
Guillaume CharrierFrench National Institute for Agriculture, Food, and Environment (INRAE) | INRAE
Guillaume Charrier
PhD
About
118
Publications
27,013
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Introduction
I am a plant ecophysiologist whose research interest is to study the impact of abiotic stresses on the distribution of plants through physiological drivers. I used experimental results to explain, develop concepts and model the processes related to frost and drought vulnerabilities (e.g. carbon balance, phenology, hydraulic conductivity, stomatal conductance) and how it impacts plant distribution.
Additional affiliations
November 2017 - present
September 2017 - October 2017
Publications
Publications (118)
During winter, trees have to cope with harsh conditions, including extreme freeze-thaw stress. The present study focused on ice nucleation and propagation, related water shifts and xylem cavitation as well as cell damage, and was based on in situ monitoring of xylem (thermocouples) and surface temperatures (infrared imaging), ultrasonic emissions a...
The vascular system of grapevine has been reported as being highly vulnerable, even though grapevine regularly experiences seasonal drought. Stomata would consequently remain open below water potentials that would generate a high loss of stem hydraulic conductivity via xylem embolism. This situation would necessitate daily cycles of embolism repair...
Freeze-thaw events can affect plant hydraulics by inducing embolism. This study analysed the effect of temperature during the freezing process on hydraulic conductivity and ultrasonic emissions (UE). Stems of ten angiosperms were dehydrated to a water potential at 12 percent loss of hydraulic conductivity (PLC) and exposed to freeze-thaw cycles. Mi...
Ultrasonic acoustic emission analysis enables nondestructive monitoring of damage in dehydrating or freezing plant xylem. We studied acoustic emissions (AE) in freezing stems during ice nucleation and propagation, by combining acoustic and infrared thermography techniques and controlling the ice nucleation point. Ultrasonic activity in freezing sam...
Winter physiology of woody plants is a key issue in temperate biomes. Here, we investigated different frost resistance mechanisms on 1-year-old branches of 11 European tree species from November until budburst: (i) frost hardiness of living cells (by electrolyte leakage method), (ii) winter embolism sensitivity (by percentage loss of conductivity:...
In temperate and boreal ecosystems, trees undergo dormancy to avoid cold temperatures during the unfavorable season. This phase includes changes in frost hardiness, which is minimal during the growing season and reaches its maximum in winter. Quantifying frost hardiness is important to assess the frost risk and shifts of species distribution under...
Species distribution models are key to evaluate how climate change threatens European forests and tree species distributions. However, current models struggle to integrate ecophysiological processes. Mechanistic models are complex and have high parameter requirements. Some correlative species distribution models have tried to include traits but so...
Trees are exposed to significant spatio-temporal thermal variations, which can induce intra-crown discrepancies in the onset and dynamics of primary and secondary growth. In recent decades, an increase in late winter and early spring temperatures has been observed, potentially accelerating bud break, cambial activation, and their coordination. Intr...
Key message
Winter reddening of young Douglas-fir ( Pseudotsuga menziesii Mirb. Franco), triggered by large thermal fluctuations in late winter, is a critical problem for European forestry. A literature review identified certain climatic conditions that are characteristic of ‘reddening’ years, including warm daily temperatures, high daily temperatu...
Trees are exposed to significant spatio-temporal thermal variations, which can induce intracrown discrepancies in the onset and dynamics of primary and secondary growth. In recent decades, an increase in late winter and early spring temperatures has been observed, potentially accelerating bud break, cambial activation and their potential coordinati...
Xylem embolism is a significant factor in tree mortality. Restoration of hydraulic conductivity after massive embolization of the vascular system requires the application of positive pressure to the vessels and/or the creation of new conductive elements. Some species generate positive pressure from the root system to propagate pressure in distal, a...
Xylem embolism is a significant factor in tree mortality. Restoration of hydraulic conductivity after massive embolisation of the vascular system requires the application of positive pressure to the vessels and/or the creation of new conductive elements. Some species generate positive pressure from the root system to propagate pressure in distal, a...
Water content is a key variable in plant physiology, even during the winter period. To simulate stem water content (WC) during the dormant season, a series of experiments were carried out on walnut trees under controlled conditions. In the field, WC was significantly correlated with soil temperature at 50 cm depth (R2 = 0.526). In the greenhouse, W...
