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Percentage of needle loss and discoloration of Greek fir trees showing variable root damage. Bars represent mean values of 65 (without damage), 60 (slightly damaged), 176 (moderately damaged) and 168 (strongly damaged) root systems ( þ 1 standard deviation). Means within a crown variable followed by the same letter are not significantly different at p 05 level.
Source publication
The decline of Greek fir (Abies cephalonica Loudon) has been reported throughout Greece during the last three decades. The symptoms include crown dieback, needle discoloration and loss, death of twigs, branches or whole tree death. A number of causes for the fir decline have been proposed such as drought, climatic change, air pollution and pathogen...
Contexts in source publication
Context 1
... mean percentage of needle loss of trees with strongly damaged root system was almost 40%, significantly higher from all other trees (Figure 1). The mean needle loss of trees with moderately damaged root was 16%, significantly higher than trees without root damage but not from trees with slight root damage. ...
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Citations
... Specifically, climate predictions indicate drying trends in the Mediterranean region (Alpert et al. 2006, Burke et al. 2006, Christensen and Christensen 2007. Evidence for the impact of warming and drying on Mediterranean forests is accumulating, and drought-induced forest-stand dieback and decline events have been observed (Raftoyannis et al. 2008, Allen et al. 2015. Impacts on Mediterranean Pinus spp. ...
The ability of plants to adjust to the adverse effects of climate change is important for their survival and their contribution to the global carbon cycle. This is particularly true in the Mediterranean region, which is among the regions most vulnerable to climate change. Here, we carried out a two-year comparative ecophysiological study of ecosystem function in two similar Eastern Mediterranean forests of the same tree species (Pinus halepensis Mill.) under mild (Sani, Greece) and extreme (Yatir, Israel) climatic conditions. The partial effects of key environmental variables, including radiation, vapor pressure deficit, air temperature and soil moisture (Rg, D, T, and SWC, respectively), on the ecosystems’ CO2 and water vapor fluxes were estimated using generalized additive models (GAMs). The results showed a large adjustment between sites in the seasonal patterns of both carbon and water fluxes and in the time and duration of the optimal period (defined here as the time when fluxes were within 85% of the seasonal maximum). The GAM analysis indicated that the main factor influencing the seasonal patterns was SWC, while T and D had significant but milder effects. During the respective optimal periods, the two ecosystems showed strong similarities in the fluxes’ responses to the measured environmental variables, indicating similarity in their underlying physiological characteristics. The results indicate that Aleppo pine forests have a strong phenotypic adjustment potential to cope with increasing environmental stresses. This, in turn, will help its survival and its continued contribution to the terrestrial carbon sink in the face of climate change in this region.
... However, in all three species the major defoliating insect is EFB. It was found to defoliate fi r trees at Pertouli, Trikala (MARKALAS, 1992;MARKALAS and BOGENSCHÜTZ, 1995) while in central Greece near Athens it has been considered one of the major causes of fi r tree mortality among scolytids, mistletoe (Viscum album) and decreased proportion of fi ne root biomass (RAFTOYANNIS et al., 2008;RAFTOYANNIS et al., 2015;TSOPELAS et al., 2001;TSOPELAS et al., 2004). However, on Mt. ...
During the spring of 2020, Choristoneura murinana (Hubner) otherwise European Fir Budworm (EFB) was recorded on Abies cephalonica near the villages of Kaloskopi and Agoriani in Central Greece at the mountains Giona and Parnassus respectively. To our knowledge, the occurrence of the particular pest on the specific mountains has not been described yet. We found that EFB mostly prefers Abies cephalonica and less Juniperus oxycedrous in sunny areas and/or near the country roads. Across the study area, local severe infestations of scale 2, 3 and 5, were observed. In many cases the infestation was observed in adult fir individuals. Defoliations and severe outbreaks, which are presumably incurred by EFB were also observed by local people (beekeepers, foresters, herb collectors) in the past. Our laboratories field measurements and the analysis of the Singular Spectrum analysis trendlines revealed growth decline, not connected with climatic parameters but probably associated with observed defoliations by the EFB.
... Drought is the main abiotic factor that affects and weakens fir trees, making them vulnerable to bark beetle attacks (Tsopelas et al. 2004). Periods of extreme drought can cause extensive dieback as occurred in 1988-89 throughout Greece, and more recently in 2000-02 and 2009 on many mountains in southern and central Greece (Markalas 1992;Brofas and Economidou 1994;Raftoyannis et al. 2008). ...
