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Drivers of drought-induced canopy mortality in conifer and broadleaf forests across Luxembourg.

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Title: Drivers of drought-induced canopy mortality in conifer and broadleaf forests across Luxembourg.
Authors: Schwarz, Selina1 (AUTHOR), Fassnacht, Fabian Ewald2 (AUTHOR), Hülsmann, Lisa3,4 (AUTHOR), Ruehr, Nadine K.1,5 (AUTHOR) nadine.ruehr@kit.edu
Source: Biogeosciences. 2026, Vol. 23 Issue 9, p2985-3003. 19p.
Subject Terms: *Tree mortality, *Coniferous forests, *Droughts, *Climate change, *Countries, *Forest declines, *Broadleaf forests
Geographic Terms: Luxembourg (Luxembourg), Central Europe
Abstract: Climate change-induced weather extremes are increasing the intensity and frequency of disturbance events, posing a major threat to forests globally. In Central Europe, hotter and drier summers, such as those during the 2018–2020 drought period, have led to widespread forest damage. To adapt forests to a hotter and drier future it is important to identify sites more vulnerable to canopy mortality during drought, but high-resolution tree mortality data across continuous landscapes are still sparse. This study addresses this research gap by utilising a high-resolution (single-tree-level), spatially continuous dataset covering the entire Central European country of Luxembourg. We used generalized additive models (GAMs) to explore the contribution of biotic and abiotic drivers to the observed canopy mortality of conifer and broadleaf forests during the 2018–2020 summer droughts. Specifically, we assessed drivers related to forest structure, mortality clustering and spread, and topographic conditions to understand how they relate to spatial variability in canopy mortality. In total, the model explained 44.7 % of spatial variation in canopy mortality in conifers and 25.3 % in broadleaf forests. Environmental drivers related to clustered mortality, showed the strongest influence on canopy mortality in conifer forests, indicating that bark beetle infestation shaped spatial mortality patterns under drought. Forest height also emerged as an important driver associated with increased canopy mortality in both forest types. In contrast, topography- and soil-related drivers showed only limited influence on canopy mortality. Our study highlights the potential of using high-resolution canopy mortality data across a national-scale landscape to unravel how abiotic and biotic processes shape spatial variation in forest mortality under severe drought conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Database: Energy & Power Source
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DbLabel: Energy & Power Source
An: 193976260
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PubTypeId: academicJournal
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Items – Name: Title
  Label: Title
  Group: Ti
  Data: Drivers of drought-induced canopy mortality in conifer and broadleaf forests across Luxembourg.
– Name: Author
  Label: Authors
  Group: Au
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Schwarz%2C+Selina%22">Schwarz, Selina</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Fassnacht%2C+Fabian+Ewald%22">Fassnacht, Fabian Ewald</searchLink><relatesTo>2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Hülsmann%2C+Lisa%22">Hülsmann, Lisa</searchLink><relatesTo>3,4</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Ruehr%2C+Nadine K%2E%22">Ruehr, Nadine K.</searchLink><relatesTo>1,5</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> nadine.ruehr@kit.edu</i>
– Name: TitleSource
  Label: Source
  Group: Src
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Biogeosciences%22">Biogeosciences</searchLink>. 2026, Vol. 23 Issue 9, p2985-3003. 19p.
– Name: Subject
  Label: Subject Terms
  Group: Su
  Data: *<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Tree+mortality%22">Tree mortality</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Coniferous+forests%22">Coniferous forests</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Droughts%22">Droughts</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Climate+change%22">Climate change</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Countries%22">Countries</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Forest+declines%22">Forest declines</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Broadleaf+forests%22">Broadleaf forests</searchLink>
– Name: SubjectGeographic
  Label: Geographic Terms
  Group: Su
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Luxembourg+%28Luxembourg%29%22">Luxembourg (Luxembourg)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Central+Europe%22">Central Europe</searchLink>
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: Climate change-induced weather extremes are increasing the intensity and frequency of disturbance events, posing a major threat to forests globally. In Central Europe, hotter and drier summers, such as those during the 2018–2020 drought period, have led to widespread forest damage. To adapt forests to a hotter and drier future it is important to identify sites more vulnerable to canopy mortality during drought, but high-resolution tree mortality data across continuous landscapes are still sparse. This study addresses this research gap by utilising a high-resolution (single-tree-level), spatially continuous dataset covering the entire Central European country of Luxembourg. We used generalized additive models (GAMs) to explore the contribution of biotic and abiotic drivers to the observed canopy mortality of conifer and broadleaf forests during the 2018–2020 summer droughts. Specifically, we assessed drivers related to forest structure, mortality clustering and spread, and topographic conditions to understand how they relate to spatial variability in canopy mortality. In total, the model explained 44.7 % of spatial variation in canopy mortality in conifers and 25.3 % in broadleaf forests. Environmental drivers related to clustered mortality, showed the strongest influence on canopy mortality in conifer forests, indicating that bark beetle infestation shaped spatial mortality patterns under drought. Forest height also emerged as an important driver associated with increased canopy mortality in both forest types. In contrast, topography- and soil-related drivers showed only limited influence on canopy mortality. Our study highlights the potential of using high-resolution canopy mortality data across a national-scale landscape to unravel how abiotic and biotic processes shape spatial variation in forest mortality under severe drought conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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RecordInfo BibRecord:
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    Identifiers:
      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.5194/bg-23-2985-2026
    Languages:
      – Code: eng
        Text: English
    PhysicalDescription:
      Pagination:
        PageCount: 19
        StartPage: 2985
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Tree mortality
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Coniferous forests
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Droughts
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Climate change
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Countries
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Forest declines
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Broadleaf forests
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Luxembourg (Luxembourg)
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Central Europe
        Type: general
    Titles:
      – TitleFull: Drivers of drought-induced canopy mortality in conifer and broadleaf forests across Luxembourg.
        Type: main
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      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Schwarz, Selina
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            NameFull: Fassnacht, Fabian Ewald
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            NameFull: Hülsmann, Lisa
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            NameFull: Ruehr, Nadine K.
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            – D: 01
              M: 05
              Text: 2026
              Type: published
              Y: 2026
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              Value: 23
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              Value: 9
          Titles:
            – TitleFull: Biogeosciences
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