Forest structure and soil conditions influence the potential for drought-induced mortality in Vaccinium myrtillus

Vaccinium myrtillus is a foundation species and of high importance for ecosystem functions and services in many ecosystems of boreal Europe. Climate change now threatens the integrity of these cold-adapted ecosystems, with droughts and heat waves expected to increase in both frequency and intensity. In this study we investigated the occurrence of drought damage (desiccated twigs and mortality) on V. myrtillus ramets following several years with spring and/or summer droughts in southern Sweden. F