Critical minimum temperature limits xylogenesis and maintains treelines on the southeastern Tibetan Plateau

作     者：Xiaoxia Li Eryuan Liang Jozica Gricar Sergio Rossi Katarina Cufar Aaron M. Ellison 

作者机构：Key Laboratory of Alpine Ecology and Biodiversity Key Laboratory of Tibetan Environment Changes and Land Surface Processes Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing 100101 China CAS Center for Excellence in Tibetan Plateau Earth Sciences Beijing 100101 China Sloven ian Forestry Institute Department of Yield and Silviculture Vecna pot 2 S1-1000 Ljubljana Slovenia University of Quebec in Chicoutimi Departement des Sciences Fondamentales 555 Boulevard de l'Universite Chicoutimi (QC) G7H2B1 Canada Key Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of Degraded Ecosystems Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Botany South China Botanical Garden Chinese Academy of Sciences Guangzhou 510650 China University of Ljubljana Biotechnical Faculty Department of Wood Science and Technology Jamnikarjeva 101 S1-1000 Ljubljana Slovenia Harvard Forest Harvard University 324 North Main St. Petersham MA 01366 USA 

出 版 物：《Science Bulletin》 (科学通报（英文版）)

年 卷 期：2017年第62卷第11期

页      面：804-812页

核心收录：

学科分类：09[农学] 0903[农学-农业资源与环境] 

基　　金：supported by the National Natural Science Foundations of China(41525001,41661144040,41601204) supported by the Bilateral Project between China and Slovenia(BI-CN/09–11-012) COST Action(FP1106,STRe ESS) supported by the Chinese Academy of Sciences President International Fellowship Initiative for Visiting Scientists(2016VBA074) 

主　　题：Cambial activity Critical minimum temperature Timberline Xylem Vaganov-Shashldn model 

摘      要：Physiological and ecological mechanisms that define treelines are still debated. It has been suggested that the absence of trees above the treeline is caused by low temperatures that limit growth. Thus, we hypothesized that there is a critical minimum temperature （CTmin） preventing xylogenesis at treeline. We tested this hypothesis by examining weekly xylogenesis across three and four growing seasons in two natural Smith fir （Abies georgei var. srnithii） treeline sites on the southeastern Tibetan Plateau. Despite differences in the timing of cell differentiation among years, minimum air temperature was the dominant climatic variable associated with xylem growth; the critical minimum temperature （CTmin） for the onset and end of xylogenesis occurred at 0.7 ±0.4 ℃. A process-based modelling chronology of tree-ring formation using this CTmin was consistent with actual tree-ring data. This extremely low CTmin permits Smith fir growing at treeline to complete annual xylem production and maturation and provides both support and a mechanism for treeline formation.