Summary:
Published in Frontiers in Plant Science 6: 877. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2015.00877
The predicted climate warming and increased atmospheric inorganic nitrogen deposition are expected to have dramatic impacts on plant growth. However, the extent of these effects and their interactions remains unclear for boreal forest trees. The aim of this experiment was to investigate the effects of increased soil temperature and nitrogen (N) depositions on stem intra-annual growth of two mature stands of black spruce [Picea mariana (Mill.) BSP] in Québec, QC, Canada. During 2008–2013, the soil around mature trees was warmed up by 4°C with heating cables during the growing season and precipitations containing three times the current inorganic N concentration were added by frequent canopy applications. Xylem phenology and cell production were monitored weekly from April to October. The 6-year-long experiment performed in two sites at different altitude showed no substantial effect of warming and N-depositions on xylem phenological phases of cell enlargement, wall thickening and lignification. Cell production, in terms of number of tracheids along the radius, also did not differ significantly and followed the same patterns in control and treated trees. These findings allowed the hypothesis of a medium-term effect of soil warming and N depositions on the growth of mature black spruce to be rejected.
Sector(s):
Forests
Catégorie(s):
Scientific Article
Theme(s):
Ecosystems and Environment, Forest Ecology, Forestry Research, Forests
Departmental author(s):
Author(s):
DAO, Madjelia C.E., Sergio ROSSI, Denis WALSH, Hubert MORIN and Daniel HOULE
Year of publication:
2015
Format:
PDF available upon request
How to get the publication:
Keyword(s):
forêt boréale, épinette noire, dépositions azotés, sols, Changements climatiques, écologie forestière, écosystèmes et environnement, Picea mariana, article scientifique de recherche forestière, ecosystems and environment, forest ecology, boreal forest, black spruce, N depositions, soils, climatic changes