TreesPub Date : 2024-12-12DOI: 10.1007/s00468-024-02577-8
Song Jiaqi, Wang Jiechen, Qin Rui, Ji Guangxin, Cui Congcong, Sun Nan, Qi Siyue, Ding Changjun, Zhang Huihui
{"title":"RNA-Seq-based WGCNA reveals the physiological and molecular responses of poplar leaves to NaHCO3 stress","authors":"Song Jiaqi, Wang Jiechen, Qin Rui, Ji Guangxin, Cui Congcong, Sun Nan, Qi Siyue, Ding Changjun, Zhang Huihui","doi":"10.1007/s00468-024-02577-8","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00468-024-02577-8","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Key message</h3><p>ABA and ET signal transduction play key roles in Populus simonii × Populus nigra response to NaHCO3 stress.</p><h3>Abstract</h3><p><i>Populus simonii</i> × <i>Populus nigra</i> is a fast-growing and resilient poplar variety widely promoted in northern China. However, its proliferation is significantly hindered in the Songnen Plain region of northern China due to the prevalence of soda saline-alkali lands primarily composed of NaHCO<sub>3</sub>. Current research on the response and adaptation of <i>Populus simonii</i> × <i>Populus nigra</i> to saline-alkali stress primarily focuses on neutral salts, with limited exploration into the physiological and molecular mechanisms in response to alkaline salt NaHCO<sub>3</sub>. This study utilized physiological and transcriptomic techniques to investigate the effects of different concentrations (0, 100, 200, and 300 mM) of NaHCO<sub>3</sub> stress on the photosynthetic function and antioxidant mechanism of <i>Populus simonii</i> × <i>Populus nigra</i>. Additionally, the key molecular mechanisms underlying its salt-alkali tolerance were explored using WGCNA. The results indicate that, compared to non-stress conditions, under NaHCO<sub>3</sub> stress, differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in <i>Populus simonii</i> × <i>Populus nigra</i> leaves are significantly enriched in KEGG pathways such as Photosynthesis and Plant hormone signal transduction. At 100 mM NaHCO<sub>3</sub>, there is no significant impact on the photosynthetic function of <i>Populus simonii</i> × <i>Populus nigra</i>, with a notable upregulation of numerous DEGs associated with photosynthetic electron transport, suggesting strong resistance of <i>Populus simonii</i> × <i>Populus nigra</i> to NaHCO<sub>3</sub> stress, with hormone signal transduction activation playing a crucial role in its adaptation to NaHCO<sub>3</sub> stress. At high concentration (300 mM) NaHCO<sub>3</sub>, although it inhibits the photosynthetic function of <i>Populus simonii</i> × <i>Populus nigra</i> and leads to severe oxidative damage, KEGG pathways related to antioxidant mechanisms such as Glutathione metabolism and Flavonoid biosynthesis are also significantly enriched. <i>Populus simonii</i> × <i>Populus nigra</i> can mitigate excessive reactive oxygen species (ROS) by increasing the activity of antioxidant enzymes such as Catalase (CAT) and Peroxidase (POD), and the accumulation of the osmotic regulator substance Proline (Pro) also plays a positive role in <i>Populus simonii</i> × <i>Populus nigra</i>'s adaptation to NaHCO<sub>3</sub> stress. Utilizing WGCNA, a module highly correlated with salt tolerance physiological indicators, represented by the \"Mediumorchid\" module, was identified. The KEGG enrichment analysis of DEGs in this module significantly enriched pathways closely associated with Plant hormone signal transduction, particularly the MAPK signaling pathway–plant pathway. Numerous genes in this pathway are involved in the sy","PeriodicalId":805,"journal":{"name":"Trees","volume":"39 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2024-12-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142810958","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
TreesPub Date : 2024-12-12DOI: 10.1007/s00468-024-02579-6
Meng Qi, Miaohan Li, Xiaowen Wang, Yuanyuan Song, Hailong Sun
{"title":"Root morphological and mechanical properties of Lespedeza bicolor Turcz. on slopes at different altitudes","authors":"Meng Qi, Miaohan Li, Xiaowen Wang, Yuanyuan Song, Hailong Sun","doi":"10.1007/s00468-024-02579-6","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00468-024-02579-6","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Key message</h3><p>Root morphology and tensile strength were affected by elevation, with changes in the \u0000former showing adaptation to the environment, and changes in the latter mainly influenced by root \u0000chemical composition.\u0000</p><h3>Abstract</h3><p>Plant roots have absorption and anchorage functions and play important roles in plant growth and slope stability. Root morphology and mechanics are closely related to root function and are influenced by various factors. However, the impact of elevation, which encompasses a range of environmental changes, has not been fully studied. This study aimed to investigate the responses of root morphology and root mechanics to environmental changes associated with elevation and to explore the possible effects of these responses on root reinforcement. We measured the morphological properties (length, diameter, and number), tensile strength, and chemical composition (cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin contents) of the taproots and first- and second-order roots of <i>Lespedeza bicolor</i> Turcz<i>.