Frost resistance is the major factor affecting the distribution of plant species at high latitude and elevation. The main effects of freeze-thaw cycles are damage to living cells and formation of gas embolism in tree xylem vessels. Lethal intracellular freezing can be prevented in living cells by two mechanisms: dehydration and deep supercooling. W...
Freeze-thaw-induced embolism is a key limiting factor for perennial plants in frost-exposed environments. Gas bubbles are formed during freezing and expand during thawing resulting in xylem embolism. However, when water freezes, its volume increases by 9%, generating local pressures, which can affect the formation of bubbles. To characterize local...
Frost resistance is the major factor affecting the distribution of plant species at high latitude and elevation. The main effects of freeze-thaw cycles are damage to living cells and formation of gas embolism in xylem vessels. Lethal intracellular freezing can be prevented in living cells by two mechanisms: dehydration and deep supercooling. We dev...
Maintaining wine production under global warming partly relies on optimizing the choice of plant material for a given viticultural region and developing drought-resistant cultivars. However, progress in these directions is hampered by the lack of understanding of differences in drought resistance among Vitis genotypes. We investigated patterns of x...
Background
Plants have adapted to survive seasonal life-threatening frost and drought. However, the timing and frequency of such events are impacted by climate change, jeopardising plant survival. Understanding better the strategies of survival to dehydration stress is therefore timely and can be enhanced by the cross-fertilization of research betw...
Freeze-thaw-induced embolism is a key limiting factor for perennial plants in frost-exposed environments. Gas bubbles are formed during freezing, when the low chemical potential of the ice reaches a critical cavitation threshold and expand during thawing. However, when water freezes, its volume increases by 9%, generating local pressures, which can...
Under climate change, the increasing occurrence of late frost combined with advancing spring phenology can increase the risk of frost damage in trees. In this study, we tested the link between intra-specific variability in bud phenology and frost exposure and damages. We analysed the effects of the 2021 late frost event in a black spruce (Picea mar...
The xylem long-distance water transport capacity is a key determinant of plant hydraulic function and paramount for survival and growth of woody species. Plants thus should optimise hydraulic conductance while minimizing the risk of temporary or permanent conduit dysfunctions. Here we show that Alpine (dwarf) shrubs of the family Ericaceae frequent...
To better understand freeze-thaw-induce embolism, how plants overcome xylem
dysfunction, and the potential trade-offs with plant growth and survival, five
contrasting woody species are studied in the project “AcouFollow” by a
snow-manipulation experiment at a high elevation field site in Tyrol (Austria).
Species were selected according to their lea...
The buds of perennial plants become dormant in autumn and must integrate the information related to chilling and forcing temperatures to resume their growth in spring. In many studies, the initial date for chilling accumulation (DCA) is set arbitrarily using various rules resulting in high variability across studies and sites. To test the relevancy...
Acoustic emission analysis is promising to investigate the physiological events leading to drought-induced injuries and mortality. However, their nature and source are not fully understood making this technique difficult to use as a direct measure of the loss of xylem hydraulic conductance. Acoustic emissions were recorded during severe dehydration...
Description of the research project and preliminary results
• Key message
The increase in climate variability is likely to generate an increased occurrence of both frost-induced and drought-induced damages on perennial plants. We examined how these stress factors can potentially interact and would subsequently affect the vulnerability to each other. Furthermore, we discussed how this vulnerability could be...
Presentation of my PhD research project.
Acoustic emission analysis is a promising technique to investigate the physiological events leading to drought-induced injuries and mortality. However, the nature and the source of the acoustic emissions are not fully understood and make the use of this technique difficult as a direct measure of the loss of xylem hydraulic conductance. In this stud...
Through the annual cycle of plant growth and dormancy, the winter season leads to profound metabolic changes allowing plants to undergo cold acclimation. In boreal environments, winter conditions are changing rapidly and are likely to cause damage to commercial wild lowbush blueberry. In this study, we addressed the level of frost hardiness and det...
Predicting tree frost tolerance is critical to select adapted species according to both the current and predicted future climate. The relative change in water to carbohydrate ratio is a relevant trait to predict frost acclimation in branches from many tree species. The objective of this study is to demonstrate the interspecific genericity of this a...
In the context of climate change, determining the physiological mechanisms of drought-induced mortality in woody plants and identifying thresholds of drought survivorship will improve forecasts of forest and agroecosystem die off. Here, we tested whether continuous measurements of branch diameter variation can be used to identify thresholds of hydr...
