RECORD
Differences in Tree Physiological Plasticity Revealed by Wildfire Risk Reduction Treatments in Two Western US Conifer Tree Species Under Climate Change
- Title:
- Differences in Tree Physiological Plasticity Revealed by Wildfire Risk Reduction Treatments in Two Western US Conifer Tree Species Under Climate Change
- Creator:
- Mathias, Justin Michael; Stenzel, Jeffrey ; Bryant, Kelsey ; Hudiburg, Tara W.
- Date Created:
- 2022
- Description:
- Western United States (US) forests are an invaluable carbon (C) dense natural resource that contain 29% of US aboveground biomass and contribute to 20% of national net primary productivity (NPP) annually. At the same time, these forests are experiencing enhanced precipitation variability and periods of prolonged drought, resulting in an increase in the frequency, severity, and synchrony of large wildland fires. This poses considerable ecological and economic risks as nearly one-third of western US forests are privately owned and subject to harvest, and if threatened would result in a tremendous loss of atmospheric CO2 storage potential. Fuels reduction is an attractive solution to reduce the severity of wildland fire occurrence and mitigate some of the negative outcomes related to wildland fire, yet the impacts to carbon cycling dynamics and water relations of remaining trees is not fully resolved. In this study we reveal the time-integrated effect of fuels reduction on the growth and physiology of two highly prevalent western US conifer tree species, Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) and western redcedar (Thuja plicata) in the context of climate change and drought. We focus our analysis in a mixed conifer forest in the northern Rocky Mountains at the University of Idaho Experimental Forest which, on average, experiences between up to 100 days without precipitation annually. We found the rate of carbon accrual (NPP, g C day-1) for trees in plots where fuels were reduced was, on average, 72% greater relative to control plots (F = 4.6, p < 0.01), but this increase was greater for Douglas fir (+83%) than for western redcedar (+61%) (F = 87.9, p < 0.001). Intrinsic water use efficiency, a measure of the relative balance between carbon uptake and the potential for water loss, was inherently lower in western redcedar (97 µmol CO2 mol-1 H2O) when compared to Douglas fir (118 µmol CO2 mol-1 H2O) (F = 49.2, p < 0.001), but diminished less under fuels reduction (F = 13.9, p < 0.01). We further found Douglas fir exhibited a greater sensitivity of NPP to climate, and these results taken together underscore future carbon storage potential of forests of the western US is nuanced and depends upon interactions between fuels reduction treatments and climate.
- Document Type:
- Presentation
- Subjects:
- tree physiological plasticity wildfire risk reduction fuels reduction tree growth carbon uptake Douglas fir Western redcedar
- Location:
- northern Rocky Mountains
- Publisher:
- Astrophysics Data System (Harvard.edu)
- Department:
- University of Idaho; University of California Merced
- Type:
- Text
- Format:
- record
Source
- Preferred Citation:
- "Differences in Tree Physiological Plasticity Revealed by Wildfire Risk Reduction Treatments in Two Western US Conifer Tree Species Under Climate Change", UIEF Research Exchange, University of Idaho Library Digital Collections, https://www.lib.uidaho.edu/digital/uief/items/uief_0298.html
Rights
- Rights:
- In copyright, educational use permitted.
- Standardized Rights:
- http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC-EDU/1.0/