TY - JOUR A1 - Feichtinger, Linda M. A1 - Eilmann, Britta A1 - Buchmann, Nina A1 - Rigling, Andreas T1 - Growth adjustments of conifers to drought and to century-long irrigation JF - Forest Ecology and Management N2 - Our knowledge on tree responses to drought is mainly based on short-term manipulation experiments which do not capture any possible long-term adjustments in this response. Therefore, historical water channels in inner-Alpine dry valleys were used as century-long irrigation experiments to investigate adjustments in tree growth to contrasting water supply. This involved quantifying the tree-ring growth of irrigated and non-irrigated (control) Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) in Valais (Switzerland), as well as European larch (Larix decidua Mill.) and black pine (Pinus nigra Arnold) in Vinschgau (Italy). Furthermore, the adjustments in radial growth of Scots pine and European larch to an abrupt stop in irrigation were analyzed. Irrigation promoted the radial growth of all tree species investigated compared to the control: (1) directly through increased soil water availability, and (2) indirectly through increased soil nutrients and humus contents in the irrigated plots. Irrigation led to a full elimination of growth responses to climate for European larch and black pine, but not for Scots pine, which might become more sensitive to drought with increasing tree size in Valais. For the control trees, the response of the latewood increment to water availability in July/August has decreased in recent decades for all species, but increased in May for Scots pine only. The sudden irrigation stop caused a drop in radial growth to a lower level for Scots pine or similar level for larch compared to the control for up to ten years. However, both tree species were then able to adjust to the new conditions and subsequently grew with similar (Scots pine) or even higher growth rates (larch) than the control. To estimate the impact of climate change on future forest development, the duration of manipulation experiments should be on longer time scales in order to capture adjustment processes and feedback mechanisms of forest ecosystems. Y1 - 2014 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2014.08.008 SN - 1872-7042 (Online) SN - 0378-1127 (Print) VL - 2014 IS - 334 SP - 96 EP - 105 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Weemstra, Monique A1 - Eilmann, Britta A1 - Sass-Klaassen, Ute G. W. A1 - Sterck, Frank J. T1 - Summer droughts limit tree growth across 10 temperate species on a productive forest site JF - Forest Ecology and Management Y1 - 2013 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2013.06.007 SN - 0378-1127 (Print) SN - 1872-7042 (Online) VL - 2013 IS - 306 SP - 142 EP - 149 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Eilmann, Britta A1 - de Vries, Sven M. G. A1 - den Ouden, Jan A1 - Mohren, Godefridus M. J. A1 - Sauren, Pascal A1 - Sass-Klaassen, Ute G. W. T1 - Origin matters! Difference in drought tolerance and productivity of coastal Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.)) provenances JF - Forest Ecology and Management Y1 - 2013 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2013.03.031 SN - 1872-7042 (Online) SN - 0378-1127 (Print) VL - 2013 IS - 302 SP - 133 EP - 143 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Eilmann, Britta A1 - Sterck, Frank J. A1 - Wegner, L. A1 - de Vries, Sven M. G. A1 - von Arx, G. A1 - Mohren, Godefridus M. J. A1 - den Ouden, Jan A1 - Sass-Klaassen, Ute G. W. T1 - Wood structural differences between northern and southern beech provenances growing at a moderate site JF - Tree Physiology Y1 - 2014 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/treephys/tpu069 SN - 1758-4469 (Online) SN - 0829-318X (Print) VL - 34 IS - 8 SP - 882 EP - 893 PB - Oxford University Press CY - Oxford ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Eilmann, Britta A1 - Rigling, Andreas ED - Abrams, Marc T1 - Tree-growth analyses to estimate tree species' drought tolerance JF - Tree Physiology N2 - Climate change is challenging forestry management and practices. Among other things, tree species with the ability to cope with more extreme climate conditions have to be identified. However, while environmental factors may severely limit tree growth or even cause tree death, assessing a tree species' potential for surviving future aggravated environmental conditions is rather demanding. The aim of this study was to find a tree-ring-based method suitable for identifying very drought-tolerant species, particularly potential substitute species for Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) in Valais. In this inner-Alpine valley, Scots pine used to be the dominating species for dry forests, but today it suffers from high drought-induced mortality. We investigate the growth response of two native tree species, Scots pine and European larch (Larix decidua Mill.), and two non-native species, black pine (Pinus nigra Arnold) and Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii Mirb. var. menziesii), to drought. This involved analysing how the radial increment of these species responded to increasing water shortage (abandonment of irrigation) and to increasingly frequent drought years. Black pine and Douglas fir are able to cope