Articles | Volume 25, issue 9
https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-25-3309-2025
https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-25-3309-2025
Research article
 | 
11 Sep 2025
Research article |  | 11 Sep 2025

What if extreme droughts occur more frequently? Mechanisms and limits of forest adaptation in pine monocultures and mixed forests in Berlin–Brandenburg, Germany

Jamir Priesner, Boris Sakschewski, Maik Billing, Werner von Bloh, Sebastian Fiedler, Sarah Bereswill, Kirsten Thonicke, and Britta Tietjen

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Cited articles

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In our simulations increased drought frequencies lead to a drastic reduction in biomass in temperate pine monoculture and mixed forests. Mixed forests eventually recovered as long as drought frequency was not too high. The higher resilience of mixed forests was due to higher adaptive capacity. After adaptation mixed forests were mainly composed of smaller, broadleaved trees with higher wood density and slower growth. This would have strong implications for forestry and other ecosystem services.
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