Abstract
Forest and woodland ecosystems may be strongly affected by climate change influences on tree population processes such as seed production and seedling recruitment. Yet climate effects on seed production are generally poorly understood, particularly for trees that exhibit masting behavior (i.e. high synchronicity and high inter-annual variability in seed production). This is largely due to the limited amount of long-term datasets on seed production, which are necessary to characterize the highly variable reproductive outputs of masting species. The cone abscission scar method provides a promising approach to accurately determine historical (past 10-20 years) annual cone production, but the method has not been rigorously validated. Here we use a long-term dataset of cone abundance on individually monitored pinyon pine (Pinus edulis) trees to validate the cone abscission scar methodology. Tree cone production estimated using abscission scars was positively associated with observed mature cone and conelet abundances from 8 to 13 years previously (Spearman's ρ = 0.52 and 0.66, respectively), the time period of our observed historical cone production data. Further, we show that between 4-5 branches per tree and 4-6 trees per site need to be sampled to minimize the variance in cone abundance estimates. Thus, only approximately 3-4 h are needed to obtain an estimate of historical annual cone production in a stand. Overall, we show that the cone abscission scar method provides a robust and time efficient approach to accurately determine historical annual cone production for P. edulis and likely other slow-growing conifer trees.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1-6 |
| Number of pages | 6 |
| Journal | Forest Ecology and Management |
| Volume | 368 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - May 15 2016 |
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Keywords
- Cone abscission scar
- Cone scar
- Conifer
- Pinus
- Seed production
- Tree reproduction
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Forestry
- Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law
- Nature and Landscape Conservation
Cite this
A robust method to determine historical annual cone production among slow-growing conifers. / Redmond, Miranda D.; Weisberg, Peter J.; Cobb, Neil S; Gehring, Catherine A; Whipple, Amy V; Whitham, Thomas G.
In: Forest Ecology and Management, Vol. 368, 15.05.2016, p. 1-6.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - A robust method to determine historical annual cone production among slow-growing conifers
AU - Redmond, Miranda D.
AU - Weisberg, Peter J.
AU - Cobb, Neil S
AU - Gehring, Catherine A
AU - Whipple, Amy V
AU - Whitham, Thomas G
PY - 2016/5/15
Y1 - 2016/5/15
N2 - Forest and woodland ecosystems may be strongly affected by climate change influences on tree population processes such as seed production and seedling recruitment. Yet climate effects on seed production are generally poorly understood, particularly for trees that exhibit masting behavior (i.e. high synchronicity and high inter-annual variability in seed production). This is largely due to the limited amount of long-term datasets on seed production, which are necessary to characterize the highly variable reproductive outputs of masting species. The cone abscission scar method provides a promising approach to accurately determine historical (past 10-20 years) annual cone production, but the method has not been rigorously validated. Here we use a long-term dataset of cone abundance on individually monitored pinyon pine (Pinus edulis) trees to validate the cone abscission scar methodology. Tree cone production estimated using abscission scars was positively associated with observed mature cone and conelet abundances from 8 to 13 years previously (Spearman's ρ = 0.52 and 0.66, respectively), the time period of our observed historical cone production data. Further, we show that between 4-5 branches per tree and 4-6 trees per site need to be sampled to minimize the variance in cone abundance estimates. Thus, only approximately 3-4 h are needed to obtain an estimate of historical annual cone production in a stand. Overall, we show that the cone abscission scar method provides a robust and time efficient approach to accurately determine historical annual cone production for P. edulis and likely other slow-growing conifer trees.
AB - Forest and woodland ecosystems may be strongly affected by climate change influences on tree population processes such as seed production and seedling recruitment. Yet climate effects on seed production are generally poorly understood, particularly for trees that exhibit masting behavior (i.e. high synchronicity and high inter-annual variability in seed production). This is largely due to the limited amount of long-term datasets on seed production, which are necessary to characterize the highly variable reproductive outputs of masting species. The cone abscission scar method provides a promising approach to accurately determine historical (past 10-20 years) annual cone production, but the method has not been rigorously validated. Here we use a long-term dataset of cone abundance on individually monitored pinyon pine (Pinus edulis) trees to validate the cone abscission scar methodology. Tree cone production estimated using abscission scars was positively associated with observed mature cone and conelet abundances from 8 to 13 years previously (Spearman's ρ = 0.52 and 0.66, respectively), the time period of our observed historical cone production data. Further, we show that between 4-5 branches per tree and 4-6 trees per site need to be sampled to minimize the variance in cone abundance estimates. Thus, only approximately 3-4 h are needed to obtain an estimate of historical annual cone production in a stand. Overall, we show that the cone abscission scar method provides a robust and time efficient approach to accurately determine historical annual cone production for P. edulis and likely other slow-growing conifer trees.
KW - Cone abscission scar
KW - Cone scar
KW - Conifer
KW - Pinus
KW - Seed production
KW - Tree reproduction
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84959279051&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84959279051&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.foreco.2016.02.028
DO - 10.1016/j.foreco.2016.02.028
M3 - Article
VL - 368
SP - 1
EP - 6
JO - Forest Ecology and Management
JF - Forest Ecology and Management
SN - 0378-1127
ER -