suzanne W Simard3
1Okanagan Institute for Biodiversity, Resilience, and Ecosystem Services, University of British Columbia, Okanagan Campus, 3187 University Way, Kelowna, BC, V1V 1V7, Canada.
The New Phytologist
|May 18, 2018
Summary
Tree range shifts are influenced by ectomycorrhizal fungi and seed mass, impacting forest biome changes. Understanding these biotic interactions and abiotic factors is crucial for predicting forest ecosystem responses to climate change.
Area of Science:
- Paleoecology
- Botany
- Ecology
Background:
- Geohistorical tree range shifts offer insights into future forest biome dynamics under global change.
- North American tree distribution changes post-deglaciation varied, with underlying causes for these range dynamics remaining unclear.
- Local processes like establishment and resilience influence tree range shifts, but the role of below-ground biotic interactions is understudied.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify predictors of geohistorical tree range expansion and contraction rates.
- To evaluate the influence of climate velocity, plant traits (dispersal, tolerance, symbioses), and biotic interactions on tree distribution dynamics.
- To link below-ground interactions to large-scale tree distribution changes.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of tree genera distributions between 16,000 and 7,000 years before present.
- Evaluation of climate velocity as a predictor of range shifts.
- Assessment of plant traits, including seed mass and receptivity to ectomycorrhizal fungi, as predictors of distribution rates.
Main Results:
- Host tree receptivity to ectomycorrhizal fungi positively predicted poleward distribution expansion rates.
- Seed mass negatively predicted distribution expansion rates.
- Climate velocity predicted rates of distribution contraction but not expansion.
Conclusions:
- Tree distribution dynamics are influenced by a combination of plant traits, biotic interactions (specifically ectomycorrhizal associations), and abiotic forcing (climate velocity).
- Understanding forest ecosystem responses to climate change necessitates considering both below-ground symbioses and above-ground factors.
- Future forest biome changes will depend on the interplay between species-specific traits and environmental pressures.
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