</i> grown at three different elevations (986, 1839, and 2716 m). The lengths of both taproots and lateral roots decreased, while the diameter of lateral roots increased with increasing elevation. Additionally, there was a significant increase in root tensile strength as elevation increased, accompanied by an increase in cellulose content and a decrease in lignin content. Root tensile strength correlated positively with cellulose content and negatively with lignin content. The morphological and mechanical properties of <i>L. bicolor</i> roots are significantly influenced by elevation. Roots exhibit adaptive strategies in response to environmental factors such as hydrothermal conditions and soil nutrient availability. Cellulose and lignin have a significant impact on the biomechanical properties of roots. Regarding soil reinforcement, roots at lower elevations exhibit a more advantageous morphology. Conversely, roots at higher elevations possess greater biomass and tensile strength, making them more resistant to soil erosion under extreme environmental conditions.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":805,"journal":{"name":"Trees","volume":"39 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2024-12-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142811060","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
TreesPub Date : 2024-12-12DOI: 10.1007/s00468-024-02576-9
Frederik Märker, Mario Trouillier, Saroj Basnet, Andreas Burger, Zuzana Homolová, Michal Gazovic, Martin Wilmking
{"title":"Emerging drought sensitivity for large Norway spruce trees at high elevation in the High Tatras, Slovakia","authors":"Frederik Märker, Mario Trouillier, Saroj Basnet, Andreas Burger, Zuzana Homolová, Michal Gazovic, Martin Wilmking","doi":"10.1007/s00468-024-02576-9","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00468-024-02576-9","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Key message</h3><p>Climate-growth correlations are non-stationary among all size classes, and large trees are becoming sensitive to August and September drought conditions in the year preceding growth during the last decades.</p><h3>Abstract</h3><p>Understanding tree growth and forest dynamics under climate change is paramount to predict changes in carbon cycling, forest development, and ecosystem services. At temperature limited sites, such as alpine treelines, tree growth is often assumed to benefit from rising temperatures, while increased drought may offset potential benefits. Tree size is known to be related to climate sensitivity and drought induced mortality, with large trees generally suffering the most from drought. To assess the relationship of tree size and climate sensitivity for Norway spruce trees at treeline, we collected 158 tree cores at treeline and the adjacent closed canopy forest in the High Tatra Mountains in Slovakia. Size classes were established based on size class isolation of the total sample set, yielding artificial tree ring chronologies with a constant size over time. We ran moving-window correlation analyses to assess the temporal development of climate sensitivity. We found climate-growth correlations to be non-stationary and with similar trends among size classes. In general, trees are temperature limited during the growing season, but correlations have shifted from June to July in recent decades. Additionally, the largest trees show an increased and significant sensitivity to August and September drought conditions in the year preceding growth. These findings emphasize the increasing influence of drought constraints on tree growth, even at supposedly temperature limited treeline sites.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":805,"journal":{"name":"Trees","volume":"39 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2024-12-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s00468-024-02576-9.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142810957","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
TreesPub Date : 2024-12-12DOI: 10.1007/s00468-024-02580-z
Guizhi Feng, Hongmei Liu, Chengyan Deng, Dan Liu, Yingtian Guo
