Effects of insufficient chilling on budburst and growth of six temperate forest tree species in Ontario

Insufficient winter chilling related to rising temperatures has raised questions about its potential effects on budburst timing (growth initiation) and subsequent tree growth. We quantified budburst timing and growth of seedlings of six Ontario temperate forest tree species after exposure to differe...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:New forests 2021-03, Vol.52 (2), p.303-315
Main Authors: Man, Rongzhou, Lu, Pengxin, Dang, Qing-Lai
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Betula alleghaniensis
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Birch trees
Branches
Chilling
Climate change
Coniferous trees
Cooling
Dormancy
Evergreen trees
Forestry
Global warming
Larix laricina
Life Sciences
Picea rubens
Pine
Pine trees
Pinus strobus
Plant species
Seedlings
Species
Temperate forests
Thuja occidentalis
Winter
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Summary:Insufficient winter chilling related to rising temperatures has raised questions about its potential effects on budburst timing (growth initiation) and subsequent tree growth. We quantified budburst timing and growth of seedlings of six Ontario temperate forest tree species after exposure to different levels of winter chilling using controlled forcing experiments. Based on chilling–forcing relationships, chilling requirements for the species tested ranged from 1000 to 1500 weighted chilling hours. Our findings showed that the species’ chilling needs ranked from highest to lowest were yellow birch ( Betula alleghaniensis ), eastern larch ( Larix laricina ), eastern white pine ( Pinus strobus ), red pine ( Pinus resinosa ), red spruce ( Picea rubens ), and eastern white cedar ( Thuja occidentalis ). Species that needed more chilling to release dormancy generally required less cumulative forcing for budburst. The variations in chilling–forcing relationships among species suggest that they would respond differently to temperature changes, resulting in year to year variation in their relative phenology. Insufficient chilling increased cumulative forcing needed for budburst but only extreme chilling deficiency (
ISSN:0169-4286
1573-5095
DOI:10.1007/s11056-020-09795-1