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  - https://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  - 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  - https://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  - Weber, Pascale
A1  - Rigling, Andreas
A1  - Eilmann, Britta
A1  - Mayer, Phillip
A1  - Wohlgemuth, Thomas
A1  - Dobbertin, Matthias
T1  - Verjüngung und Konkurrenz der Flaumeiche im Wallis
JF  - Informationsblatt Wald
Y1  - 2008
SN  - 1661-5859 (Online)
SN  - 1424-5701 (Print)
SN  - 1661-5832 (Print)
IS  - 22
SP  - 1
EP  - 3
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  - https://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  -