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Black ash, hornbeam, smooth elm and field maple: a winning team to resist to drought

As a result of climate change, droughts are expected to become more frequent, longer and more severe in Europe. The composition of Europe’s forests is likely to change in the future because of the different resistance of tree species to drought.

The authors of this study measured the growth and vulnerability to drought of four rarer native species (blackbeam, hornbeam, smooth elm and field maple). They compared them with beech, and sessile and pedunculate oak, which have been studied more extensively so far.

The authors conclude that rare native tree species are well adapted as mixed species in future forest stands. Hornbeam is well suited to beech stands on wetter sites, while field maple and blackbeam are a good complement to oak on drier sites.

Hornbeam is able to withstand severe and short droughts thanks to a relatively stable sapflow under stressful conditions. The study shows that its behaviour is broadly similar to that of beech, but with slightly lower climatic sensitivity and more stable growth. It also shows good resistance to years of severe drought. The authors recommend hornbeam for enriching beech forests. And given that drought sensitivity increases with diameter for both hornbeam and beech, the authors recommend adjusting the target diameters.

Smooth elm is an alluvial forest species. The results of the study indicate a drought tolerance indicating suitability even on drier sites. Smooth elm is prone to graphiosis, but much less than other native elm species (field elm and mountain elm).

Field maple appreciates a mild climate with low autumn rainfall. A number of studies have shown that field maple has a high tolerance to drought, even surpassing that of oak.

Beech is highly sensitive to drought. The proportion of beech in the stand is likely to decline in the future, even on favourable sites, to the benefit of rarer species.

The pedunculate and sessile oaks show greater drought tolerance than the beech and have stable growth even in dry conditions.