Beech trees keep seeding through Europe's worst recorded droughts
Szymkowiak J, Bogdziewicz M, Kelly D, Foest J, Braun S, Beudert B, Chianucci F, Cutini A, Gaulton R, Gratzer G, Kölbl A, Kunstler G, Lageard JGA, Meesenburg H, Mezzavilla F, Mund M, Nussbaumer A, Pesendorfer MB, Schmidt W, Thimonier A, Thomas PA, Vacek S, Vacek Z, Verstraeten A, Wagner M, Hacket-Pain A.
Climate Adaptation
Beech forests across Europe are still raining down nuts even through brutal droughts, which means the woodlands you walk through have a better shot at regenerating than scientists feared.
Beech trees, which produce the small triangular nuts called beechnuts, were studied across hundreds of sites in Europe. Scientists found that even during the worst droughts in recent memory, these trees kept producing seeds normally. Dry springs actually helped, likely because dry air carries pollen farther. The bad news is that drought still kills trees and stunts their growth, so forests may keep reproducing while slowly losing adult trees, shifting the balance over time.
Key Findings
Across 221 time series, beech seed production was not reduced by summer drought, including record events in 2003, 2018, and 2022.
Dry spring conditions were positively associated with seed output, likely through enhanced pollen dispersal.
Drought suppresses beech growth and elevates mortality but leaves reproduction intact, meaning vital rates respond in opposite directions to the same stressor.
chevron_right Technical Summary
A study of 221 beech tree populations across Europe found that drought does not reduce seed production, even during record-breaking droughts in 2003, 2018, and 2022. Dry spring conditions actually boosted seed output, probably by aiding pollen dispersal. While drought kills trees and slows growth, reproduction keeps going, which could sustain forests even as climate extremes intensify.
Abstract Preview
Original paper
European beech reproduction is not reduced by drought, including the 2003, 2018, and 2022 extremes.
Climate change is intensifying drought stress in temperate forests, but its effects on tree reproduction, central to forest regeneration and migration capability, remain poorly understood. Here, we...
open_in_new Read full abstractAbstract copyright held by the original publisher.
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Fagus sylvatica, the European beech or common beech, is a large deciduous tree in the beech family with smooth silvery-grey bark, large leaf area, and a short trunk with low branches. It is native to much of Europe, growing in humid climates.