The endemic oro-Mediterranean fir (Abies spp.) forests in Greece are valuable ecosystems with high ecological and economic importance. In the mountains in south-central Greece, the availability of moisture plays a crucial role in the floristic composition, structure and distribution of fir forest communities. Because of the predicted adverse climate changes for the Mediterranean zone, suitability of many habitats for the growth of fir forests will change. This study aims to quantify the degree to which these forests will be affected by climate change. Current and future climatic conditions in the area studied were estimated for two periods of time (2041 – 60, 2061 – 80) and two climate change scenarios (RCP 4.5, RCP 8.5). Vegetation releves were classified and ordinated. Recursive partitioning was used to reveal the most important factor for discriminating the main plant communities and determining the ecological threshold between them. Current and future suitability of bioclimatic space for fir forest communities was identified. The effect of climate change was assessed based on predicted changes in the potential distribution, in terms of size and location, of fir forest communities. Two plant communities that reflect the differentiation of fir forests into xerophytic and mesophytic forest types are described. Among several climatic variables, spring drought was the best factor discriminating these two forest communities. The quantification of the threshold for drought in these two plant communities was used to predict their potential distribution in the area studied. Potential distribution of fir forests in south-central Greece will change in the future, due to a reduction in suitable bioclimatic space and shift to higher altitudes. The effect is expected to be greater for xerophytic forest communities, especially in the worst-case scenario (RCP 8.5) and in 2061–80.
... This could probably be the reason we found no association between T max and habitat suitability in our simulations. However, A. cephalonica has experienced extensive dieback during severe drought years in the past [73,74], associated with water stress and/or insect outbreaks [75,76]. At the same time, dendroecological analyses have identified that the growth of A. cephalonica is positively related to spring and summer-time precipitation [42,77]. ...
Climate change is affecting species distribution and ecosystem form and function. Forests provide a range of ecosystem services, and understanding their vulnerability to climate change is important for designing effective adaptation strategies. Species Distribution Modelling (SDM) has been extensively used to derive habitat suitability maps under current conditions and project species distribution shifts under climate change. In this study, we model the current and future habitat suitability of the dominant tree species in Greece (Abies cephalonica, Abies borisii-regis, Pinus brutia, Pinus halepensis, Pinus nigra, Quercus ilex, Quercus pubescens, Quercus frainetto and Fagus sylvatica), based on species-specific presence data from the EU-Forest database, enhanced with data from Greece that is currently under-represented in terms of tree species occurrence points. By including these additional presence data, areas with relatively drier conditions for some of the study species were included in the SDM development, yielding a potentially lower vulnerability under climate change conditions. SDMs were developed for each taxon using climate and soil data at a resolution of ~1 km2. Model performance was assessed under current conditions and was found to adequately simulate potential distributions. Subsequently, the models were used to project the potential distribution of each species under the SSP1-2.6 and SSP5-8.5 scenarios for the 2041–2070 and 2071–2100 time periods. Under climate change scenarios, a reduction in habitat-suitable areas was predicted for most study species, with higher elevation taxa experiencing more pronounced potential habitat shrinkages. An exception was the endemic A. cephalonica and its sister species A. borisii-regis, which, although currently found at mid and high elevations, seem able to maintain their potential distribution under most climate change scenarios. Our findings suggest that climate change could significantly affect the distribution and dynamics of forest ecosystems in Greece, with important ecological, economic and social implications, and thus adequate mitigation measures should be implemented.
... The roots of the fir trees are small, thick and large, and can penetrate between the bedrock cracks . Raftoyannis et al. (2008) have stated that there is a shallow and splayed root system in rocky areas, although the root system of the Greek fir (Abies cephalonica Loudon) is generally rather shallow, deeper and in deep soils according to growing environment. However, root growth under adverse conditions may cause a shallow root system that increases the probability of water stress (Ulrich 1989;Gruber 1994). ...
... Observed and future responses of forests to climate change include changes in growth rates, phenology, composition of animal and plant communities, increased fire and storm damage, and increased insect and pathogen damage. Tree mortality and forest decline due to severe drought events were observed in forest populations in Southern Europe (Bigler et al., 2006;Raftoyannis et al., 2008;Affolter et al., 2010), including Italy (Giuggiola et al., 2010;Bertini et al., 2011), Cyprus (ECHOES Country Report: Cyprus, 2009), and Greece (Raftoyannis et al., 2008), as well as in Belgium (Kint et al., 2012), Switzerland (Rigling et al., 2013), and the pre-Alps in France (Rouault et al., 2006;Allen et al., 2010;Charru et al., 2010). Declines have also been observed in wet forests not normally considered at risk of drought (Choat et al., 2012). ...