with drought better than Scots pine and larch, as they show relatively high radial growth even after irrigation has been stopped and a plastic growth response to drought years. European larch does not seem to be able to cope with these dry conditions as it lacks the ability to recover from drought years. The analysis of trees' short-term response to extreme climate events seems to be the most promising and suitable method for detecting how tolerant a tree species is towards drought. However, combining all the methods used in this study provides a complete picture of how water shortage could limit species. Y1 - 2012 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/treephys/tps004 SN - 0829-318X (Print) SN - 1758-4469 (Online) VL - 32 IS - 2 SP - 178 EP - 187 PB - Oxford University Press CY - Oxford ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Wegner, Lena A1 - von Arx, Georg A1 - Sass-Klaassen, Ute G. W. A1 - Eilmann, Britta T1 - ROXAS – an efficient and accurate tool to detect vessels in diffuse-porous species JF - IAWA Journal / International Association of Wood Anatomists Y1 - 2013 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/22941932-00000034 SN - 0928-1541 (Print) SN - 2294-1932 (Online) VL - 34 IS - 4 SP - 425 EP - 432 PB - Brill CY - Leiden ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Eilmann, Britta A1 - Zweifel, Roman A1 - Buchmann, Nina A1 - Graf Pannatier, Elisabeth A1 - Rigling, Andreas T1 - Drought alters timing, quantity, and quality of wood formation in Scots pine JF - Journal of Experimental Botany Y1 - 2011 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/jxb/erq443 SN - 1460-2431 (Online) SN - 0022-0957 (Print) VL - 62 IS - 8 SP - 2763 EP - 2771 PB - Oxford University Press CY - Oxford ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Fonti, Patrick A1 - Eilmann, Britta A1 - García-González, Ignacio A1 - von Arx, Georg T1 - Expeditious building of ring-porous earlywood vessel chronologies without loosing signal information JF - Trees : structure and function Y1 - 2009 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00468-008-0310-z SN - 0931-1890 (Print) SN - 1432-2285 (Online) VL - 23 IS - 3 SP - 665 EP - 671 PB - Springer CY - Berlin ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Eilmann, Britta A1 - Weber, Pascale A1 - Rigling, Andreas A1 - Eckstein, Dieter T1 - Growth reactions of Pinus sylvestris L. and Quercus pubescens Willd. to drought years at a xeric site in Valais, Switzerland JF - Dendrochronologia Y1 - 2006 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/doi:10.1016/j.dendro.2005.10.002 SN - 1612-0051 (Online) SN - 1125-7865 (Print) VL - 23 IS - 3 SP - 121 EP - 132 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Rigling, Andreas A1 - Elkin, Ché A1 - Dobbertin, Matthias A1 - Eilmann, Britta A1 - Giuggiola, Arnaud A1 - Wohlgemuth, Thomas A1 - Bugmann, Harald T1 - Wald und Klimawandel in der inneralpinen Trockenregion Visp JF - Schweizerische Zeitschrift für Forstwesen N2 - Der Temperaturanstieg der vergangenen Jahrzehnte war in Gebirgsregionen besonders ausgeprägt. Sollte sich dieser Temperaturtrend im 21. Jahrhundert fortsetzen, dann dürf-ten sich auch die Häufigkeit und Intensität von Niederschlä-gen und Trockenperioden verändern, was die Waldwirtschaft vor grosse Herausforderungen stellen wird. Trockenheit ist ein entscheidender Faktor für die Waldökosysteme der inner-alpinen Täler, wo seit Jahren trockenheitsbedingtes Baum-sterben festgestellt wird. Der vorliegende Beitrag hat zum Ziel, die Sensitivität der verschiedenen Waldökosysteme ge-genüber Klimawandel und alternative, teilweise extreme Bewirtschaftungsvarianten in der Region Visp zu testen. Me-thodische Ansätze wie Monitoring, Feldexperimente und dy-namische Modellierung wurden kombiniert, und es wurden verschiedene Ökosystemleistungen berücksichtigt, so Holz-produktion, Schutz vor Naturgefahren, Kohlenstoffspeiche-rung und Aspekte der Biodiversität. Die Resultate deuten da-rauf hin, dass auf den Trockenstandorten der Tieflagen die einheimischen Baumarten an ihre physiologischen Grenzen stossen und längerfristig über alternative Baumarten nach-gedacht werden sollte. In den mittleren Lagen dürften Tro-ckenheit und Schadinsekten wie die Borkenkäfer die zukünf-tige Waldentwicklung steuern. In den Hochlagen hingegen werden sich die Wälder ausdehnen und besser wachsen als heute. Alle untersuchten Ökosystemleistungen werden ge-bietsweise starken Veränderungen unterworfen sein. Die dis-kutierten Bewirtschaftungsvarianten scheinen dazu geeignet, die Wasserverfügbarkeit der Bestände, hauptsächlich in tief-eren Lagen, zu erhöhen und dadurch die Widerstandskraft der Bäume gegenüber Trockenperioden vorübergehend zu stärken. Es ist aber davon ausgehen, dass nur verhältnismäs-sig starke Eingriffe wesentliche Effekte erzielen können. Die Verknüpfung von Umweltmonitoring, Feldexperimenten und Modellierung unter Miteinbezug von Ökosystemleistungen ist vielversprechend, da sie eine differenzierte Abschätzung des zukünftigen Landschaftswandels und seiner Effekte auf die Waldleistungen ermöglicht. Y1 - 2012 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/10.3188/szf.2012.0481 SN - 2235-1469 (Online) SN - 0036-7818 (Print) VL - 163 IS - 12 SP - 481 EP - 492 PB - Schweizerischer Forstverein CY - Zürich ER -