La rapidité du changement climatique (CC) en cours, l’incertitude des modèles climatiques et la diversité des réponses des espèces au CC motivent la communauté scientifique à accroître le volume des observations et à acquérir des données de qualité. Parmi celles-ci, la phénologie du débourrement chez les espèces ligneuses requiert une attention par...
In this study, we measured the feed value, the freeze tolerance, and the drought tolerance of leaves from 14 woody plant species occurring in Auvergne. Analyses of leaf composition and digestible organic matter in vitro showed that white mulberry (Morris alba) and black elder (Sambucus nigra) have a high potential nutritional value, equivalent to t...
Climate change threatens food security, and plant science researchers have investigated methods of sustaining crop yield under drought. One approach has been to overproduce abscisic acid (ABA) to enhance water use efficiency. However, the concomitant effects of ABA overproduction on plant vascular system functioning are critical as it influences vu...
In the context of climate changes, water availability is expected to severely decline. Consequently, there is a need to predict mortality of woody species, especially to find a physiological threshold to drought-induced mortality. Lavender species ( Lavandula angustifolia and Lavandula x intermedia ) which are important crops of the Mediterranean r...
Vascular pathogens cause disease in a large spectrum of perennial plants, with leaf scorch being one of the most conspicuous symptoms. Esca in grapevine (Vitis vinifera) is a vascular disease with huge negative effects on grape yield and the wine industry. One prominent hypothesis suggests that vascular disease leaf scorch is caused by fungal patho...
Background and aims:
Hydraulic studies are currently biased towards conifers and dicotyledonous angiosperms; responses of arborescent monocots to increasing temperature and drought remain poorly known. This study aims to assess xylem resistance to drought-induced embolism in palms.
Methods:
We quantified embolism resistance via P50 (xylem pressu...
The leafless period is often considered as inactive, although trees have to actively modulate their metabolism through the cold acclimation/deacclimation processes, to cope with frost exposure during winter and to restore growth ability in spring. Carbon metabolism is a key component of these processes through the osmotic control of extracellular i...
Key message
Direct, non-invasive X-ray microtomography and optical technique observations applied in stems and leaves of intact seedlings revealed that laurel is highly resistant to drought-induced xylem embolism. Contrary to what has been brought forward, daily cycles of embolism formation and refilling are unlikely to occur in this species and to...
In this study, electronic micro-dendrometers were used to monitor the variations in stem diameter of 11 Rhododendron ferrugineum (Rf) individuals located at 1800,
2100 and 2500m asl in the Taillefer Massif (French Alps) and at 1700m asl at Vicdessos (French Pyrenees). In addition, ground-level temperature was recorded for each individual.
The resul...
Grapevines are crops of global economic importance that will face increasing drought stress because many varieties are described as highly sensitive to hydraulic failure as frequency and intensity of summer drought increase. We developed and used novel approaches to define water stress thresholds for preventing hydraulic failure, which were compare...
The latest word on the grapevine is promising.During more than a decade of observation, grapevines in Napa, Calif., and Bordeaux, France, never reached lethal levels of dehydration from seasonal drought, researchers report online January 31 in Science Advances. Plant ecophysiologist Guillaume Charrier, at the French National Institute for Agricultu...
La vigne résistante à la sécheresse mais défiée par le réchauffement
The drought could be crippling, but the wine will be good. That is the happy conclusion of a study published today in the journal, Science. It turns out that the grapevine is hardier than anyone thought. Scientists who looked at vineyards in California's Napa Valley and the Bordeaux region of France found that in times of drought, the grapevine’s r...
A new study pushed grapevines to the brink of dehydration to find out how much water they need to survive.Grapevines are drought resistant enough that California’s wineries may be able to dial back the irrigation and keep their plants alive, new research says. That’s good news as the state heads into what looks to be another dry year. There is a ca...
They didn’t evolve in the desert but grapevines are bizarrely resistant to developing embolisms that kill other drought-stricken plants, which could help explain the 8000-year old wine industry
Xylem sap circulates under either positive or negative hydraulic pressure in plants. Negative hydraulic pressure (i.e., tension) is the most common situation when transpiration is high, and several devices have been developed to quantify it accurately (e.g., Scholander pressure chamber, psychrometers). However, a proper measurement of positive xyle...
Frost damages develop when exposure overtakes frost vulnerability. Frost risk assessment therefore needs dynamic simulation of frost hardiness using temperature and photoperiod in interaction with developmental stage. Two models, including or not the effect of photoperiod were calibrated using five years of frost hardiness monitoring (2007-2012), i...