Climate change and tree-ring relationships of Nothofagus menziesii tree-line forests

2001 ◽  
Vol 31 (11) ◽  
pp. 1981-1991 ◽  
Author(s):  
Louise E Cullen ◽  
Jonathan G Palmer ◽  
Richard P Duncan ◽  
Glenn H Stewart
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Tree Ring ◽  
Climate Warming ◽  
Tree Growth ◽  
Natural Disturbance ◽  
Tree Line ◽  
Climatic Control ◽  
Influence Of Temperature On ◽  
Summer Temperatures ◽  
The Impact

To assess the sensitivity of New Zealand tree lines to climate warming, we compared the tree-ring growth characteristics and temperature relationships of silver beech (Nothofagus menziesii (Hook. f.) Oerst) at two elevations, ca. 1200 m (tree line) and ca. 1100 m. Modelled relationships between climate series and tree rings indicated that the main climatic control on tree growth was current summer temperatures. Nevertheless, temperatures during earlier seasons can influence tree growth, pointing to a complex relationship between radial growth and climate at tree line. Overall, the similarity in the growth–temperature relationships for trees at both elevations indicated that high-altitude N. menziesii forests should be useful for examining the impact of climate warming on tree growth. However, the level of common growth variation was greater in the below tree line chronologies, suggesting that other factors, including natural disturbance, may affect or compete with the influence of temperature on tree-ring growth at tree line. Despite the importance of summer temperatures for tree growth at or near tree line and the reported increase in summer temperatures since 1950 in New Zealand, ring widths have not increased in recent decades. We conclude, therefore, that in these N. menziesii tree-line forests there has been no detectable tree-ring growth response to climate warming.

A 200-Year Perspective of Climate Variability and the Response of White Spruce in Interior Alaska

2003 ◽  
Author(s):  
Glenn Patrick Juday ◽  
Valerie Barber
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
North America ◽  
Climate Variability ◽  
Tree Ring ◽  
Tree Growth ◽  
White Spruce ◽  
Boreal Region ◽  
The North ◽  
Interior Alaska ◽  
Summer Temperatures

The two most important life functions that organisms carry out to persist in the environment are reproduction and growth. In this chapter we examine the role of climate and climate variability as controlling factors in the growth of one of the most important and productive of the North American boreal forest tree species, white spruce (Picea glauca [Moench] Voss). Because the relationship between climate and tree growth is so close, tree-ring properties have been used successfully for many years as a proxy to reconstruct past climates. Our recent reconstruction of nineteenth- century summer temperatures at Fairbanks based on white spruce tree-ring characteristics (Barber et al. in press) reveals a fundamental pattern of quasi-decadal climate variability. The values in this reconstruction of nineteenth-century Fairbanks summer temperatures are surprisingly warm compared to values in much of the published paleoclimatic literature for boreal North America. In this chapter we compare our temperature reconstructions with ring-width records in northern and south-central Alaska to see whether tree-growth signals in the nineteenth century in those regions are consistent with tree-ring characteristics in and near Bonanza Creek (BNZ) LTER (25 km southwest of Fairbanks) that suggest warm temperatures during the mid-nineteenth century. We also present a conceptual model of key limiting events in white spruce reproduction and compare it to a 39-year record of seed fall at BNZ. Finally, we derive a radial growth pattern index from white spruce at nine stands across Interior Alaska that matches recent major seed crop events in the BNZ monitoring period, and we identify dates after 1800 when major seed crops of white spruce, which are infrequent, may have been produced. The boreal region is characterized by a broad zone of forest with a continuous distribution across Eurasia and North America, amounting to about 17% of the earth’s land surface area (Bonan et al. 1992). The boreal region is often conceived of as a zone of relatively homogenous climate, but in fact a surprising diversity of climates are present. During the long days of summer, continental interior locations under persistent high-pressure systems experience hot weather that can promote extensive forest fires frequently exceeding 100 kilohectares (K ha). Summer daily maximum temperatures are cooled to a considerable degree in maritime portions of the boreal region affected by air masses that originate over the North Atlantic, North Pacific, or Arctic Oceans.

