title: Variation in leaf flushing date influences autumnal senescence and next year's flushing date in two temperate tree species.
abstract: Recent temperature increases have elicited strong phenological shifts in temperate tree species, with subsequent effects on photosynthesis. Here, we assess the impact of advanced leaf flushing in a winter warming experiment on the current year's senescence and next year's leaf flushing dates in two common tree species: Quercus robur L. and Fagus sylvatica L. Results suggest that earlier leaf flushing translated into earlier senescence, thereby partially offsetting the lengthening of the growing season. Moreover, saplings that were warmed in winter-spring 2009-2010 still exhibited earlier leaf flushing in 2011, even though the saplings had been exposed to similar ambient conditions for almost 1 y. Interestingly, for both species similar trends were found in mature trees using a long-term series of phenological records gathered from various locations in Europe. We hypothesize that this long-term legacy effect is related to an advancement of the endormancy phase (chilling phase) in response to the earlier autumnal senescence. Given the importance of phenology in plant and ecosystem functioning, and the prediction of more frequent extremely warm winters, our observations and postulated underlying mechanisms should be tested in other species.
authors.affiliation: Research Group of Plant and Vegetation Ecology, Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, B-2610 Wilrijk, Belgium;College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China; yongshuo.fu@uantwerpen.be.
authors.forename: Yongshuo S H
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Fu
authors.affiliation: Research Group of Plant and Vegetation Ecology, Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, B-2610 Wilrijk, Belgium;
authors.forename: Matteo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Campioli
authors.affiliation: Institute of Botany, University of Basel, 4056 Basel, Switzerland; and.
authors.forename: Yann
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Vitasse
authors.affiliation: Research Group of Plant and Vegetation Ecology, Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, B-2610 Wilrijk, Belgium;
authors.forename: Hans J
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: De Boeck
authors.affiliation: Research Group of Plant and Vegetation Ecology, Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, B-2610 Wilrijk, Belgium;
authors.forename: Joke
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Van den Berge
authors.affiliation: Research Group of Molecular Plant Physiology and Biotechnology, Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, 2020 Antwerpen, Belgium.
authors.forename: Hamada
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: AbdElgawad
authors.affiliation: Research Group of Molecular Plant Physiology and Biotechnology, Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, 2020 Antwerpen, Belgium.
authors.forename: Han
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Asard
authors.affiliation: College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China;
authors.forename: Shilong
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Piao
authors.affiliation: Research Group of Plant and Vegetation Ecology, Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, B-2610 Wilrijk, Belgium;
authors.forename: Gaby
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Deckmyn
authors.affiliation: Research Group of Plant and Vegetation Ecology, Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, B-2610 Wilrijk, Belgium;
authors.forename: Ivan A
authors.initials: IA
authors.lastname: Janssens
mesh_terms: D002980:Climate; D003080:Cold Temperature; D017753:Ecosystem; D029964:Fagus / Q000502:physiology; D005838:Genotype; D057232:Global Warming; D016014:Linear Models; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000502:physiology*; D018521:Plant Physiological Phenomena; D029963:Quercus / Q000502:physiology; D012621:Seasons; D013045:Species Specificity; D013696:Temperature; D014197:Trees / Q000502:physiology*
keywords: climate change; leaf senescence; spring flushing; tree phenology