Snow fungi-induced mortality of [i]Pinus cembra[/i] at the Alpine treeline: Evidence from plantations
Identifying the factors controlling tree mortality is key to understanding the effects of ongoing global change on treeline movement and species composition. One potentially significant but little studied factor that impacts the formation of treelines is mortality caused by snow fungi. We studied th...
Published in: | Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research |
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Online Access: | https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01195096 https://doi.org/10.1657/1938-4246-45.4.455 |
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ftccsdartic:oai:HAL:hal-01195096v1 2023-05-15T14:14:27+02:00 Snow fungi-induced mortality of [i]Pinus cembra[/i] at the Alpine treeline: Evidence from plantations Barbeito Sanchez, Ignacio Bruecker, Regina L. Rixen, Christian Bebi, Peter Laboratoire d'Etudes des Ressources Forêt-Bois (LERFoB) AgroParisTech-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA) WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF "Gebirgsprogramm" of WSL; CCES Project MOUNTLAND; "Gebirgsprogramm" of SLF 2013 https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01195096 https://doi.org/10.1657/1938-4246-45.4.455 en eng HAL CCSD University of Colorado at Boulder, Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.1657/1938-4246-45.4.455 hal-01195096 https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01195096 doi:10.1657/1938-4246-45.4.455 PRODINRA: 293011 WOS: 000329533400003 ISSN: 1523-0430 Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01195096 Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research, University of Colorado at Boulder, Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, 2013, 45 (4), pp.455-470. ⟨10.1657/1938-4246-45.4.455⟩ http://www.bioone.org/loi/aare [SDV]Life Sciences [q-bio] info:eu-repo/semantics/article Journal articles 2013 ftccsdartic https://doi.org/10.1657/1938-4246-45.4.455 2021-06-19T23:56:27Z Identifying the factors controlling tree mortality is key to understanding the effects of ongoing global change on treeline movement and species composition. One potentially significant but little studied factor that impacts the formation of treelines is mortality caused by snow fungi. We studied the mortality patterns of Pinus cembra, a typical treeline species of the Central Alps of Switzerland, in two plantations located on opposite slopes of the Dischma valley (Northeast [NE] and Southwest [SW]) above the current treeline. In 1975, 33,000 P. cembra trees were planted at the NE site and 550 trees at the smaller SW site. All trees have been periodically monitored for survival since then. After 30 years, only ca. 5% of all P. cembra trees survived in both plantations. Two species of pathogenic snow fungus, Gremmeniella abietina and Phacidium infestans, were major mortality agents for saplings. High rates of infection by Gremmeniella corresponded to late snowmelt and high ratios of rainfall to temperature. High rates of infection by Phacidium corresponded to earlier snowmelt and were spatially associated with P. cembra mature trees that had been present in the area before the time of planting. We provide experimental evidence that snow fungi are a primary cause of sapling tree mortality at treeline. Although additional evidence from different geographic regions and more natural treeline distributions is needed, our results suggest that the prevalence of snow fungi may prevent establishment of trees above the current treeline at present, and under future climate scenarios. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarctic and Alpine Research Arctic Arctic and Alpine Research Archive ouverte HAL (Hyper Article en Ligne, CCSD - Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe) Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research 45 4 455 470 |
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Archive ouverte HAL (Hyper Article en Ligne, CCSD - Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe) |
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ftccsdartic |
language |
English |
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[SDV]Life Sciences [q-bio] |
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[SDV]Life Sciences [q-bio] Barbeito Sanchez, Ignacio Bruecker, Regina L. Rixen, Christian Bebi, Peter Snow fungi-induced mortality of [i]Pinus cembra[/i] at the Alpine treeline: Evidence from plantations |
topic_facet |
[SDV]Life Sciences [q-bio] |
description |
Identifying the factors controlling tree mortality is key to understanding the effects of ongoing global change on treeline movement and species composition. One potentially significant but little studied factor that impacts the formation of treelines is mortality caused by snow fungi. We studied the mortality patterns of Pinus cembra, a typical treeline species of the Central Alps of Switzerland, in two plantations located on opposite slopes of the Dischma valley (Northeast [NE] and Southwest [SW]) above the current treeline. In 1975, 33,000 P. cembra trees were planted at the NE site and 550 trees at the smaller SW site. All trees have been periodically monitored for survival since then. After 30 years, only ca. 5% of all P. cembra trees survived in both plantations. Two species of pathogenic snow fungus, Gremmeniella abietina and Phacidium infestans, were major mortality agents for saplings. High rates of infection by Gremmeniella corresponded to late snowmelt and high ratios of rainfall to temperature. High rates of infection by Phacidium corresponded to earlier snowmelt and were spatially associated with P. cembra mature trees that had been present in the area before the time of planting. We provide experimental evidence that snow fungi are a primary cause of sapling tree mortality at treeline. Although additional evidence from different geographic regions and more natural treeline distributions is needed, our results suggest that the prevalence of snow fungi may prevent establishment of trees above the current treeline at present, and under future climate scenarios. |
author2 |
Laboratoire d'Etudes des Ressources Forêt-Bois (LERFoB) AgroParisTech-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA) WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF "Gebirgsprogramm" of WSL; CCES Project MOUNTLAND; "Gebirgsprogramm" of SLF |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Barbeito Sanchez, Ignacio Bruecker, Regina L. Rixen, Christian Bebi, Peter |
author_facet |
Barbeito Sanchez, Ignacio Bruecker, Regina L. Rixen, Christian Bebi, Peter |
author_sort |
Barbeito Sanchez, Ignacio |
title |
Snow fungi-induced mortality of [i]Pinus cembra[/i] at the Alpine treeline: Evidence from plantations |
title_short |
Snow fungi-induced mortality of [i]Pinus cembra[/i] at the Alpine treeline: Evidence from plantations |
title_full |
Snow fungi-induced mortality of [i]Pinus cembra[/i] at the Alpine treeline: Evidence from plantations |
title_fullStr |
Snow fungi-induced mortality of [i]Pinus cembra[/i] at the Alpine treeline: Evidence from plantations |
title_full_unstemmed |
Snow fungi-induced mortality of [i]Pinus cembra[/i] at the Alpine treeline: Evidence from plantations |
title_sort |
snow fungi-induced mortality of [i]pinus cembra[/i] at the alpine treeline: evidence from plantations |
publisher |
HAL CCSD |
publishDate |
2013 |
url |
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01195096 https://doi.org/10.1657/1938-4246-45.4.455 |
genre |
Antarctic and Alpine Research Arctic Arctic and Alpine Research |
genre_facet |
Antarctic and Alpine Research Arctic Arctic and Alpine Research |
op_source |
ISSN: 1523-0430 Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01195096 Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research, University of Colorado at Boulder, Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, 2013, 45 (4), pp.455-470. ⟨10.1657/1938-4246-45.4.455⟩ http://www.bioone.org/loi/aare |
op_relation |
info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.1657/1938-4246-45.4.455 hal-01195096 https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01195096 doi:10.1657/1938-4246-45.4.455 PRODINRA: 293011 WOS: 000329533400003 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1657/1938-4246-45.4.455 |
container_title |
Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research |
container_volume |
45 |
container_issue |
4 |
container_start_page |
455 |
op_container_end_page |
470 |
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1766286906929184768 |