Crown defoliation decreases reproduction and wood growth in a marginal European beech population.

Background And Aims: Abiotic and biotic stresses related to climate change have been associated with increased crown defoliation, decreased growth and a higher risk of mortality in many forest tree species, but the impact of stresses on tree reproduction and forest regeneration remains understudied. At the dry, warm margin of species distributions, flowering, pollination and seed maturation are expected to be affected by drought, late frost and other stresses, eventually resulting in reproduction failure. Moreover, inter-individual variation in reproductive performance versus other performance traits (growth, survival) could have important consequences for population dynamics.