{"title":"Genome-wide investigation of the PtaGRF and PtaGIF families reveals potential targets for cone development and gibberellin signaling in Chinese pine","authors":"Guizhi Feng, Hongmei Liu, Chengyan Deng, Dan Liu, Yingtian Guo","doi":"10.1007/s00468-024-02580-z","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00468-024-02580-z","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Key message</h3><p>We identified 7 <i>PtaGRF</i> and 3 <i>PtaGIF</i> genes and analyzed the potential functions of PtaGRF02-PtaGIF02 that may mediate cone development and gibberellin signaling in Chinese pine.</p><h3>Abstract</h3><p>Growth-regulating factors (GRFs) and GRF-interacting factors (GIFs) act as transcription cofactors that influence plant growth and development. While these genes have been extensively studied in various plant species, a comprehensive genome-wide analysis of <i>GRFs</i> and <i>GIFs</i> in conifers has been lacking. In this study, we identified 7 <i>PtaGRFs</i> and 3 <i>PtaGIFs</i> in Chinese pine (<i>Pinus tabuliformis</i>) and conducted a detailed analysis of their motifs, domains, structures, and regulatory elements. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that GRF proteins grouped into five clades, with PtaGRFs forming a single clade. We further investigated chromosome mapping and collinearity. Through expression profiling and correlation analysis, <i>PtaGRF02</i> and <i>PtaGIF02</i> were excavated, which may play a role in cone development. Protein–protein interaction analysis indicated that these two factors could interact with proteins involved in flower development. Moreover, PtaGRF02 and PtaGIF02 were shown to interact with each other through yeast two-hybrid and BiFC assays, and they were found to interact with PtaDELLAs to modulate gibberellin (GA) signaling. Overall, our findings offer valuable genetic insights into reproductive development in conifers.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":805,"journal":{"name":"Trees","volume":"39 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2024-12-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142810959","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Experimental drought results in a decline of ectomycorrhizae of Quercus pubescens Willd.","authors":"Tanja Mrak, Tina Unuk Nahberger, Olivera Maksimović, Hojka Kraigher, Mitja Ferlan","doi":"10.1007/s00468-024-02581-y","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00468-024-02581-y","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Key message</h3><p>Experimental drought decreased the vitality of ectomycorrhiza and reduced the number of unique morphotypes.</p><p><i>Quercus pubescens</i> (Willd.) is an ectomycorrhizal (ECM) tree species that is capable of withstanding occasional drought events, but the response of its ectomycorrhiza to drought is not well known. An experiment with two rain exclusion plots and two natural precipitation regime plots was established in a secondary sub-Mediterranean oak forest. ECM roots were sampled before the experiment and after 11 months of rain exclusion. ECM root tips were divided into vital and non-vital and quantified. Morphoanatomical characterization and molecular identification were performed for vital ectomycorrhizae to obtain diversity indices and perform community analyses. Soil water content (SWC) in rain exclusion plots was reduced by approx. 6 vol.% relative to natural precipitation regime and was devoid of major peaks in SWC after rain events. After 11 months, ECM vitality and species richness were significantly reduced on rain exclusion plots compared to the natural precipitation regime while ECM community was reduced to a small subset of the most frequent morphotypes, with strongly decreased number of the unique morphotypes. The reduction of unique morphotypes as a result of rain exclusion may compromise the functional diversity of ectomycorrhiza in their role of nutrient uptake, while the reduction of ECM vitality may decrease the absorptive surface for water and nutrients.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":805,"journal":{"name":"Trees","volume":"39 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2024-12-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142810956","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
TreesPub Date : 2024-12-11DOI: 10.1007/s00468-024-02584-9
Hongbing Wang, Chenbing Guo, Jun Qin, Lianlian Pan, Yonghong Hu
{"title":"Asymmetric crown spread of street tree Cinnamomum camphora in Shanghai metropolis","authors":"Hongbing Wang, Chenbing Guo, Jun Qin, Lianlian Pan, Yonghong Hu","doi":"10.1007/s00468-024-02584-9","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00468-024-02584-9","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The camphor tree crown tends to develop asymmetries, and wind and motorway-related asymmetric roots are dominant factors that help understand the aboveground responses to the belowground in architecture.