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Spatial patterns and broad-scale weather cues of beech mast seeding in Europe.

  • Vacchiano G DISAFA, University of Turin, Largo Braccini 2, 10095, Grugliasco (TO), Italy.
  • Hacket-Pain A St Catherine's College, Manor Road, Oxford, OX1 3UJ, UK.
  • Turco M Department of Applied Physics, University of Barcelona, Av. Diagonal 647, 08028, Barcelona, Spain.
  • Motta R DISAFA, University of Turin, Largo Braccini 2, 10095, Grugliasco (TO), Italy.
  • Maringer J Institute for Landscape Planning and Ecology, University of Stuttgart, Keplerstr. 11, 70174, Stuttgart, Germany.
  • Conedera M Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow, and Landscape Research WSL, a Ramél 18, CH-6953, Cadenazzo, Switzerland.
  • Drobyshev I Southern Swedish Forest Research Centre, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, PO Box 49, 230 53, Alnarp, Sweden.
  • Ascoli D Dipartimento di Agraria, University of Naples Federico II, via Università 100, 80055, Portici (NA), Italy.
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  • 2017-06-21
Published in:
  • The New phytologist. - 2017
Fagus sylvatica (beech)
Moran effect
mast seeding
population ecology
seed production
synchronisation
weather cues
Climate
Droughts
Europe
Fagus
Logistic Models
Seasons
Seeds
Spatio-Temporal Analysis
Temperature
Weather
English Mast seeding is a crucial population process in many tree species, but its spatio-temporal patterns and drivers at the continental scale remain unknown . Using a large dataset (8000 masting observations across Europe for years 1950-2014) we analysed the spatial pattern of masting across the entire geographical range of European beech, how it is influenced by precipitation, temperature and drought, and the temporal and spatial stability of masting-weather correlations. Beech masting exhibited a general distance-dependent synchronicity and a pattern structured in three broad geographical groups consistent with continental climate regimes. Spearman's correlations and logistic regression revealed a general pattern of beech masting correlating negatively with temperature in the summer 2 yr before masting, and positively with summer temperature 1 yr before masting (i.e. 2T model). The temperature difference between the two previous summers (DeltaT model) was also a good predictor. Moving correlation analysis applied to the longest eight chronologies (74-114 yr) revealed stable correlations between temperature and masting, confirming consistency in weather cues across space and time. These results confirm widespread dependency of masting on temperature and lend robustness to the attempts to reconstruct and predict mast years using temperature data.
Language
  • English
Open access status
bronze
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https://sonar.ch/global/documents/96349
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