The Impact of Browsing Animals on the Stand Dynamics of Monotypic Mountain Beech (Nothofagus solandri) Forests in Canterbury, New Zealand

1994 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
pp. 113 ◽  
Author(s):  
GT Jane
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Cervus Elaphus ◽  
Basal Area ◽  
Stand Density ◽  
Natural Disturbance ◽  
Basic Relationship ◽  
Basic Parameters ◽  
The 1960S ◽  
Logarithmic Relationship ◽  
The Impact

Mountain beech is frequently the sole canopy species in the montane forests of Canterbury, New Zealand and often the only significant tree or shrub present over large areas and this allows examination of a very simple ecosystem. Data from remeasurement of over 400 permanent quadrats in six areas are examined to elucidate the impact of browsing animals on natural processes. The changes in basic parameters such as stand density and basal area over a decade form consistent patterns in both visual and statistical techniques and this allows identification of important quadrats for detailed study. The basic relationship between density and basal area follows well an established semi-logarithmic relationship, even in decade by decade changes on individual quadrats. Deviations in this pattern can be related to natural disturbance events. The impact of browsing animals, mainly red deer (Cervus elaphus) varied between the different areas. Although numbers peaked in the 1930s and 1940s and declined through commercial hunting in the 1960s-1980s, the impact on the vegetation remains and will persist for many decades.

Tree-ring analysis as an aid to evaluating the effects of pollution on tree growth

1989 ◽  
Vol 19 (9) ◽  
pp. 1174-1189 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. L. Innes ◽  
E. R. Cook
Keyword(s):  
Tree Ring ◽  
Tree Growth ◽  
Air Pollutants ◽  
Climatic Factors ◽  
Point Sources ◽  
Red Spruce ◽  
Tree Ring Analysis ◽  
Crown Density ◽  
Ring Analysis ◽  
The Impact

Tree-ring analysis has frequently been used to assess the impact of pollution on tree growth around point sources. Its use in studies of the impact of air pollutants operating on a regional scale is more controversial. A variety of analysis procedures is available, and these should be carefully selected in relation to the problem under investigation. To assess the impact of regional air pollutants, nonstationary response functions, as developed using the Kalman filter technique, offer considerable potential. In the current spruce–fir debate in North America, tree-ring analysis has indicated that the current declines are unprecedented within the last 200 years in terms of the duration of depressed growth or the extent to which growth has been depressed. It has indicated that red spruce (Picearubens Sarg.) is particularly susceptible to certain climatic conditions (higher than average July and August temperatures and lower than average November and December temperatures). Since the onset of the decline, the growth of red spruce has been less than predicted from climatic factors, suggesting that the importance of some other effect on growth has increased or that there has been a change in the climatic factors influencing growth. In Europe, tree-ring analysis has helped to quantify the relationship between crown density and increment.

scholarly journals Disturbance and climate warming influences on New Zealand Nothofagus tree-line population dynamics

2001 ◽  
Vol 89 (6) ◽  
pp. 1061-1071 ◽  
Author(s):  
Louise E. Cullen ◽  
Glenn H. Stewart ◽  
Richard P. Duncan ◽  
Jonathan G. Palmer
Keyword(s):  
Population Dynamics ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Climate Warming ◽  
Tree Line

scholarly journals Air Pollution and Climate Drive Annual Growth in Ponderosa Pine Trees in Southern California

Climate ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 82
Author(s):  
Hillary S. Jenkins
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Tree Ring ◽  
Tree Growth ◽  
Ponderosa Pine ◽  
N Deposition ◽  
Stepwise Multiple Regression ◽  
Tree Ring Chronology ◽  
Pine Trees ◽  
Warming World ◽  
The Impact

The ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa, Douglas ex C. Lawson) is a climate-sensitive tree species dominant in the mixed conifer stands of the San Bernardino Mountains of California. However, the close proximity to the city of Los Angeles has resulted in extremely high levels of air pollution. Nitrogen (N) deposition, resulting from nitrous oxides emitted from incomplete combustion of fossil fuels, has been recorded in this region since the 1980s. The impact of this N deposition on ponderosa pine growth is complex and often obscured by other stressors including climate, bark beetle attack, and tropospheric ozone pollution. Here I use a 160-year-long (1855–2015) ponderosa pine tree ring chronology to examine the annual response of tree growth to both N deposition and climate in this region. The chronology is generated from 34 tree cores taken near Crestline, CA. A stepwise multiple regression between the tree ring chronology and various climate and air pollution stressors indicates that drought conditions at the end of the rainy season (March) and NO2 pollution during the water year (pOct-Sep) exhibit primary controls on growth (r2-adj = 0.65, p < 0.001). The direct correlation between NO2 and tree growth suggests that N deposition has a positive impact on ponderosa pine bole growth in this region. However, it is important to note that ozone, a known stressor to ponderosa pine trees, and NO2 are also highly correlated (r = 0.84, p < 0.05). Chronic exposure to both ozone and nitrogen dioxide may, therefore, have unexpected impacts on tree sensitivity to climate and other stressors in a warming world.

scholarly journals Tree growth and its climate signal along latitudinal and altitudinal gradients: comparison of tree rings between Finland and Tibetan Plateau

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lixin Lyu ◽  
Susanne Suvanto ◽  
Pekka Nöjd ◽  
Helena M. Henttonen ◽  
Harri Mäkinen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Tree Ring ◽  
Tree Growth ◽  
Latitudinal Gradient ◽  
Ring Width ◽  
Growing Season ◽  
Climate Variables ◽  
Climate Data ◽  
Altitudinal Gradients ◽  
Summer Temperatures

Abstract. Latitudinal and altitudinal gradients can be utilized to forecast the impacts of climate changes on forests. To improve the understanding of forest dynamics on these gradients, we tested two hypotheses: (1) the change in the tree growth-climate relationship is similar along both latitudinal and altitudinal gradients, and (2) the time periods during which climate affects growth the most occur later towards higher latitudes and altitudes. We used tree-ring data from a latitudinal gradient in Finland and two altitudinal gradients on the Tibetan Plateau. We analysed the latitudinal and altitudinal growth patterns in tree-rings and investigated the growth-climate relationships of trees by correlating ring-width index chronologies with climate variables calculated with flexible time-windows, using daily-resolution climate data. The high latitude and altitude plots showed higher correlations between the tree-ring chronologies and growing season temperature. However, the effects of winter temperature showed differing patterns for the gradients. The timing of highest correlation with summer temperatures in southern sites was approximately one month ahead of the northern sites in the latitudinal gradient. In one out of the two altitudinal gradients the timing of strongest negative correlation with summer temperatures at low altitude sites was ahead of the treeline sites, possibly due to differences in moisture limitation. Mean values and the standard deviation of tree-ring width was found to increase with increasing mean summer temperatures on both types of gradients. Our results showed similarities of tree growth responses to growing season temperature between latitudinal and altitudinal gradients. However, differences in climate-growth relationships were also found between the gradients, due to differences in other factors, such as moisture conditions. Changes in the timing of the most critical climate variables demonstrated the need to use daily resolution climate data in studies on environmental gradients.

scholarly journals Tree Growth Variability of Pinus heldreichii at Tree-Line Locations in Kosovo

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 135-144
Author(s):  
Faruk Bojaxhi ◽  
Ervin Toromani ◽  
Nehat Çollaku
Keyword(s):  
Tree Ring ◽  
Tree Growth ◽  
Low Temperatures ◽  
Ring Width ◽  
Tree Line ◽  
Seasonal Growth ◽  
Mountain Slope ◽  
Scientific Software ◽  
Growth Variability ◽  
Breast Height

It is well-known that tree growth at the upper treeline is controlled by low temperatures and limited seasonal growth. The study’s objective was to investigate the climate warming effects on Bosnian pine (BP; Pinus heldreichii Christ.) growth during the 20th century. We hypothesized that, like all the other drought-stressed conifers growing on tree-line locations, BP responds significantly to climate factors that control their growth. Three natural forest stands of BP were selected in Prevalla, Decan and Koritnik. The cores were taken from 98 dominant and co-dominant BP trees at breast height with no sign of human interference. The tree-ring widths were measured at 0.001 mm precision, with a LINTAB 6 (RINNTECH, Heidelberg) system and TSAP-Win Scientific software. A set of three BP tree-ring width chronologies were developed by trees spread on a typical mountain slope at elevations ranging from 1815 to 1945 m above sea level. The tree-ring chronologies from three sites showed significant correlation and this agreement decreased with the distance between sites. The length of the master chronologies varies among sites ranging from 176 years (Koritnik) to 541 years (Decani). The tree growth was controlled by a common climatic signal (local temperatures) and drought during midsummer across the investigated sites. These results confirm the assumption that tree growth at tree-line sites is controlled by low temperatures and drought conditions during the midsummer.

