Wood  13C,  18O and radial growth responses of residual red pine to variable retention harvesting

As atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations continue to rise and global temperatures increase, there is growing concern about the sustainability, health, and carbon sequestration potential of forest ecosystems. Variable retention harvesting (VRH) has been suggested to be a potential method to increase forest biodiversity, growth, and carbon (C) sequestration. A field trial was established in an 88-year-old red pine (Pinus resinosa Ait.) plantation in southern Ontario, Canada, using a completely randomized design to examine the response of tree productivity and other forest values to five harvesting treatments: 33% aggregate retention (33A), 55% aggregate retention (55A), 33% dispersed retention (33D), and 55% dispersed retention (55D) in comparison to an unharvested control (CN). In this study, we explored the impacts of VRH on aboveground stem radial growth and annual C increment. Standard dendrochronological methods and allometric equations were used to quantify tree- and stand-level treatment effects during a five-year pre-harvest (2009–2013) and post-harvest (2014–2018) period. Tree-level growth and C increment were increased by the dispersed retention pattern regardless of retention level. At the stand level, the total C increment was highest at greater retention levels and did not vary with retention pattern. These results suggest that the choice of retention level and pattern can have a large influence on management objectives as they relate to timber production, climate change adaptation, and/or climate change mitigation.

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Radial Growth Responses to Temperature by 58ChaetomiumSpecies, and Some Taxonomic Relationships

Mycologia ◽

10.1080/00275514.1977.12020087 ◽

1977 ◽

Vol 69 (3) ◽

pp. 492-502 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

P. D. Millner

Keyword(s):

Radial Growth ◽

Growth Responses ◽

Taxonomic Relationships

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Radial Growth Response of European Larch Provenances to Interannual Climate Variation in Poland

Forests ◽

10.3390/f12030334 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (3) ◽

pp. 334

Author(s):

Norbert Szymański ◽

Sławomir Wilczyński

Keyword(s):

Radial Growth ◽

Climatic Factors ◽

Principal Component ◽

Climatic Conditions ◽

Growth Responses ◽

European Larch ◽

Temperature And Precipitation ◽

Provenance Trials ◽

High Precipitation ◽

Climatic Elements

The present study identified the similarities and differences in the radial growth responses of 20 provenances of 51-year-old European larch (Larix decidua Mill.) trees from Poland to the climatic conditions at three provenance trials situated in the Polish lowlands (Siemianice), uplands (Bliżyn) and mountains (Krynica). A chronology of radial growth indices was developed for each of 60 European larch populations, which highlighted the interannual variations in the climate-mediated radial growth of their trees. With the aid of principal component, correlation and multiple regression analysis, supra-regional climatic elements were identified to which all the larch provenances reacted similarly at all three provenance trials. They increased the radial growth in years with a short, warm and precipitation-rich winter; a cool and humid summer and when high precipitation in late autumn of the previous year was noted. Moreover, other climatic elements were identified to which two groups of the larch provenances reacted differently at each provenance trial. In the lowland climate, the provenances reacted differently to temperature in November to December of the previous year and July and to precipitation in September. In the upland climate, the provenances differed in growth sensitivity to precipitation in October of the previous year and June–September. In the mountain climate, the provenances responded differently to temperature and precipitation in September of the previous year and to precipitation in February, June and September of the year of tree ring formation. The results imply that both climatic factors and origin (genotype), i.e., the genetic factor, mediate the climate–growth relationships of larch provenances.

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Variable retention harvesting in the Douglas-fir region

Ecological Processes ◽

10.1186/s13717-019-0205-5 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 9 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Jerry F. Franklin ◽

Daniel C. Donato

Keyword(s):

Douglas Fir ◽

Variable Retention ◽

Variable Retention Harvesting

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Radial growth responses of two dominant conifers to climate in the Altai Mountains, Central Asia

Agricultural and Forest Meteorology ◽

10.1016/j.agrformet.2020.108297 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 298-299 ◽

pp. 108297

Author(s):

Jian Kang ◽

Shaowei Jiang ◽

Jacques C. Tardif ◽

Hanxue Liang ◽

Shaokang Zhang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Central Asia ◽

Radial Growth ◽

Altai Mountains ◽

Growth Responses

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Climate Differently Impacts the Growth of Coexisting Trees and Shrubs under Semi-Arid Mediterranean Conditions

Forests ◽

10.3390/f12030381 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (3) ◽

pp. 381

Author(s):

J. Julio Camarero ◽

Cristina Valeriano ◽

Antonio Gazol ◽

Michele Colangelo ◽

Raúl Sánchez-Salguero

Keyword(s):

Soil Moisture ◽

Radial Growth ◽

Pinus Halepensis ◽

Growth Dynamics ◽

Early Summer ◽

Growth Responses ◽

Shrub Species ◽

High Soil Moisture ◽

Semi Arid ◽

Mediterranean Conditions

Background and Objectives—Coexisting tree and shrub species will have to withstand more arid conditions as temperatures keep rising in the Mediterranean Basin. However, we still lack reliable assessments on how climate and drought affect the radial growth of tree and shrub species at intra- and interannual time scales under semi-arid Mediterranean conditions. Materials and Methods—We investigated the growth responses to climate of four co-occurring gymnosperms inhabiting semi-arid Mediterranean sites in northeastern Spain: two tree species (Aleppo pine, Pinus halepensis Mill.; Spanish juniper, Juniperus thurifera L.) and two shrubs (Phoenicean juniper, Juniperus phoenicea L.; Ephedra nebrodensis Tineo ex Guss.). First, we quantified the intra-annual radial-growth rates of the four species by periodically sampling wood samples during one growing season. Second, we quantified the climate–growth relationships at an interannual scale at two sites with different soil water availability by using dendrochronology. Third, we simulated growth responses to temperature and soil moisture using the forward, process-based Vaganov‒Shashkin (VS-Lite) growth model to disentangle the main climatic drivers of growth. Results—The growth of all species peaked in spring to early summer (May–June). The pine and junipers grew after the dry summer, i.e., they showed a bimodal growth pattern. Prior wet winter conditions leading to high soil moisture before cambium reactivation in spring enhanced the growth of P. halepensis at dry sites, whereas the growth of both junipers and Ephedra depended more on high spring–summer soil moisture. The VS-Lite model identified these different influences of soil moisture on growth in tree and shrub species. Conclusions—Our approach (i) revealed contrasting growth dynamics of co-existing tree and shrub species under semi-arid Mediterranean conditions and (ii) provided novel insights on different responses as a function of growth habits in similar drought-prone regions.

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