Drought sensitivity of beech on a shallow chalk soil in northeastern Germany – a comparative study

Marieke van der Maaten-Theunissen; Hanna Bümmerstede; Janette Iwanowski; Tobias Scharnweber; Martin Wilmking; Ernst van der Maaten

doi:10.1186/s40663-016-0083-6

Forest Ecosystems 2017, 4(1): 24 https://doi.org/10.1186/s40663-016-0083-6

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Open Access | Issue | Published: 16 September 2016

Drought sensitivity of beech on a shallow chalk soil in northeastern Germany – a comparative study

Show Author's Information Hide Author's Information Marieke van der Maaten-Theunissen(

), Hanna Bümmerstede, Janette Iwanowski, Tobias Scharnweber, Martin Wilmking, Ernst van der Maaten

Institute of Botany and Landscape Ecology, University of Greifswald, Soldmannstr. 15, 17487 Greifswald, Germany

Keywords:

Drought stress, Climate-growth relationships, Dendroecology, Inter-tree variability, Temporal stability

Cite this article:

van der Maaten-Theunissen M, Bümmerstede H, Iwanowski J, et al. Drought sensitivity of beech on a shallow chalk soil in northeastern Germany – a comparative study. Forest Ecosystems, 2017, 4(1): 24. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40663-016-0083-6

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Abstract Full text About this article

Abstract

Background

We compare the climate sensitivity of European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) in two forest nature reserves in northeastern Germany. The one reserve, Schlossberg, is characterized by shallow chalk soils, whereas in the other reserve, Eldena, soils are deeper and more developed. Little is known about the drought sensitivity of beech on shallow chalk soils.

Methods

We collected increment cores at both research sites and established climate-growth relationships. Inter-tree variability was assessed by employing linear mixed-effect models.

Results

We expected to find distinctively higher drought sensitivity at Schlossberg due to limited water availability, but find only marginal differences in growth responses. At both sites, drought is the major climatic factor driving tree growth. Adaptations in tree architecture and an underestimation of the water holding capacity of shallow chalk soils are discussed as possible reasons for not finding more distinct climate responses. In analyzing climate-growth relationships, we specifically focused on growth responses of individual trees but observed only low inter-tree variability at both sites. Evident is a shift in climate response patterns from the first to the second half of the twentieth century with previous-year drought conditions becoming more important than current-year drought. This shift is discussed in relation to a warming trend over that same period, as well as possible trends in masting behavior of beech.

Conclusion

The investigated beech trees on the shallow chalk soil are only slightly more drought sensitive than beech trees on the reference site with deeper and more developed soils.

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About this article

Drought sensitivity of beech on a shallow chalk soil in northeastern Germany – a comparative study

Show Author's information Hide Author's Information Marieke van der Maaten-Theunissen(

), Hanna Bümmerstede, Janette Iwanowski, Tobias Scharnweber, Martin Wilmking, Ernst van der Maaten

Institute of Botany and Landscape Ecology, University of Greifswald, Soldmannstr. 15, 17487 Greifswald, Germany

Abstract

Background

Methods

We collected increment cores at both research sites and established climate-growth relationships. Inter-tree variability was assessed by employing linear mixed-effect models.

Results

Conclusion

The investigated beech trees on the shallow chalk soil are only slightly more drought sensitive than beech trees on the reference site with deeper and more developed soils.

Keywords: Drought stress, Climate-growth relationships, Dendroecology, Inter-tree variability, Temporal stability

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Acknowledgements

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Publication history

Received: 21 July 2016

Accepted: 07 September 2016

Published: 16 September 2016

Issue date: March 2017

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Acknowledgements

We thank the Jasmund National Park and the forest service of the University of Greifswald for supporting our fieldwork.

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Open Access This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.