scholarly journals Variation in Water Supply Leads to Different Responses of Tree Growth to Warming

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pengfei Zheng ◽  
Dandan Wang ◽  
Xinxiao Yu ◽  
Guodong Jia ◽  
Ziqiang Liu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Water Supply ◽  
Climate Warming ◽  
Tree Growth ◽  
Structural Equation Models ◽  
Growing Season ◽  
Forest Growth ◽  
Arid Ecosystems ◽  
Carbon Sinks ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Background: Global climate change, which includes changes in precipitation, prolonged growing seasons, and drought stress caused by overall climate warming, is putting increased pressure on forest ecosystems globally. Understanding the impact of climate change on drought-prone forests is a key objective in assessing forest responses to climate change.Results: In this study, we assessed tree growth trends and changes in physiological activity under climate change based on patterns in tree rings and stable isotopes. Additionally, structural equation models were used to analyze the climate drivers influencing tree growth, with several key results. (1) The climate in the study area showed a trend of warming and drying, with the growth of tree section areas decreasing first and then increasing, while the water use efficiency showed a steady increase. (2) The effects of climate warming on tree growth in the study area have transitioned from negative to positive. The gradual advance of the growing season and the supply of snowmelt water in the early critical period of the growing season are the key factors underlying the reversal of the sensitivity of trees to climate. (3) Variation in water supply has led to different responses of tree growth to warming, and the growth response of Pinus tabuliformis to temperature rise was closely related to increased water availability.Conclusions: Our study indicates that warming is not the cause of forest decline, and instead, drought caused by warming is the main factor causing this change. If adequate water is available during critical periods of the growing season, boreal forests may be better able to withstand rising temperatures and even exhibit increased growth during periods of rising temperatures, forming stronger carbon sinks. However, in semi-arid regions, where water supply is limited, continued warming could lead to reduced forest growth and even death, which would dramatically reduce carbon sinks in arid ecosystems.

scholarly journals Tree Rings Reveal the Impact of Soil Temperature on Larch Growth in the Forest-Steppe of Siberia

Forests ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (12) ◽  
pp. 1765
Author(s):  
Liliana V. Belokopytova ◽  
Dina F. Zhirnova ◽  
David M. Meko ◽  
Elena A. Babushkina ◽  
Eugene A. Vaganov ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soil Temperature ◽  
Tree Ring ◽  
Air Temperature ◽  
Tree Growth ◽  
Ring Width ◽  
Forest Steppe ◽  
Growth Data ◽  
Maximum Correlation ◽  
Substantial Impact ◽  
The Impact

Dendroclimatology has focused mainly on the tree growth response to atmospheric variables. However, the roots of trees directly sense the “underground climate,” which can be expected to be no less important to tree growth. Data from two meteorological stations approximately 140 km apart in southern Siberia were applied to characterize the spatiotemporal dynamics of soil temperature and the statistical relationships of soil temperature to the aboveground climate and tree-ring width (TRW) chronologies of Larix sibirica Ledeb. from three forest–steppe stands. Correlation analysis revealed a depth-dependent delay in the maximum correlation of TRW with soil temperature. Temperatures of both the air and soil (depths 20–80 cm) were shown to have strong and temporally stable correlations between stations. The maximum air temperature is inferred to have the most substantial impact during July–September (R = −0.46–−0.64) and early winter (R = 0.39–0.52). Tree-ring indices reached a maximum correlation with soil temperature at a depth of 40 cm (R = −0.49–−0.59 at 40 cm) during April–August. High correlations are favored by similar soil characteristics at meteorological stations and tree-ring sites. Cluster analysis of climate correlations for individual trees based on the K-means revealed groupings of trees driven by microsite conditions, competition, and age. The results support a possible advantage of soil temperature over air temperature for dendroclimatic analysis of larch growth in semiarid conditions during specific seasons.

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