</p><p>The below- and above-ground morphological responses of forest trees have long been observed and their adaptive growth has been found related to tree stability. Some external forces, such as wind loading, can be transferred through the trunk to the root system, causing the root architecture to be affected by the aboveground architecture. Due to the different functions and manner of resource uptake of below- and above-ground organs, it is necessary to understand the aboveground responses to the belowground in architecture. Urban street tree roots are particularly susceptible to stresses from massive impervious surfaces, so the responses of crown architecture should be based on the combined effects of internal and external factors. This study used 190 street trees of <i>Cinnamomum camphora</i> at a coastal site in Shanghai and the architectural data of each tree’s crown were collected. Uncrewed aerial vehicles were used to determine crown volume and its orientational partitioning, flow design was used for wind velocity data, and ground-penetrating radar (GPR) was used to detect the data of root distribution. The results showed: (1) bidirectional crown asymmetry index (<i>bCAI</i>) shows the crown bias toward the road regardless of road orientation; (2) there is an increasing trend of <i>bCAI</i> with DBH; (3) orientation of tree toward road becomes a dominant factor influencing <i>bCAI</i>; (4) the relative directions between trees toward roads and wind show additive effects in consistent situations and restraining effects when in opposing directions. These findings explain the crown architectural traits of street trees and contribute to understanding root–shoot balance in biomass distribution.</p>","PeriodicalId":805,"journal":{"name":"Trees","volume":"39 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2024-12-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142810914","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
TreesPub Date : 2024-12-10DOI: 10.1007/s00468-024-02591-w
Juan Antonio Ballesteros-Cánovas, Jaime Madrigal-González, Carolina Guardiola Albert, Carina González, Markus Stofel
{"title":"Correction to: XRCT images reveal climate control on wound recovery after intense flood in Mediterranean riparian trees","authors":"Juan Antonio Ballesteros-Cánovas, Jaime Madrigal-González, Carolina Guardiola Albert, Carina González, Markus Stofel","doi":"10.1007/s00468-024-02591-w","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00468-024-02591-w","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":805,"journal":{"name":"Trees","volume":"39 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2024-12-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s00468-024-02591-w.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142798262","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
TreesPub Date : 2024-11-14DOI: 10.1007/s00468-024-02568-9
David R. Woodruff, Frederick C. Meinzer, Katherine A. McCulloh, Kimberly O’Keefe, Kelly L. Kerr, Danielle E. M. Ulrich, Johnathan G. Crandall
{"title":"Drought-related mortality, growth and non-structural carbohydrate dynamics in two conifer species during early stages of development","authors":"David R. Woodruff, Frederick C. Meinzer, Katherine A. McCulloh, Kimberly O’Keefe, Kelly L. Kerr, Danielle E. M. Ulrich, Johnathan G. Crandall","doi":"10.1007/s00468-024-02568-9","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00468-024-02568-9","url":null,"abstract":"<p>To examine the mechanisms associated with growth, survival, and mortality under drought conditions during early developmental stages, physiological and structural parameters were measured on <i>Pseudotsuga menziesii</i> (PSME) and <i>Pinus ponderosa</i> (PIPO) first-year seedlings grown under two moisture regimes (drought and control) in a common garden experiment. By the end of the 76-day experiment, PSME mortality in the drought and control treatments had reached 30.4% and 11.2%, respectively, while there was only 5.3% mortality in drought PIPO and virtually no mortality in control PIPO. Weekly predawn and mid-day leaf water potential differed significantly between treatments starting ~ mid-way through the study. Although we observed significant differences in photosynthetic gas exchange between species throughout most of the study, there were only minimal differences between treatments within species until the very end of the study. Root, stem, and leaf biomass were significantly greater in PIPO than in PSME throughout the study. PSME seedlings that were dying or recently dead showed a pronounced shift in non-structural carbohydrate (NSC) distribution, with root NSC levels strongly depleted and stem NSC levels increased relative to healthy seedlings. These results suggest a potential role for drought-related constraints on phloem transport in mortality.</p>","PeriodicalId":805,"journal":{"name":"Trees","volume":"38 6","pages":"1491 - 1508"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2024-11-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142679573","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
TreesPub Date : 2024-10-30DOI: 10.1007/s00468-024-02572-z
Ziyang Wang, Ying Yang, Yunlong Yin, Chaoguang Yu
