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Megafire smoke exposure jeopardizes tree carbohydrate reserves and yield

Nature Plants volume 10, pages 1635–1642 (2024)Cite this article

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Abstract

The global incidence of megafires is on the rise, leading to extensive areas being shrouded in dense smoke for prolonged periods, spanning days or weeks1. Here, by integrating long-term regional observations of non-structural carbohydrate content in trees across California’s Central Valley with spatiotemporal satellite data, we present compelling evidence that dense smoke plumes negatively impact carbohydrate stores in three tree species: Prunus dulcis, Pistacia vera and Juglans regia. Our findings show that the presence of smoke causes a significant decrease in total non-structural carbohydrates, with reductions in the accumulation of both soluble sugar and starch reserves. This decline in carbohydrate levels persists through the trees’ dormancy period into the next season’s bloom, culminating in a reduced yield. Our results highlight a previously unrecognized wildfire threat that could affect plant health and ecosystem stability in both agricultural and natural environments.

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Fig. 1: Temporal and spatial analysis of the impact of wildfires on the air quality of the California Central Valley.
Fig. 2: Contrasting environmental parameters between a low-smoke year (2019) and a high-smoke year (2020).
Fig. 3: Smoke is associated with persistent declines in NSC.
Fig. 4: Smoke is associated with yield declines in P. dulcis.

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Data availability

The AOD data were accessed through Google Earth Engine and are available at https://doi.org/10.5067/MODIS/MCD19A2.061. The climatic data are available from the PRISM Climate Group (https://prism.oregonstate.edu/). For the air quality data, daily mean PM2.5 and daily maximum eight-hour O3 concentrations were collected from https://www.epa.gov/outdoor-air-quality-data. The reported data are available via figshare at https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.26197214.v1 (ref. 36).

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Acknowledgements

We thank Olam Food Ingredients (ofi) for providing yield information. This work was supported by grants from the Almond Board of California (WATER17), the California Pistachio Research Board (PREC8), the California Walnut Board and the California Department of Food and Agriculture (22-0001-020-SF), awarded to M.A.Z. We also thank Google Earth Engine for providing the platform, tools and computational resources necessary for gathering, processing and analysing the satellite data used in this study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Plant Sciences, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, USA

    Jessica Orozco, Paula Guzmán-Delgado & Maciej A. Zwieniecki

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  1. Jessica Orozco
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  2. Paula Guzmán-Delgado
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Contributions

J.O. and M.A.Z. conceptualized the project. J.O. performed the computations and data visualization and wrote the paper. J.O. and M.A.Z. collected the data. P.G.-D. aided in parts of the data collection. All authors contributed to subsequent paper revisions.

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Correspondence to Jessica Orozco.

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Nature Plants thanks Brett Huggett and Drew Peltier for their contribution to the peer review of this work.

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Orozco, J., Guzmán-Delgado, P. & Zwieniecki, M.A. Megafire smoke exposure jeopardizes tree carbohydrate reserves and yield. Nat. Plants 10, 1635–1642 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41477-024-01819-4

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