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Pushing the envelope: do narrowly and widely distributed Eucalyptus species differ in response to climate warming?
John E Drake1, Angelica Vårhammar2, Michael J Aspinwall3
1Department of Sustainable Resources Management, College of Environmental Science and Forestry, State University of New York, 1 Forestry Drive, Syracuse, NY, 13210, USA.
The New Phytologist
|April 26, 2024
Summary
Warming generally boosted Eucalyptus growth, with wider-distributed and temperate species showing greater benefits. While trees can acclimate physiologically, their ability to adjust morphology varies, impacting climate change adaptation.
Area of Science:
- Ecology
- Plant Physiology
- Climate Change Biology
Background:
- Climate change is shifting species' climate envelopes, potentially exceeding current ranges.
- The Eucalyptus genus serves as a model to study tree species' responses to warming.
- Understanding adaptation capacity is crucial for predicting forest resilience.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess if narrow-distribution Eucalyptus species have limited warming tolerance compared to wide-distribution species.
- To investigate differences in warming response between tropical and temperate Eucalyptus provenances.
- To evaluate the influence of warming on growth, allocation, and physiological acclimation.
Main Methods:
- Seedlings of wide and narrow-distribution Eucalyptus species from tropical and temperate Australia were grown under ambient and +3.5°C warming regimes.
- Measurements included physical traits and leaf-level gas exchange.
- Analysis focused on growth rates, biomass allocation, and physiological acclimation.
Main Results:
- Warming generally stimulated Eucalyptus growth, particularly early relative growth rates, leading to greater biomass accumulation.
- Growth enhancement under warming was more pronounced in widely distributed species compared to narrowly distributed ones.
- Temperate provenances exhibited greater growth enhancement than tropical provenances, linked to leaf area production and specific leaf area adjustments.
Conclusions:
- Eucalyptus species demonstrate physiological acclimation capacity to warming.
- However, the ability to adjust morphology varies among species and provenances.
- Differential acclimation and adjustment capacities influence species' resilience to climate change.
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