High Recovery of Saplings after Severe Drought in Temperate Deciduous Forests

• Published in: Forests 2020-05, Vol.11 (5), p.546
• Main Authors: Beloiu, Mirela, Stahlmann, Reinhold, Beierkuhnlein, Carl
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 1999-4907; 1999-4907
• DOI: 10.3390/f11050546

Drought episodes are predicted to increase their intensity and frequency globally, which will have a particular impact on forest vitality, productivity, and species distribution. However, the impact of tree species interaction on forest vulnerability to drought is not yet clear. This study aims to assess how deciduous saplings react to drought and whether tree species diversity can buffer the impact of drought stress on tree saplings. Based on field measurements of crown defoliation and species diversity, vulnerability, drought recovery, and species interaction were analyzed. Fieldwork was carried out in Central Eastern Germany in 2018 during the vegetation season and repeated in 2019. Ten random saplings were measured in each of the 218 plots (15 × 15 m) with 2051 saplings in total out of 41 tree species. We found that 65% of the saplings experienced defoliation during the drought of 2018, of which up to 13% showed complete defoliation. At the species level, Fagus sylvatica L. and Betula pendula Roth. saplings were less affected (