Forecasting tree growth in coppiced and high forests in the Czech Republic. The legacy of management drives the coming Quercus petraea climate responses

- Contrasting long-term growth trends in high vs. coppiced Quercus petraea trees are identified.
- Past management drives sessile oak growth responses to climate warming.
- Drought sensitivity in high forests is higher than in coppices.
- The growth dynamic predicted for the 21st century is modulated by stand structure.
- The legacy of management is leading the growth dynamics of coppice forests.

Climate extremes are expected to increase, which will affect oak forest ecosystems in Central European areas. Intensively managed forests, such as sessile oak stands, may alter their structure and function under a warming scenario. Here we analyse and project the climate-growth relationships of sessile oak (Quercus petraea) from high forests, originated from seed, and coppice forests, originated from vegetative reproduction in the Czech Republic. Dendrochronological data and linear mixed-effects models show similar effects of precipitation for April-May (positive) for both seedling- and coppice-origin trees. Previous autumn and current June temperature show significant negative correlations to growth in coppice forests. Nonetheless, trees from high forest stands showed increasing drought sensitivity and tended to show a stronger response to the previous autumn's temperature during the 20th century. The positive effect of warmer autumns, only found on high stands, might be related to the extended growing season, suggesting improved adaptive capacity to cope with impending warmer conditions. In contrast, coppice trees might be able to buffer soil water shortage during spring and summer by higher root/shoot ratio. The obtained models were used to estimate the impact of 21st century-emission scenarios on tree basal area increments and stand basal area dynamics under different stand structures. Our results support that growth responses to climate warming are age and/or structure-dependent in sessile oak, particularly with regards to coppiced stands. Converting coppice forests to high stand structures, as well as thinning high stands, would enhance sessile oak forest adaptive capacity to cope with warming in Central Europe.