Populus fremontii (Fremont cottonwood) is recognized as one of the most important foundation tree species in the southwestern USA and northern Mexico because of its ability to structure communities across multiple trophic levels, drive ecosystem processes and influence biodiversity via genetic-based functional trait variation. However, the areal extent of P. fremontii cover has declined dramatically over the last century due to the effects of surface water diversions, non-native species invasions and more recently climate change. Consequently, P. fremontii gallery forests are considered amongst the most threatened forest types in North America. In this paper, we unify four conceptual areas of genes to ecosystems research related to P. fremontii's capacity to survive or even thrive under current and future environmental conditions: (i) hydraulic function related to canopy thermal regulation during heat waves; (ii) mycorrhizal mutualists in relation to resiliency to climate change and invasion by the non-native tree/shrub, Tamarix; (iii) phenotypic plasticity as a mechanism for coping with rapid changes in climate; and (iv) hybridization between P. fremontii and other closely related Populus species where enhanced vigour of hybrids may preserve the foundational capacity of Populus in the face of environmental change. We also discuss opportunities to scale these conceptual areas from genes to the ecosystem level via remote sensing. We anticipate that the exploration of these conceptual areas of research will facilitate solutions to climate change with a foundation species that is recognized as being critically important for biodiversity conservation and could serve as a model for adaptive management of arid regions in the southwestern USA and around the world.

中文翻译：

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基础树种Populus fremontii的适应能力：对美国西南部应对气候变化和非本地物种入侵的适应力的影响。

在美国西南部和墨西哥北部，fremontii杨树（Fremont三角叶杨）被认为是最重要的基础树种之一，因为它具有跨多个营养级别构建群落，驱动生态系统进程并通过基于遗传的功能性状变异影响生物多样性的能力。但是，由于地表水转移，非本地物种入侵和最近的气候变化的影响，上一个世纪的fremontii覆盖面积已急剧下降。因此，Premont fremontii画廊的森林被认为是北美最受威胁的森林类型之一。在本文中，我们将基因的四个概念领域统一到生态系统研究中，这些生态系统与弗氏疟原虫在当前和将来的环境条件下生存甚至繁荣的能力有关：（i）在热浪期间与冠层热调节有关的液压功能；（ii）与非本地树/灌木Tamarix抵御气候变化和入侵有关的菌根共生；（iii）表型可塑性作为应对气候快速变化的机制；（iv）弗雷蒙氏疟原虫与其他密切相关的胡杨树种之间的杂交，杂种的活力增强可以在面对环境变化的情况下保留胡杨的基础能力。我们还将讨论通过遥感将这些概念领域从基因扩展到生态系统水平的机会。