Elevational pattern and temperature sensitivity of spring leaf phenology of three co-occurring tree species in a subtropical mountain forest

• Published in: Trees (Berlin, West) Vol. 37; no. 3; pp. 863 - 874
• Main Authors: Wu, Hao, Li, Jiehua, Zhou, Jie, Jiang, Mingxi, Wei, Xinzeng
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.06.2023; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Agriculture; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Chilling; Climate change; Cooling; Deciduous trees; Elevation; Endangered plants; Endangered species; Environmental changes; Forestry; Global warming; Leaves; Life Sciences; Mountain forests; Mountains; Original Article; Phenology; Plant Anatomy/Development; Plant Pathology; Plant Physiology; Plant Sciences; Plant species; Rare species; Sensitivity; Sensitivity analysis; Spring (season); Interspecific variation; Climate change; Elevational gradient; Forcing; Phenological sensitivity; Chilling
• ISSN: 0931-1890; 1432-2285
• DOI: 10.1007/s00468-023-02390-9

Key message Spring leaf phenology delayed with increasing elevation, and the onset of bud development showed less response to elevation. Bud development advanced under increased forcing and delayed under decreased chilling. Plant phenology is highly sensitive to environmental changes and is driven mostly by temperature. However, elevational pattern, adaptation strategies, and temperature sensitivity of spring leaf phenology of trees in subtropical mountain forests remain rarely explored, despite their important implications for predicting how plant phenology may respond to global warming. Here, we monitored the timing and duration of bud development for three rare, endangered, and deciduous tree species ( Euptelea pleiospermum , Cercidiphyllum japonicum , and Tetracentron sinense ) along an elevational gradient in the Shennongjia Mountains in central China. We then conducted a twig experiment in the climate chambers to test the phenological sensitivity of leaf to forcing and chilling. The results showed that with increasing elevation, the onset of bud development and leaf unfolding were consistently delayed and the duration of bud development was lengthened. The magnitude of the phenological responses to elevational change differed between phenological stages, and the onset of bud development showed a lower response to elevation than leaf unfolding. Additionally, after accounting for elevation, a negative relationship between the onset and duration of bud development was observed. The results from twig experiments showed that the timing of bud development advanced under increased forcing and delayed under decreased chilling. We infer that leaves may unfold earlier under warmer springs, but the advance may be slowed down by warmer winters. The phenological sensitivity to temperature is species-specific, and E. pleiospermum was the most sensitive species. Our results suggest that the spring leaf phenology of rare and endangered tree species in subtropical mountain forests has a significant elevational trend and is sensitive to temperature changes. We also highlight that the important role of chilling should be considered when predicting the phenological shift under climate change.