Reconstruction of Araucaria araucana cone production reveals warming intensifies regionally synchronized masting
Abstract The reproduction of many long‐lived plants is highly variable and synchronized, known as masting. Masting is a key driver of plant regeneration dynamics and has cascading effects on food webs and carbon and nutrient fluxes through ecosystems. Masting patterns can respond to changes in clima...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2024-12-01
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| Series: | Ecosphere |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.70087 |
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| author | Andrew Hacket‐Pain Fidel A. Roig Davide Ascoli Carlos LeQuesne Martin Hadad |
| author_facet | Andrew Hacket‐Pain Fidel A. Roig Davide Ascoli Carlos LeQuesne Martin Hadad |
| author_sort | Andrew Hacket‐Pain |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract The reproduction of many long‐lived plants is highly variable and synchronized, known as masting. Masting is a key driver of plant regeneration dynamics and has cascading effects on food webs and carbon and nutrient fluxes through ecosystems. Masting patterns can respond to changes in climate, but natural long‐term variability in masting behavior (i.e., baseline variability) is poorly understood. Here we use tree‐rings to create a four‐century reconstruction of annual cone production to uncover centennial‐scale evolution in masting of Araucaria araucana, a dioecious masting species in South America. Over the last four decades, direct observations of annual cone production in this species revealed remarkable range‐wide synchrony of masting. Our tree‐ring‐based reconstruction places this in a long‐term context, revealing that intense regional masting is not a consistent feature of A. araucana reproduction. For extensive periods over the last four centuries, masting has been a site‐specific phenomenon, with variability in cone production that was not regionally synchronized. Comparison with regional climate reconstructions indicates that regional synchrony of masting varies with regional temperature trends, including during recent decades. During warmer periods, synchrony is enhanced, and during cooler periods, regional synchrony breaks down. These dynamics have implications for understanding the reproduction of this iconic and endangered tree species and provide evidence of long‐term linkages between climate change and masting behavior. Our study demonstrates the potential for novel tree‐ring‐based reconstructions of masting to reveal crucial insights into baseline variability and the response of masting to climate change. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-fc1d1496d5174c869d5aa83563a0869a |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2150-8925 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-12-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Ecosphere |
| spelling | doaj-art-fc1d1496d5174c869d5aa83563a0869a2025-01-27T14:51:34ZengWileyEcosphere2150-89252024-12-011512n/an/a10.1002/ecs2.70087Reconstruction of Araucaria araucana cone production reveals warming intensifies regionally synchronized mastingAndrew Hacket‐Pain0Fidel A. Roig1Davide Ascoli2Carlos LeQuesne3Martin Hadad4Department of Geography and Planning, School of Environmental Sciences University of Liverpool Liverpool UKInstituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales (IANIGLA) Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET) Mendoza Mendoza ArgentinaDepartment of Agriculture, Forest and Food Sciences University of Torino Turin ItalyLaboratorio de Dendrocronología y Cambio Global, Instituto de Conservación, Biodiversidad y Territorio Universidad Austral de Chile Valdivia ChileLaboratorio de Dendrocronología de Zonas Áridas‐Instituto y Museo de Ciencias Naturales Universidad Nacional de San Juan, CIGEOBIO (CONICET‐UNSJ) San Juan ArgentinaAbstract The reproduction of many long‐lived plants is highly variable and synchronized, known as masting. Masting is a key driver of plant regeneration dynamics and has cascading effects on food webs and carbon and nutrient fluxes through ecosystems. Masting patterns can respond to changes in climate, but natural long‐term variability in masting behavior (i.e., baseline variability) is poorly understood. Here we use tree‐rings to create a four‐century reconstruction of annual cone production to uncover centennial‐scale evolution in masting of Araucaria araucana, a dioecious masting species in South America. Over the last four decades, direct observations of annual cone production in this species revealed remarkable range‐wide synchrony of masting. Our tree‐ring‐based reconstruction places this in a long‐term context, revealing that intense regional masting is not a consistent feature of A. araucana reproduction. For extensive periods over the last four centuries, masting has been a site‐specific phenomenon, with variability in cone production that was not regionally synchronized. Comparison with regional climate reconstructions indicates that regional synchrony of masting varies with regional temperature trends, including during recent decades. During warmer periods, synchrony is enhanced, and during cooler periods, regional synchrony breaks down. These dynamics have implications for understanding the reproduction of this iconic and endangered tree species and provide evidence of long‐term linkages between climate change and masting behavior. Our study demonstrates the potential for novel tree‐ring‐based reconstructions of masting to reveal crucial insights into baseline variability and the response of masting to climate change.https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.70087climate changedendrochronologydendroecologymast seedingPatagoniasynchrony |
| spellingShingle | Andrew Hacket‐Pain Fidel A. Roig Davide Ascoli Carlos LeQuesne Martin Hadad Reconstruction of Araucaria araucana cone production reveals warming intensifies regionally synchronized masting Ecosphere climate change dendrochronology dendroecology mast seeding Patagonia synchrony |
| title | Reconstruction of Araucaria araucana cone production reveals warming intensifies regionally synchronized masting |
| title_full | Reconstruction of Araucaria araucana cone production reveals warming intensifies regionally synchronized masting |
| title_fullStr | Reconstruction of Araucaria araucana cone production reveals warming intensifies regionally synchronized masting |
| title_full_unstemmed | Reconstruction of Araucaria araucana cone production reveals warming intensifies regionally synchronized masting |
| title_short | Reconstruction of Araucaria araucana cone production reveals warming intensifies regionally synchronized masting |
| title_sort | reconstruction of araucaria araucana cone production reveals warming intensifies regionally synchronized masting |
| topic | climate change dendrochronology dendroecology mast seeding Patagonia synchrony |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.70087 |
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