## 4 Discussion
We acknowledge that our simulation, with its uncertainties, provides a preliminary forecast of temperature-related shifts in NSC for dominant species of a single ecosystem, and consider our analysis a basis for further hypothesis testing via empirical and modeling approaches. We note that high uncertainty in projections of root tissue NSC, caused by large apparent interannual variation in late-season NSC dynamics, may be the result of different sampling frequencies between years rather than biological variation. It is possible that in 2005, when late growing season tissue NSC was not sampled, our lower sampling frequency was not adequate to capture dynamic seasonal trends in carbohydrate concentrations observed during that same time period in 2006. Further, our NSC projections were inferred from correlative relationships between temperature driven phenology and carbohydrate dynamics, and could not be controlled for parallel changes in climate and physiology that may affect tissue NSC concentrations. We suggest that future studies of NSC-temperature interactions address these key uncertainties through high frequency NSC sampling conducted under experimentally controlled climate conditions. A temperature induced rise in tissue NSC could have broad ecological implications, modifying forest biotic interactions while enhancing the resilience of forest growth to adverse climate change, disturbance, and rising metabolic demand. Stored NSC is mobilized to support growth and metabolism during periods of drought and low light availability when photosynthesis is depressed [3, 24-26, 46], conditions that may intensify regionally as climate changes ([[http://www.ucsusa.org/greatlakes/glimpactmigrating.html](http://www.ucsusa.org/greatlakes/glimpactmigrating.html)]([http://www.ucsusa.org/greatlakes/glimpactmigrating.html](http://www.ucsusa.org/greatlakes/glimpactmigrating.html))). Growth recovery following canopy defoliation also relies heavily on NSC stores, suggesting that climate change related increases in herbivory [47, 48] may be partially mitigated by a concurrent increasing supply of NSC. Higher tissue NSC concentrations also may affect the exchange of C and nutrients between plants and both herbivores and symbionts. Elevated CO\({}_{2}\) experiments show that rising NSC concentrations promote ectomycorrhizal fungi growth and colonization [49, 50], and the dilution of foliar nutrients available to herbivores [47, 48, 51, 52]. A rise in tissue NSC also may positively or negatively change the concentration of secondary compounds known to thwart herbivores [47, 48, 53]. It is important to acknowledge that other climate parameters may affect the timing of NPP and GPP and thus alter the periodicity of tissue NSC accumulation and depletion. For example, photoperiod controls the timing of growth and C assimilation initiation and cessation in some woody species [54-56]. Additionally, water stress is implicated in early cessation of growth and C assimilation, the latter of which is prompted by accelerated leaf senescence [57]. A reduction in future precipitation could alter seasonal NSC dynamics by truncating the end of the growing season. Additional investigation is required to elucidate the suite of environmental controls on seasonal NSC dynamics, and to determine how future climate change will alter the allocation of assimilated C to growth or storage pools. We note that tissue sugar and starch concentrations for oak and aspen at our site were comparable to those already published for these genera. Tissue NSC concentrations for oak coarse roots (4-17%), stems (1.5-6.5%), and branches (6.5-17%) were within the range for _Quercus_ spp. [2, 58, 59]. Aspen stem (0.5-1.5%) and branch (3.5-12%) NSC concentrations were similar to those reported for _Populus_ spp., but our coarse root tissue NSC concentrations (1.5-4%) were considerably lower than those reported for mature _Populus tremuloides_ by [PERSON] and [PERSON] [6].