European beech reproduction is not reduced by drought, including the 2003, 2018, and 2022 extremes
Climate change is intensifying drought stress in temperate forests, but its effects on tree reproduction, central to forest regeneration and migration capability, remain poorly understood. Here, we analyze 221 time series of beech ( Fagus sylvatica ) seed production across Europe to test whether drought reduces seed output. We isolate drought exposure during the flowering, pollination, and seed maturation phases of reproduction, and test for legacy effects on future reproduction. Seed production was not impaired by summer drought, and dry spring conditions were associated with increased output, likely via enhanced pollen dispersal. Thus, once initiated, beech reproduction is not reduced by drought, with no suppression of reproduction the following year. Reproduction was not reduced at the driest sites during exceptional European summer droughts in 2003, 2018, and 2022. Considered alongside prior evidence that drought suppresses forest growth and elevates mortality, these findings indicate that vital rates can respond in opposite directions to the same stressor. Such contrasts may sustain forest reproduction during heat–drought events yet shift demographic balance toward higher mortality and turnover as climatic extremes intensify.
Authors
- Henning Meesenburg (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3035-4737)
- Anne Thimonier (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4685-1957)
- Wolfgang Schmidt (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5356-4684)
- Georg Gratzer (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6355-6562)
- Michał Bogdziewicz (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6777-9034)
- Sabine Braun (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4268-7659)
- Stanislav Vacek (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5234-1881)
- Francesco Mezzavilla
- Rachel Gaulton (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0706-0298)
- Dave Kelly (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9469-2161)
- Jakub Szymkowiak (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4595-1876)
- Jonathan G. A. Lageard (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8971-0444)
- Francesco Chianucci (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5688-2060)
- Burkhard Beudert (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1434-9644)
- Zdeněk Vacek (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7269-4174)
- Andrew Hacket‐Pain (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3676-1568)
- Andrea Cutini (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7033-2399)
- Martina Mund (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7181-1626)
- Arne Verstraeten (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8813-1261)
- P. Thomas (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6888-6483)
- Georges Künstler (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2544-1940)
- Angelika Kölbl
- Mario B. Pesendorfer
- Jessie Foest
- Nussbaumer Anita (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3430-7006)
- Markus Wagner (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0006-2600-9304)
Institutions
- Manchester Metropolitan University (GB)
- University of Liverpool (GB)
- University of Canterbury (NZ)
- Research Institute for Nature and Forest (BE)
- Czech University of Life Sciences Prague (CZ)
- Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (CH)
- Bavarian Forest National Park (DE)
- Viavi Solutions (United States) (US)
- Institute of Forest Ecology of the Slovak Academy of Sciences (SK)
- Institut National de Recherche pour l'Agriculture, l'Alimentation et l'Environnement (FR)
- 490 BioTech (United States) (US)
- Centro di Ricerca per l’Orticoltura (IT)
- Forestry Research Centre (IT)
- Nordwestdeutsche Forstliche Versuchsanstalt (DE)
- Plant (United States) (US)
- Keele University (GB)
- Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań (PL)
- University of Göttingen (DE)
- Université Grenoble Alpes (FR)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
- Published
- 2026-06-29
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2607167123
- Primary Topic
- Tree-ring climate responses
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00