Density-dependent vulnerability of forest ecosystems to drought

Abstract (from http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1365-2664.12847/full): Climate models predict increasing drought intensity and frequency for many regions, which may have negative consequences for tree recruitment, growth and mortality, as well as forest ecosystem services. Furthermore, practical strategies for minimizing vulnerability to drought are limited. Tree population density, a metric of tree abundance in a given area, is a primary driver of competitive intensity among trees, which influences tree growth and mortality. Manipulating tree population density may be a mechanism for moderating drought-induced stress and growth reductions, although the relationship between tree population density and...

Categories: Publication; Types: Citation; Tags: Data Visualization & Tools, Drought, Drought, Fire and Extreme Weather, Forests, Landscapes, All tags... National CASC, Pinus ponderosa, Pinus resinosa, Science Tools For Managers, climate change adaptation, drought impacts, ecosystem services, semi-arid forests, temperate forests, thinning, tree population densisty, Fewer tags

Ecosystem water balance and ecological drought patterns under historical and future climate conditions for the Four Forest Restoration Initiative (4FRI) Landscape

These data were compiled for research pertaining to the effects of stand density treatments on growth rates in semi-arid, ponderosa pine forests. Also, these data examined how the planned restoration treatments in the Four Forests Restoration Initiative (4FRI), the largest forest restoration project being implemented in the United States, would alter landscape-scale patterns of forest growth and drought vulnerability throughout the 21st century. Using drought-growth relationships developed within the landscape, we considered a suite of climate and thinning scenarios and estimated both average forest growth and the proportion of years with extremely low growth as a measure of vulnerability to long-term decline. The...

Tags: 21st century, 4FRI, Arizona, Climatology, Coconino National Forest, All tags... Colorado Plateau, Ecology, Flagstaff, Forestry, Four Forests Restoration Initiative, Geography, Information Sciences, Kaibab National Forest, RCP, USGS Science Data Catalog (SDC), air temperature, atmospheric and climatic processes, basal area, basal area increment, basal area reduction, biomass, biomass increment, climate, climate change, climate impacts, climatologyMeteorologyAtmosphere, density treatment, drought severity, drought vulnerability, drought-growth relationships, droughts, ecological distribution, ecological drought, ecological processes, ecological restoration, ecosystem restoration, environmental driver, environmental restoration, forest density, forest ecosystems, forest growth, forest stand, forest treatment, future time period (late), future time period (near), geography, geoscientificInformation, growth, growth rate, growth rates, growth vulnerability, historical time period, landscape, landscape, landscape structure, landscape-scale patterns, northern Arizona, pine forests, ponderosa pine forests, precipitation, precipitation (atmospheric), predicted growth, relative growth, representative concentration pathway, restoration treatments, semi-arid forests, shifting climate, soil moisture, stand density treatments, stand driver, temperature, thinning, thinning treatments, Fewer tags

Ecosystem water balance and ecological drought patterns under historical and future climate conditions for the Four Forest Restoration Initiative (4FRI) Landscape (COPY)

These data were compiled for research pertaining to the effects of stand density treatments on growth rates in semi-arid, ponderosa pine forests. Also, these data examined how the planned restoration treatments in the Four Forests Restoration Initiative (4FRI), the largest forest restoration project being implemented in the United States, would alter landscape-scale patterns of forest growth and drought vulnerability throughout the 21st century. Using drought-growth relationships developed within the landscape, we considered a suite of climate and thinning scenarios and estimated both average forest growth and the proportion of years with extremely low growth as a measure of vulnerability to long-term decline. The...

Tags: 21st century, 4FRI, Arizona, Climatology, Coconino National Forest, All tags... Colorado Plateau, Ecology, Flagstaff, Forestry, Four Forests Restoration Initiative, Geography, Information Sciences, Kaibab National Forest, RCP, USGS Science Data Catalog (SDC), air temperature, atmospheric and climatic processes, basal area, basal area increment, basal area reduction, biomass, biomass increment, climate, climate change, climate impacts, climatologyMeteorologyAtmosphere, density treatment, drought severity, drought vulnerability, drought-growth relationships, droughts, ecological distribution, ecological drought, ecological processes, ecological restoration, ecosystem restoration, environmental driver, environmental restoration, forest density, forest ecosystems, forest growth, forest stand, forest treatment, future time period (late), future time period (near), geography, geoscientificInformation, growth, growth rate, growth rates, growth vulnerability, historical time period, landscape, landscape, landscape structure, landscape-scale patterns, northern Arizona, pine forests, ponderosa pine forests, precipitation, precipitation (atmospheric), predicted growth, relative growth, representative concentration pathway, restoration treatments, semi-arid forests, shifting climate, soil moisture, stand density treatments, stand driver, temperature, thinning, thinning treatments, Fewer tags

Stand density and climate data in the Taylor Woods study area (Fort Valley Experimental Forest) on the Colorado Plateau in Northern Arizona, 1961-2011

These data were compiled for research pertaining to the effects of stand density on growth rates in semi-arid forests. Increasing heat and aridity in coming decades is expected to negatively impact tree growth and threaten forest sustainability in dry areas. Maintaining low stand density has the potential to mitigate the negative effects of increasingly severe droughts by minimizing competitive intensity. By inspecting growth rates and the climate and soil moisture conditions that drive these growth rates we can understand better the positive effects of reducing stand density and the specific dynamics that are beneficial to growth.

Tags: Arizona, Coconino County, Ecology, Flagstaff, Forestry, All tags... Fort Valley Experimental Forest, Geography, Information Sciences, Soil Sciences, Taylor Woods, USGS Science Data Catalog (SDC), biota, climate adaptation, climate change, coniferous forests, dendrochronology, drought stress, droughts, droughts, ecosystem monitoring, forest density, forest ecosystems, growth rates, semi-arid forests, soil moisture, soil moisture, vegetation, Fewer tags