Meta-analysis Reveals Different Competition Effects on Tree Growth Resistance and Resilience to Drought

Drought will increasingly threaten forest ecosystems worldwide. Understanding how competition influences tree growth response to drought is essential for forest management aiming at climate change adaptation. However, published results from individual case studies are heterogeneous and sometimes con...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Ecosystems (New York) 2022, Vol.25 (1), p.30-43
Main Authors: Castagneri, Daniele, Vacchiano, Giorgio, Hacket-Pain, Andrew, DeRose, R. Justin, Klein, Tamir, Bottero, Alessandra
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adaptation
Analysis
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Case studies
Climate adaptation
Climate change
Competition
Drought
Droughts
Ecology
Ecosystems
Environmental Management
Environmental protection
Forest ecosystems
Forest management
Geoecology/Natural Processes
Global temperature changes
Growth
Growth rate
Hydrology/Water Resources
Life Sciences
Meta-analysis
Plant Sciences
Recovery
Resilience
Sensitivity
Sustainable forestry
Terrestrial ecosystems
Tree rings
Trees
Variability
Water availability
Zoology
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Summary:Drought will increasingly threaten forest ecosystems worldwide. Understanding how competition influences tree growth response to drought is essential for forest management aiming at climate change adaptation. However, published results from individual case studies are heterogeneous and sometimes contradictory. We reviewed 166 cases from the peer-reviewed literature to assess the influence of stand-level competition on tree growth response to drought. We monitored five indicators of tree growth response: mean sensitivity (inter-annual tree ring width variability); association between inter-annual growth variability and water availability; resistance; recovery; and resilience to drought. Vote counting did not indicate a consistent effect of competition on mean sensitivity. Conversely, higher competition for resources strengthened the association between water availability and inter-annual growth rates. Meta-analysis showed that higher competition reduced resistance ( p  
ISSN:1432-9840
1435-0629
DOI:10.1007/s10021-021-00638-4