{"title":"Transcriptomic time-series analyses of gene expression profile during zygotic embryo development in Taxodium distichum × Taxodium mucronatum","authors":"Ziyang Wang, Ying Yang, Yunlong Yin, Chaoguang Yu","doi":"10.1007/s00468-024-02572-z","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00468-024-02572-z","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Key message</h3><p>Our results from transcriptomics extend the understanding of the gene expression and major events associated with embryogenesis progression in <i>Taxodium distichum</i> × <i>Taxodium mucronatum</i>.</p><h3>Abstract</h3><p>Zygotic embryogenesis is a critical process during seed development in which the plant body plan is established and the meristems responsible for all post-embryonic growth are determined. <i>Taxodium</i> ‘Zhongshanshan’ is a series of superior interspecies hybrids of <i>T. distichum</i> and <i>T. mucronatum</i> and has been widely planted in southeastern China. Understanding the molecular, cellular and metabolic processes of embryonic development will provide important information on the somatic embryogenesis of <i>T.</i> ‘Zhongshanshan’ and further developing zygotic embryogenesis research. In the present study, we sequenced the transcriptomes of zygotic <i>T. distichum</i> × <i>T. mucronatum</i> embryos at several developmental stages, covering most of embryogenesis. Total RNA samples from six zygotic embryo developmental stages were collected for high-throughput RNA sequencing. In total, 46,798 unigenes were identified, and 12,846 differentially expressed genes were annotated. Genes involved in carbohydrate metabolic, such as glycoside hydrolase-, alpha-xylosidase- and xyloglucan endotransglycosylase-encoding genes, were over-represented in early embryogenesis. Genes associated with auxin, gibberellin, and cytokinin signaling pathways and epigenetic genes related to chromatin remodeling, DNA methylation, and histone deacetylase showed significant differential expression during the embryo development process. Moreover, a number of transcription factors related to embryonic development were identified, among which WUSCHEL HOMEOBOX (WOX), NO APCAL MERISTEM (NAM), and LEAFY COTYLEDON1 (LEC1) being more relevant during early and mid-embryogenesis stages. Our results will provide a valuable resource for future studies and will be helpful to the research of <i>T.</i> ‘Zhongshanshan’ breeding programs.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":805,"journal":{"name":"Trees","volume":"38 6","pages":"1543 - 1555"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2024-10-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142679752","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
TreesPub Date : 2024-10-15DOI: 10.1007/s00468-024-02573-y
Eileen Kuhl, Emanuele Ziaco, Jan Esper, Oliver Konter, Edurne Martinez del Castillo
{"title":"A machine learning approach to fill gaps in dendrometer data","authors":"Eileen Kuhl, Emanuele Ziaco, Jan Esper, Oliver Konter, Edurne Martinez del Castillo","doi":"10.1007/s00468-024-02573-y","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00468-024-02573-y","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Key message</h3><p>The machine learning algorithm extreme gradient boosting can be employed to address the issue of long data gaps in individual trees, without the need for additional tree-growth data or climatic variables.</p><h3>Abstract</h3><p>The susceptibility of dendrometer devices to technical failures often makes time-series analyses challenging. Resulting data gaps decrease sample size and complicate time-series comparison and integration. Existing methods either focus on bridging smaller gaps, are dependent on data from other trees or rely on climate parameters. In this study, we test eight machine learning (ML) algorithms to fill gaps in dendrometer data of individual trees in urban and non-urban environments. Among these algorithms, extreme gradient boosting (XGB) demonstrates the best skill to bridge artificially created gaps throughout the growing seasons of individual trees. The individual tree models are suited to fill gaps up to 30 consecutive days and perform particularly well at the start and end of the growing season. The method is independent of climate input variables or dendrometer data from neighbouring trees. The varying limitations among existing approaches call for cross-comparison of multiple methods and visual control. Our findings indicate that ML is a valid approach to fill gaps in individual trees, which can be of particular importance in situations of limited inter-tree co-variance, such as in urban environments.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":805,"journal":{"name":"Trees","volume":"38 6","pages":"1557 - 1567"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2024-10-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s00468-024-02573-y.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142679722","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}