Journal article
Increased growing-season productivity drives earlier autumn leaf senescence in temperate trees.
- Zani D Institute of Integrative Biology, ETH Zurich (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology), Universitätsstrasse 16, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland.
- Crowther TW Institute of Integrative Biology, ETH Zurich (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology), Universitätsstrasse 16, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland.
- Mo L Institute of Integrative Biology, ETH Zurich (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology), Universitätsstrasse 16, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland.
- Renner SS Systematic Botany and Mycology, University of Munich (LMU), Menzinger Str. 67, 80638 Munich, Germany.
- Zohner CM Institute of Integrative Biology, ETH Zurich (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology), Universitätsstrasse 16, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland. constantin.zohner@gmail.com.
- 2020-11-27
Published in:
- Science (New York, N.Y.). - 2020
English
Changes in the growing-season lengths of temperate trees greatly affect biotic interactions and global carbon balance. Yet future growing-season trajectories remain highly uncertain because the environmental drivers of autumn leaf senescence are poorly understood. Using experiments and long-term observations, we show that increases in spring and summer productivity due to elevated carbon dioxide, temperature, or light levels drive earlier senescence. Accounting for this effect improved the accuracy of senescence predictions by 27 to 42% and reversed future predictions from a previously expected 2- to 3-week delay over the rest of the century to an advance of 3 to 6 days. These findings demonstrate the critical role of sink limitation in governing the end of seasonal activity and reveal important constraints on future growing-season lengths and carbon uptake of trees.
- Language
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- English
- Open access status
- closed
- Identifiers
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- DOI 10.1126/science.abd8911
- PMID 33243884
- Persistent URL
- https://sonar.ch/global/documents/244192
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