MSGID: 1:317/3 6270b049   
   PID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   TID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
    Studies find the seeds of a forest's renewal after wildfire, drought   
    Seed production of more than 700 trees species worldwide quantified,   
   assessed with climate lens    
      
     Date:   
         May 2, 2022   
     Source:   
         Duke University   
     Summary:   
         By quantifying the seed production of more than 700 trees species   
         worldwide and how each species' productivity can vary by location,   
         two new studies can help boost the success of efforts to replant   
         and restore forests after devastating wildfires, droughts or other   
         disturbances. The studies, which synthesize data on species from   
         the tropics to subarctic regions, are the first to quantify global   
         patterns in tree seed production.   
      
      
      
   FULL STORY   
   ==========================================================================   
   A forest's ability to regenerate after devastating wildfires, droughts or   
   other disturbances depends largely on seed production. Findings from two   
   new studies led by Duke University researchers could boost recovery and   
   replanting after these disasters by providing foresters with new guidance   
   on which trees species produce more seeds and how their productivity   
   can vary from location to location.   
      
      
   ==========================================================================   
   "Knowing which species produce more seeds and in which habitats helps   
   us better understand how to manage for seed trees and optimize forest   
   regeneration, especially in areas where seed is limited, like much of the   
   western U.S.," said James S. Clark, Nicholas Distinguished Professor   
   of Environmental Science at Duke, who was corresponding author on   
   both papers.   
      
   Clark and his colleagues published their peer-reviewed studies May 2 in   
   Nature Communications and April 23 inEcology Letters.   
      
   The studies come at a time of growing concern about many forests' ability   
   to recover from increasingly frequent and severe droughts and wildfires   
   linked to climate change and increased harvesting to meet growing human   
   demand for wood and other timber products.   
      
   On April 25, the Biden Administration announced a new initiative in which   
   the departments of Agriculture and Interior will team with states, tribes,   
   and the private sector to increase federal cone and seed collection and   
   seedling nursery capacity, with the goal of expanding forest replanting   
   programs, especially in Western timberlands burnt by recent wildfires.   
      
   "Our findings, which are the first to establish global patterns in tree   
   seed production and quantify how many seeds different species produce   
   under different conditions, could be very useful for these types of   
   forest management and renewal initiatives worldwide," Clark said.   
      
      
      
   ==========================================================================   
   The studies synthesize data on seed production for more than 700 species   
   - - from the tropics to subarctic regions -- and shed new light on how   
   tree fecundity and seed supply contribute to forest regeneration and   
   biodiversity in different climatic zones, he said. That knowledge is   
   essential to understanding the evolution of forest species and how they   
   respond to losses.   
      
   One of the most unexpected findings from the studies is that trees in   
   the wet tropics collectively produce 250 times more seeds than those in   
   dry boreal forests.   
      
   The fact that there are more big trees in the wet tropics and they   
   produce, on average, 100 times more seeds than trees of the same size   
   in boreal regions, may explain why species interactions are so intense   
   in tropical forests, Clark said.   
      
   Another key finding is that seed production is not constrained by   
   seed size.   
      
   This dispels a popular assumption that species that produce larger   
   seeds must produce proportionately fewer of them and, as a result,   
   be more susceptible to loss.   
      
   "Not true," Clark said. "While trees that have larger seeds do produce   
   fewer than trees with small seeds, we found they nonetheless produce   
   more than previously believed. When you multiply the number of seeds   
   by seed size, you find that the big-seed species are generating more   
   reproductive output overall."  A third intriguing finding is that   
   gymnosperms, or conifers, have lower seed production than angiosperms,   
   or flowering trees, possibly because gymnosperms expend so much energy   
   on making protective cones for their seeds. Knowing this can help guide   
   the replanting and management of many of the Western forests scotched   
   by recent wildfires, Clark said.   
      
      
      
   ==========================================================================   
   It also may yield a clue to help solve Darwin's famous "abominable   
   mystery" of why so many species of flowering plants developed during   
   the Cretaceous Period, 145.5 million to 65.5 million years ago, while   
   most other species (other than dinosaurs) lagged.   
      
   "This is the first time we've had evidence that links seed production   
   directly to species fitness," Clark said. "It may be that high seed   
   production is what made flowering plants fit enough to flourish and evolve   
   under the trying conditions of the Cretaceous, just as it does today."   
   Researchers from 70 institutions contributed to the Nature Communications   
   paper. Principal funding came from the National Science Foundation, the   
   Belmont Forum, NASA, and France's Programme d'Investissement d'Avenir   
   ("Make Our Planet Great Again") initiative.   
      
   Researchers from 67 institutions contributed to the Ecology Letters paper.   
      
   Principal funding for it came from the National Science Foundation,   
   the Belmont Forum and France's Programme d'Investissement d'Avenir   
   ("Make Our Planet Great Again") initiative.   
      
   In addition to Clark's primary faculty appointment at Duke's Nicholas   
   School, he holds an appointment at the Universite' Grenoble Alpes through   
   the Institute National de Recherche pour l'Agriculture, l'Alimentation   
   et l'Environnement.   
      
   Tong Qiu, a postdoctoral associate of Clark's at the Nicholas School,   
   was lead author of the Nature Communications paper.   
      
      
   ==========================================================================   
   Story Source: Materials provided by Duke_University. Note: Content may   
   be edited for style and length.   
      
      
   ==========================================================================   
   Journal References:   
      1. Tong Qiu, Robert Andrus, Marie-Claire Aravena, Davide Ascoli, Yves   
         Bergeron, Roberta Berretti, Daniel Berveiller, Michal Bogdziewicz,   
         Thomas Boivin, Raul Bonal, Don C. Bragg, Thomas Caignard, Rafael   
         Calama, J.   
      
