Regionwide temporal gradients of carbon allocation allow for shoot growth and latewood formation in boreal black spruce

In boreal ecosystems, phenological events display seasonal patterns. These patterns optimize the development of tissues during the short time window available for growth in cold climates. Primary and secondary growth, two expensive processes for plants, are supposedly modulated in time to optimize allocation of carbon to bud and woody tissues. We aimed to assess the phenology of primary and secondary meristems, testing their relationship over the closed black spruce stands of the commercially exploited forest region in Quebec, Canada.

Location: Quebec, Canada

Time period: 2002-2016

Major taxa studied: Gymnospermae

We combined weekly scaled field observations with Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) time-series of the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) to extract timings of photosynthesis and meristem growth in five black spruce [Picea mariana (Mill.) B.S.P.] stands located along a latitudinal gradient and to assess their relationship. We then tes...