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Title
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Autumn dynamics of leaf phenology and xylem formation in deciduous forest trees of Europe
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Author
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Abstract
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| Most phenological studies of deciduous forest ecosystems have investigated the onset of the growing season, mainly by characterizing the timing of canopy development and cambium reactivation, while autumn phenological events have been largely overlooked. The end of cambial activity, cessation of xylem formation (or wood growth) and onset of foliar senescence are key autumn phenological events in temperate deciduous trees. Their timing is fundamental for the development and survival of trees, ecosystem nutrient cycling and the seasonal exchange of matter and energy between the biosphere and atmosphere, which all affect the impact and feedback of forests to global change. In this work, we advanced the knowledge about autumn leaf- and wood formation phenology with a large-scale experimental effort and improved observational methods. We observed the end of cambial activity, cessation of wood growth, onset of foliar senescence and onset of foliar decoloration for different deciduous tree species (silver birch, European beech, pedunculate oak and common aspen) at different locations over Europe with different climates (Southern Norway, Belgium and Northern Spain) and over three growing seasons with different climatic conditions (2017, 2018 and 2019). The main findings comprised: (i) the description of wood growth cessation dynamics in autumn which showed advances in years with very dry conditions but showing inter-species variability, (ii) the definition of an autumn phenology timeline, with wood growth cessation occurring before or concurrently with the onset of foliar senescence, except during a year following a very severe drought, and (iii) the report that the wood growing season length and the timing of crucial wood phenological phases varied more across locations than over years and were related to temperature and climate zone but did show only few general trends across species. In summary, we filled important gaps in knowledge about autumn phenology of temperate deciduous forests and provided new unique datasets about these dynamics. Together, these new insights allow to better understand the functioning of deciduous trees and their possible future response to global change. |
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Language
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English
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Publication
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Antwerp
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University of Antwerp, Faculty of Science, Department of Biology
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2021
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Volume/pages
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233 p.
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Note
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Campioli, Matteo [Supervisor]
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Full text (publisher's version - intranet only)
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