... Observed and future responses of forests to climate change include changes in growth rates, phenology, composition of animal and plant communities, increased fire and storm damage, and increased insect and pathogen damage. Tree mortality and forest decline due to severe drought events were observed in forest populations in Southern Europe (Bigler et al., 2006;Raftoyannis et al., 2008;Affolter et al., 2010), including Italy (Giuggiola et al., 2010;Bertini et al., 2011), Cyprus (ECHOES Country Report: Cyprus, 2009), and Greece (Raftoyannis et al., 2008), as well as in Belgium (Kint et al., 2012), Switzerland (Rigling et al., 2013), and the pre-Alps in France (Rouault et al., 2006;Allen et al., 2010;Charru et al., 2010). Declines have also been observed in wet forests not normally considered at risk of drought (Choat et al., 2012). ...
Floods have always had and will continue to have significant consequences for society. In May 2014, there was widespread flooding in the Balkans affecting Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Serbia. The aim of this article is to show that resilient and proactive health systems that anticipate needs and challenges
are more likely to reduce risks and respond effectively during emergencies, saving lives and alleviating human suffering. The method draws on multiple sources of information, including a Balkan case study questionnaire survey with public health professionals involved in response to floods (n = 18) from
three affected countries, and focus group discussion results (n = 43) presented at the meeting on “Prevention, preparedness and response to reduce or avoid health effects of flood events”, held in Bonn, Germany, in October 2015.The proposed range of measures to protect population health, organized around flood prevention, preparedness, response and recovery listed issues and considerations largely corresponds to the identified needs by Member State requests, following the Balkan country experiences. The consideration of lessons for early warning, preparedness and response and the integration of research results would lead to improved preparedness measures to better prevent flooding risks. Experiences in the WHO European Region point to a need to
shift the emphasis from disaster response to long-term risk management.
... These can develop sequentially or simultaneously and can have an individual or a cumulative action on development in host's environment, whose sensibility increases in time (Tulic and Bijak, 2016). The factors involved act on different levels, simultaneously or one at a time (Raftoyannis et al., 2008;Brown et al., 2017). ...
The decline phenomenon of stands can be defined as the totality of effects that damage the normal vegetation state of trees and stands. There are two types of decline, the acute one, with fast development, and the chronical one, with slow development in space and time. The accurate capture of the phenomenon has direct implications for the forest management measures. A first step in this direction is the analysis of the development type and of its dynamics. Forests which have Quercus species in composition are affected more by this phenomenon. There were identified oak stands presenting decline phenomenon in 9 Forest Districts in Northwestern Transylvania and 22 experimental plots were analyzed. These plots were located in middle aged stands that were affected in different ways. The study was performed during 2013-2015 and focused on crown level assessments of trees, taking into consideration the shape and size, defoliations, percentage of dead or missing slender branches, number of dead thick branches, presence of epicormic branches or dormant buds on the stem, presence of pathogens or pests. These elements were used for calculating some technical indicators of the health and vegetation state: degree of dieback, damage and devitalization, synthetic index damage, annual mortality rate. In 7 out of 22 stands, the overcoming of the incipient stage and beginning of active dieback stage was observed. The strongest correlation occurred between the annual mortality rate and the synthetic index damage.
... Firs growing on hard limestone sites develop long vertical roots in order to find fractures in the rock that allow penetration. If this is not achieved, the tree ends up with a superficial root system and becomes susceptible to drought stress (Raftoyannis et al., 2008). The importance of this variable increases with age as the roots of the seedlings become more and more embedded in the soil environment of the site, which is consistent with findings concerning natural regeneration of this species (Politi et al., 2009). ...
... Both defoliation and needle chlorosis are used as indicators of increased mortality in the future (Cailleret et al., 2014). The damage symptoms that we observed were identical with the ones reported in previous studies on naturally growing firs (Raftoyannis et al., 2008). The absence of correlation between the degree of needle chlorosis and the dead needle occurrence suggests that two distinct mechanisms or causes may be in play. ...
Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to establish the effects on the survival of outplanted Abies cephalonica Loudon seedlings of seedling characteristics, site characteristics and management practices.
Design/methodology/approach
– The study was carried out by repeatedly monitoring survival of seedlings during a five-year period as well as establishing statistical relationships with a set of variables belonging to the aforementioned categories. It took place in plots reforested after a wildfire in the Parnitha Mt. National Park, near Athens, Greece.
Findings
– The odds of survival were found to be affected by bedrock type, dominant vegetation, initial seedling height and use of shading implements. Artificial shading was most important during the first year, site-related characteristics gained importance with increasing age and seedling height was of relatively constant importance. Shifts in temporal patterns of mortality and damage symptoms occurrence suggest that the mechanisms causing mortality changed with increasing age.
Practical implications
– The use of large seedlings in reforestation projects involving A. cephalonica should be preferred. Shading improves survival but due to the high costs this technique could be reserved for unfavorable plots, e.g. on limestone. Planting A. cephalonica in marginal sites should be avoided.
Originality/value
– The knowledge of the performance of A. cephalonica outplanted seedlings is very limited, while the need is increasing due to the spread of wildfires in this previously unaffected habitat.
... Greek fi r ( Abies cephalonica Loudon) is a medium-sized tree, widely distributed in mountains of Central and Southern Greece, mainly at altitudes of 800-1700 m, covering an area of 200,000 ha of productive and conservation forests [ 1 ]. Most stands are rather degraded and the present distribution is just a fraction of its potential natural area [ 2 ]. ...
Greek fir (Abies cephalonica Loudon) belongs to the Mediterranean fir species and is widely distributed in the mountains of Central and Southern Greece. Considering a climatic scenario, infestation by pathogens or insects and fire episodes, it has been proposed that Mediterranean firs could be in danger in some parts of their present range but, on the other hand, could also replace other species in more northern zones with temperate humid climates (e.g., silver fir, Abies alba Mill.). As fir species are generally highly productive and therefore important for commercial forestry, they have traditionally been involved in conventional tree improvement programs. A lot of effort has been put into the development of vegetative propagation methods for firs, in order to rapidly gain the benefits of traditional breeding to be utilized in reforestation. The present paper provides up to date information on protocols for somatic embryogenesis (i.e., the most promising in vitro method for vegetative propagation) of Greek fir. Moreover, the protocols for cryopreservation and long-term storage of embryogenic material are described as well.
... Projected water shortages are thus likely to intensify the limitations on plant productivity and forest growth. Several studies have already reported drought-induced forest impacts and diebacks in the Mediterranean region (Peñuelas et al., 2001;Martínez-Vilalta and Piñol, 2002;Raftoyannis et al., 2008;Allen et al., 2010;Carnicer et al., 2011;Matusick et al., 2013), as well as shifts in vegetation composition (Jump and Peñuelas, 2005;Anderegg et al., 2013). Seasonal summer drought limits plant growth and productivity most strongly through reductions in the plant carbon budget, which depends on the balance between photosynthesis and respiration (Flexas et al., 2006). ...
Terrestrial carbon exchange is a key process of the global carbon cycle consisting of a delicate balance between photosynthetic carbon uptake and respiratory release. We have, however, a limited understanding how long-term decreases in precipitation induced by climate change affect the boundaries and mechanisms of photosynthesis and respiration. We examined the seasonality of photosynthetic and respiratory traits and evaluated the adaptive mechanism of the foliar carbon balance of Quercus ilex L. experiencing a long-term rainfall-exclusion experiment. Day respiration (R d) but not night respiration (R n) was generally higher in the drought treatment leading to an increased R d/R n ratio. The limitation of mesophyll conductance (g m) on photosynthesis was generally stronger than stomatal limitation (g s) in the drought treatment, reflected in a lower g m/g s ratio. The peak photosynthetic activity in the drought treatment occurred in an atypical favourable summer in parallel with lower R d/R n and higher g m/g s ratios. The plant carbon balance was thus strongly improved through: (i) higher photosynthetic rates induced by g m; and (ii) decreased carbon losses mediated by R d. Interestingly, photosynthetic potentials (V c,max, J max, and TPU) were not affected by the drought treatment, suggesting a dampening effect on the biochemical level in the long term. In summary, the trees experiencing a 14-year-long drought treatment adapted through higher plasticity in photosynthetic and respiratory traits, so that eventually the atypical favourable growth period was exploited more efficiently.
