Post-fire resprouting oaks (genus: Quercus) exhibit plasticity in xylem vulnerability to drought

Abstract (from http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11258-016-0568-y): Resprouting is a key functional trait for species in disturbance prone environments. In many semi-arid environments, woody plants face both fire and drought as recurring disturbances. Past work has demonstrated that oaks inhabiting sky-island forests of the northern Sierra Madre Oriental have differing microhabitat preferences and heavy stem dieback occured during the historic 2011 drought indicating potential xylem failure. These oak species, representing two sections within the genus, are all post-fire resprouters: they can resprout from underground storage organs when fire kills above ground tissue. Resprouts provide an opportunity to...

Categories: Publication; Types: Citation; Tags: Drought, Drought, Fire and Extreme Weather, Fire, Forests, Landscapes, All tags... Sky-Island Forests, South Central CASC, Fewer tags

Final Report: Predicting Sky Island Forest Vulnerability to Climate Change

In the southwestern United States, desert mountain ranges are “islands” of forest in a sea of dry grasslands and desert shrubs. It is likely that this region will face a hotter climate in the future. A particular concern is that many of these tree species (oaks, pines, and junipers) are restricted to higher elevations and that a warming climate will reduce the available habitat causing populations to decline. Although all trees are restricted to mountains in this region, different species prefer different local habitats (for example, one might prefer south slopes, others valley bottoms). This suggests that more than simply elevation determines tree habitat. We took detailed measurements of temperature and soil moisture...

Categories: Publication; Types: Citation; Tags: Drought, Drought Tolerance, Drought, Fire and Extreme Weather, Final Report, Fire, All tags... Fire Response, Forests, Landscapes, Microclimate, South Central CASC, Fewer tags