         Julio Camarero, Chia-Hao Chang-Yang, Natalie L. Cleavitt, Benoit   
         Courbaud, Francois Courbet, Thomas Curt, Adrian J. Das, Evangelia   
         Daskalakou, Hendrik Davi, Nicolas Delpierre, Sylvain Delzon, Michael   
         Dietze, Sergio Donoso Calderon, Laurent Dormont, Josep Espelta,   
         Timothy J. Fahey, William Farfan-Rios, Catherine A. Gehring, Gregory   
         S. Gilbert, Georg Gratzer, Cathryn H. Greenberg, Qinfeng Guo, Andrew   
         Hacket-Pain, Arndt Hampe, Qingmin Han, Janneke Hille Ris Lambers,   
         Kazuhiko Hoshizaki, Ines Ibanez, Jill F. Johnstone, Valentin   
         Journe', Daisuke Kabeya, Christopher L. Kilner, Thomas Kitzberger,   
         Johannes M. H. Knops, Richard K. Kobe, Georges Kunstler, Jonathan   
         G. A. Lageard, Jalene M. LaMontagne, Mateusz Ledwon, Francois   
         Lefevre, Theodor Leininger, Jean-Marc Limousin, James A. Lutz, Diana   
         Macias, Eliot J. B. McIntire, Christopher M. Moore, Emily Moran,   
         Renzo Motta, Jonathan A. Myers, Thomas A. Nagel, Kyotaro Noguchi,   
         Jean-Marc Ourcival, Robert Parmenter, Ian S. Pearse, Ignacio M.   
      
         Perez-Ramos, Lukasz Piechnik, John Poulsen, Renata Poulton-Kamakura,   
         Miranda D. Redmond, Chantal D. Reid, Kyle C. Rodman, Francisco   
         Rodriguez- Sanchez, Javier D. Sanguinetti, C. Lane Scher, William   
         H. Schlesinger, Harald Schmidt Van Marle, Barbara Seget, Shubhi   
         Sharma, Miles Silman, Michael A. Steele, Nathan L. Stephenson,   
         Jacob N. Straub, I-Fang Sun, Samantha Sutton, Jennifer J. Swenson,   
         Margaret Swift, Peter A. Thomas, Maria Uriarte, Giorgio Vacchiano,   
         Thomas T. Veblen, Amy V. Whipple, Thomas G. Whitham, Andreas   
         P. Wion, Boyd Wright, S. Joseph Wright, Kai Zhu, Jess K. Zimmerman,   
         Roman Zlotin, Magdalena Zywiec, James S. Clark.   
      
         Limits to reproduction and seed size-number trade-offs that shape   
         forest dominance and future recovery. Nature Communications, 2022;   
         13 (1) DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-30037-9   
      2. Valentin Journe', Robert Andrus, Marie‐Claire Aravena, Davide   
         Ascoli, Roberta Berretti, Daniel Berveiller, Michal Bogdziewicz,   
         Thomas Boivin, Raul Bonal, Thomas Caignard, Rafael Calama,   
         Jesu's Julio Camarero, Chia‐Hao Chang‐Yang,   
         Benoit Courbaud, Francois Courbet, Thomas Curt, Adrian J. Das,   
         Evangelia Daskalakou, Hendrik Davi, Nicolas Delpierre, Sylvain   
         Delzon, Michael Dietze, Sergio Donoso Calderon, Laurent Dormont,   
         Josep Maria Espelta, Timothy J. Fahey, William Farfan‐Rios,   
         Catherine A. Gehring, Gregory S. Gilbert, Georg Gratzer, Cathryn   
         H. Greenberg, Qinfeng Guo, Andrew Hacket‐Pain, Arndt Hampe,   
         Qingmin Han, Janneke Hille Ris Lambers, Kazuhiko Hoshizaki, Ines   
         Ibanez, Jill F. Johnstone, Daisuke Kabeya, Roland Kays, Thomas   
         Kitzberger, Johannes M. H. Knops, Richard K. Kobe, Georges Kunstler,   
         Jonathan G. A. Lageard, Jalene M. LaMontagne, Theodor Leininger,   
         Jean‐Marc Limousin, James A. Lutz, Diana Macias, Eliot J. B.   
      
         McIntire, Christopher M. Moore, Emily Moran, Renzo Motta,   
         Jonathan A.   
      
         Myers, Thomas A. Nagel, Kyotaro Noguchi, Jean‐Marc Ourcival,   
         Robert Parmenter, Ian S. Pearse, Ignacio M. Perez‐Ramos,   
         Lukasz Piechnik, John Poulsen, Renata Poulton‐Kamakura,   
         Tong Qiu, Miranda D.   
      
         Redmond, Chantal D. Reid, Kyle C. Rodman, Francisco   
         Rodriguez‐Sanchez, Javier D. Sanguinetti, C. Lane Scher,   
         Harald Schmidt Van Marle, Barbara Seget, Shubhi Sharma, Miles   
         Silman, Michael A.   
      
         Steele, Nathan L. Stephenson, Jacob N. Straub, Jennifer J. Swenson,   
         Margaret Swift, Peter A. Thomas, Maria Uriarte, Giorgio Vacchiano,   
         Thomas T. Veblen, Amy V. Whipple, Thomas G. Whitham, Boyd Wright,   
         S. Joseph Wright, Kai Zhu, Jess K. Zimmerman, Roman Zlotin,   
         Magdalena Zywiec, James S. Clark. Globally, tree fecundity exceeds   
         productivity gradients.   
      
         Ecology Letters, 2022; DOI: 10.1111/ele.14012   
   ==========================================================================   
      
   Link to news story:   
   https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/05/220502125407.htm   
      
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