Ma et al. (2026) Responses of Dominant Tree Species Phenology to Climate Change in the Ailao Mountains Mid-Subtropical Evergreen Broad-Leaved Forest (2008–2022)

⚠️ Warning: This summary was generated from the abstract only, as the full text was not available.

Identification

• Journal: Forests
• Year: 2026
• Date: 2026-01-09
• Authors: Ruihua Ma, Yanling Peng, Shiyu Dai, Hede Gong
• DOI: 10.3390/f17010092

Research Groups

Researchers associated with the study site on Ailao Mountains, China.

Short Summary

This study investigated phenological shifts and their climatic drivers in a mid-subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forest on Ailao Mountains, China, revealing that water availability, specifically winter-spring precipitation, is the dominant regulator of spring phenology, rather than temperature, and that phenological trends differ from those observed at higher latitudes.

Objective

• To analyze phenological shifts and their climatic drivers in a mid-subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forest.

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: Mid-subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forest on Ailao Mountains, China.
• Temporal Scale: 15 years (2008 to 2022).

Methodology and Data

• Models used: Not explicitly mentioned; observational study.
• Data sources: Continuous phenological monitoring of 12 dominant tree species.

Main Results

• Spring phenophases (budburst and leaf-out) did not exhibit significant advancing trends, and autumn phenophases (leaf coloration and fall) remained stable, contrasting with trends reported in northern mid-to-high latitudes.
• Water availability was the dominant factor regulating spring phenology, with both budburst and leaf-out showing significant negative correlations with winter-spring precipitation.
• Phenological responses varied significantly across different hydrological year types.
• Life form strongly influenced phenological strategies, with evergreen species exhibiting earlier spring phenology than deciduous species.
• In seasonally humid subtropical montane forests, water availability exerts a stronger control on phenology than temperature.

Contributions

• Highlights the critical role of water availability as a dominant driver of plant phenology in subtropical montane forests, challenging the temperature-centric view often found in higher latitude studies.
• Underscores the necessity of incorporating precipitation variability and functional trait differences (e.g., life form) into future assessments of forest phenology and ecosystem functioning under climate change.
• Provides a scientific basis for the conservation and adaptive management strategies for subtropical forests.

Funding

Not explicitly mentioned in the provided text.

Citation

@article{Ma2026Responses,
  author = {Ma, Ruihua and Peng, Yanling and Dai, Shiyu and Gong, Hede},
  title = {Responses of Dominant Tree Species Phenology to Climate Change in the Ailao Mountains Mid-Subtropical Evergreen Broad-Leaved Forest (2008–2022)},
  journal = {Forests},
  year = {2026},
  doi = {10.3390/f17010092},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.3390/f17010092}
}