ArticleThe New phytologist2020
Die hard: timberline conifers survive annual winter embolism.
Article in The New phytologist, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 papers.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
17 citing papers in PubMed, 49 citations in OpenAlex.
- Refreshing perspectives in a warming world: understanding the cold adaptation strategies of plants - an introduction to a Virtual Issue.The New phytologist · 2026Article
- Evidence for a trade-off between growth rate and xylem embolism resistance in 22 Eucalyptus species.The New phytologist · 2026Article
- Global variability in hydraulic traits and water use strategies of mountain shrubs and dwarf shrubs.Plant biology (Stuttgart, Germany) · 2025Review
- Foliar Water Uptake Supports Water Potential Recovery but Does Not Affect Xylem Sap Composition in Two Salt-Secreting Mangroves.Plant, cell & environment · 2025Article
- Article
- Recovery after long-term summer drought: Hydraulic measurements reveal legacy effects in trunks of Picea abies but not in Fagus sylvatica.Plant biology (Stuttgart, Germany) · 2022Article
- The phenomenon of red and yellow autumn leaves: Hypotheses, agreements and disagreements.Journal of evolutionary biology · 2022Review
- Do Different Tree-Ring Proxies Contain Different Temperature Signals? A Case Study of Norway Spruce (Plants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- Seasonal Responses of Hydraulic Function and Carbon Dynamics in Spruce Seedlings to Continuous Drought.Frontiers in plant science · 2022Article
- Branch water uptake and redistribution in two conifers at the alpine treeline.Scientific reports · 2021Article
- Cavitation fatigue in conifers: a study on eight European species.Plant physiology · 2021Article
- Isometric scaling to model water transport in conifer tree rings across time and environments.Journal of experimental botany · 2021Article
- Breeding for Climate Change Resilience: A Case Study of Loblolly Pine (Frontiers in plant science · 2021Review
- Article
- Drought-Induced Xylem Embolism Limits the Recovery of Leaf Gas Exchange in Scots Pine.Plant physiology · 2020Article
- Insights into trunks ofTrees (Berlin, Germany : West) · 2020Article
- Ice Nucleation and Freezing Consequences in Perennial Plants.Physiologia plantarumReview
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 3 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
Abstract
During winter, timberline trees are exposed to drought and frost, factors known to induce embolism. Studies indicated that conifers cope with winter embolism by xylem refilling. We analysed the loss of hydraulic conductivity (LC) in Picea abies branch xylem over 10 years, and correlated winter embolism to climate parameters. LC was investigated by direct X-ray micro-computer tomography (micro-CT) observations and potential cavitation fatigue by Cavitron measurements. Trees showed up to 100% winter embolism, whereby LC was highest, when climate variables indicated frost drought and likely freeze-thaw stress further increased LC. During summer, LC never exceeded 16%, due to hydraulic recovery. Micro-CT revealed homogenous embolism during winter and that recovery was based on xylem refilling. Summer samples exhibited lower LC in outermost compared to older tree rings, although no cavitation fatigue was detected. Long-term data and micro-CT observations demonstrate that timberline trees can survive annual cycles of pronounced winter-embolism followed by xylem refilling. Only a small portion of the xylem conductivity cannot be restored during the first year, while remaining conduits are refilled without fatigue during consecutive years. We identify important research topics to better understand the complex induction and repair of embolism at the timberline and its relevance to general plant hydraulics.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.