Hydraulic failure21 Oct 2023 11:02
Interesting article about hydraulic failure in trees (summarised by Claude below); it is a new concept to me. Clearly there is scope to affect all industries requiring wood as well as wood growing companies:
https://knowablemagazine.org/article/food-environment/2023/dead-trees-shocking-scientists
Forest scientists are alarmed by severe droughts killing trees at unprecedented scales globally, including in forests once thought resilient like wet tropical forests and those with very deep root systems.
Hotter, drier droughts are testing tree physiological limits in new ways. Exact mechanisms vary but often involve hydraulic failure from water transport systems collapsing, sometimes combined with carbon starvation.
Predicting future forest die-offs is extremely challenging. Vegetation models underestimate risk by focusing on carbon starvation over hydraulic failure. Models also lack wildfires, insects, and groundwater dynamics.
Rapid warming outpaces benefits of extra CO2 for trees. Forests may flip from carbon sinks to sources if droughts, fires and insects accelerate.
Knock-on effects of drought like fires and beetle infestations are supercharged. Beetles attack weakened drought-stressed trees.
Forest transformations are expected as species distributions shift and ecosystems reorganize. But uncertainty exists around forest resilience, adaptations, and emergent tree-pest interactions.
More monitoring is needed, especially of understudied boreal and tropical forests. Exact mechanisms of tree mortality require further untangling to improve models and predictions.
Overall, hotter droughts are revealing the physiological limits and evolutionary tradeoffs of many dominant tree species. How forests cope will test humanity's ability to manage ecosystems under climate change.
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