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 - 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 - Stojnic, Srdjan A1 - Sass-Klaassen, Ute G. M. A1 - Orlovic, Sasa A1 - Matovic, Bratislav A1 - Eilmann, Britta T1 - Plastic growth response of European beech provenances to dry site conditions T2 - IAWA Journal / International Association of Wood Anatomists Y1 - 2013 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/22941932-00000038 SN - 0928-1541 (Print) SN - 2294-1932 (Online) VL - 34 IS - 4 SP - 475 EP - 484 PB - Brill CY - Leiden ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Rigling, Andreas A1 - Eilmann, Britta A1 - Koechli, Roger A1 - Dobbertin, Matthias T1 - Mistletoe-induced crown degradation in Scots pine in a xeric environment N2 - Increasing Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) mortality has been recently observed in the dry inner valleys of the European Alps. Besides drought, infection with pine mistletoe (Viscum album ssp. austriacum) seems to play an important role in the mortality dynamics of Scots pines, but how mistletoes promote pine decline remains unclear. To verify whether pine mistletoe infection weakens the host via crown degradation, as observed for dwarf mistletoes, we studied the negative effects of pine mistletoe infestation on the photosynthetic tissues and branch growth of pairs of infested and non-infested branches. Pine mistletoe infection leads to crown degradation in its host by reducing the length, the radial increment, the ramification, the needle length and the number of needle years of the infested branches. This massive loss in photosynthetic tissue results in a reduction in primary production and a subsequent decrease in carbohydrate availability. The significant reduction in needle length due to mistletoe infection is an indication for a lower water and nutrient availability in infested branches. Thus, mistletoe infection might lead to a decrease in the availability of water and carbohydrates, the two most important growth factors, which are already shortened due to the chronic drought situation in the area. Therefore, pine mistletoe increases the risk of drought-induced mortality of its host when growing in a xeric environment. Y1 - 2010 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/treephys/tpq038 SN - 1758-4469 (Online) SN - 0829-318X (Print) VL - 30 IS - 7 SP - 845 EP - 832 PB - Oxford University Press CY - Oxford ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Rigling, Andreas A1 - Bigler, Christof A1 - Eilmann, Britta A1 - Feldmeyer-Christe, Elisabeth A1 - Gimmi, Urs A1 - Ginzler, Christian A1 - Graf, Ulrich A1 - Mayer, Phillip A1 - Vacchiano, Giorgio A1 - Weber, Pascal A1 - Wohlgemuth, Thomas A1 - zweifel, Roman A1 - Dobbertin, Matthias T1 - Driving factors of a vegetation shift from Scots pine to pubescent oak in dry Alpine forests JF - Global Change Biology N2 - An increasing number of studies have reported on forest declines and vegetation shifts triggered by drought. In the Swiss Rhone valley (Valais), one of the driest inner-Alpine regions, the species composition in low elevation forests is changing: The sub-boreal Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) dominating the dry forests is showing high mortality rates. Concurrently the sub-Mediterranean pubescent oak (Quercus pubescens Willd.) has locally increased in abundance. However, it remains unclear whether this local change in species composition is part of a larger-scale vegetation shift. To study variability in mortality and regeneration in these dry forests we analysed data from the Swiss national forest inventory (NFI) on a regular grid between 1983 and 2003, and combined it with annual mortality data from a monitoring site. Pine mortality was found to be highest at low elevation (below 1000 m a.s.l.). Annual variation in pine mortality was correlated with a drought index computed for the summer months prior to observed tree death. A generalized linear mixed-effects model indicated for the NFI data increased pine mortality on dryer sites with high stand competition, particularly for small-diameter trees. Pine regeneration was low in comparison to its occurrence in the overstorey, whereas oak regeneration was comparably abundant. Although both species regenerated well at dry sites, pine regeneration was favoured at cooler sites at higher altitude and oak regeneration was more frequent at warmer sites, indicating a higher adaptation potential of oaks under future warming. Our results thus suggest that an extended shift in species composition is actually occurring in the pine forests in the Valais. The main driving factors are found to be climatic variability, particularly drought, and variability in stand structure and topography. Thus, pine forests at low elevations are developing into oak forests with unknown consequences for these ecosystems and their goods and services. Y1 - 2012 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/gcb.12038 SN - 1354-1013 (Print) SN - 1365-2486 (Online) VL - 19 IS - 1 SP - 229 EP - 240 PB - Wiley-Blackwell CY - Oxford ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Lévesque, Mathieu A1 - Siegwolf, Rolf A1 - Eilmann, Britta A1 - Saurer, Matthias A1 - Rigling, Andreas T1 - Increased water-use efficiency does not lead to enhanced tree growth under xeric and mesic conditions JF - New Phytologist Y1 - 2014 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/nph.12772 SN - 1469-8137 (Online) SN - 0028-646X (Print) VL - 203 IS - 1 SP - 94 EP - 109 PB - Wiley-Blackwell CY - Oxford ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Lévesque, Mathieu A1 - Saurer, Matthias A1 - Siegwolf, Rolf A1 - Eilmann, Britta A1 - Brang, Peter A1 - Bugmann, Harald A1 - Rigling, Andreas T1 - Drought response of five conifer species under contrasting water availability suggests high vulnerability of Norway spruce and European larch JF - Global Change Biology Y1 - 2013 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/gcb.12268 SN - 1365-2486 (Online) SN - 1354-1013 (Print) VL - 19 IS - 10 SP - 3184 EP - 3199 PB - Wiley-Blackwell CY - Oxford ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Fonti, Patrick A1 - von Arx, Georg A1 - García-González, Ignacio A1 - Eilmann, Britta A1 - Sass-Klaassen, Ute G. W. A1 - Gärtner, Holger A1 - Eckstein, Dieter T1 - Studying global change through investigation of the plastic responses of xylem anatomy in tree rings JF - New Phytologist N2 - Variability in xylem anatomy is of interest to plant scientists because of the role water transport plays in plant performance and survival. Insights into plant adjustments to changing environmental conditions have mainly been obtained through structural and functional comparative studies between taxa or within taxa on contrasting sites or along environmental gradients. Yet, a gap exists regarding the study of hydraulic adjustments in response to environmental changes over the lifetimes of plants. In trees, dated tree-ring series are often exploited to reconstruct dynamics in ecological conditions, and recent work in which wood-anatomical variables have been used in dendrochronology has produced promising results. Environmental signals identified in water-conducting cells carry novel information reflecting changes in regional conditions and are mostly related to short, sub-annual intervals. Although the idea of investigating environmental signals through wood anatomical time series goes back to the 1960s, it is only recently that low-cost computerized image-analysis systems have enabled increased scientific output in this field. We believe that the study of tree-ring anatomy is emerging as a promising approach in tree biology and climate change research, particularly if complemented by physiological and ecological studies. This contribution presents the rationale, the potential, and the methodological challenges of this innovative approach. Y1 - 2010 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-8137.2009.03030.x SN - 1469-8137 (Online) SN - 0028-646X (Print) VL - 185 IS - 1 SP - 42 EP - 53 PB - Wiley-Blackwell 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 - 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 -