Declining growth and changes in biomass allocation with warming in rainforest trees from temperate to tropical climates
4
Issued Date
2025-09-17
Resource Type
ISSN
00220957
eISSN
14602431
Scopus ID
2-s2.0-105016535839
Journal Title
Journal of Experimental Botany
Volume
76
Issue
14
Start Page
4185
End Page
4200
Rights Holder(s)
SCOPUS
Bibliographic Citation
Journal of Experimental Botany Vol.76 No.14 (2025) , 4185-4200
Suggested Citation
Choury Z., Olaranont Y., Dando E., Medlyn B.E., Tjoelker M.G., Crous K.Y. Declining growth and changes in biomass allocation with warming in rainforest trees from temperate to tropical climates. Journal of Experimental Botany Vol.76 No.14 (2025) , 4185-4200. 4200. doi:10.1093/jxb/eraf186 Retrieved from: https://repository.li.mahidol.ac.th/handle/123456789/112329
Title
Declining growth and changes in biomass allocation with warming in rainforest trees from temperate to tropical climates
Author's Affiliation
Corresponding Author(s)
Other Contributor(s)
Abstract
Australian rainforests occur from temperate to tropical latitudes, but how climate warming will affect tree growth along this climate gradient remains poorly understood. We examined how changes in biomass allocation, leaf area, and photosynthetic capacity were linked to the capacity to maintain growth rates with +3.5, +7 and +10.5 °C warming in seedlings of 12 tropical, subtropical, and temperate rainforest tree species. Temperate species maintained or increased final biomass (+14%), leaf area, and leaf area ratio (the ratio of leaf area to plant dry mass) with warming, along with similar or increased leaf mass fraction (+14%). Subtropical species increased biomass with +3.5 °C (+28%) and +7 °C (+17%) warming but were negatively impacted with >10 °C warming (−31%). Tropical species reduced leaf area, leaf area ratio, photosynthetic capacity, and leaf nitrogen, along with 14% increased root allocation in response to warming, resulting in large biomass reductions with +3.5 °C (−20%) and +7 °C (−53%). Tropical species were more susceptible to climate warming with reduced photosynthetic capacity and reduced biomass, which can lead to a reduced carbon sink in the future, especially in late-successional tree species, which are the most abundant with a large role in carbon assimilation of tropical rainforests.