Climate Change-Induced Shift of Tree Growth Sensitivity at a Central Himalayan Treeline Ecotone

Tree growth at the treeline ecotone is known to be sensitive to climate variability and is thus considered to be a worldwide biomonitor of climate change. However, our understanding of within-region variation in growth responses through space and time is limited. A dry south-facing slope dominated by Pinus wallichiana A.B. Jacks. and a wet north-facing slope dominated by Abies spectabilis (D. Don) Spach in Nepal, central Himalaya, were used to analyze the intersite (i.e., dry vs. wet sites) and intrasite (i.e., treeline vs. forest line elevations) tree-growth relationships, as well as response to monthly and seasonal temperature and precipitation at annual and bidecadal time scales. At both study sites and at two elevations within each site, growth can be strongly affected by growing-season and nongrowing-season factors; however, there are inconsistencies in terms of the climate–growth relationship across space and over time. At the dry site, only a weak positive growth response to summer temperature is observed. At both sites, there is a negative growth response to winter precipitation at both high and low elevations, and this response is markedly independent of the summer and winter temperature trends of the respective site. At the wet site, growth at the higher elevation is negatively correlated to the early summer temperature, whereas a positive growth response to spring precipitation is observed at the lower elevation, indicating a possible drought effect. The results illustrate how different climatic drivers may govern tree-growth responses both between sites with contrasting climates within a region and along elevational gradients within the treeline ecotone. This underlines the need for multiscale studies and a focus on multiple climate variables when analyzing treeline ecotone responses to climate change.

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Climate change evidence in tree growth and stand productivity at the upper treeline ecotone in the Polar Ural Mountains

Forest Ecosystems ◽

10.1186/s40663-020-0216-9 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 7 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Nadezhda M. Devi ◽

Vladimir V. Kukarskih ◽

Аrina A. Galimova ◽

Valeriy S. Mazepa ◽

Andrey A. Grigoriev

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Tree Growth ◽

Ural Mountains ◽

Treeline Ecotone ◽

Stand Productivity ◽

Polar Ural

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Effects of Climate Change at Treeline: Lessons from Space-for-Time Studies, Manipulative Experiments, and Long-Term Observational Records in the Central Austrian Alps

Forests ◽

10.3390/f10060508 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 10 (6) ◽

pp. 508 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Gerhard Wieser ◽

Walter Oberhuber ◽

Andreas Gruber

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Climate Warming ◽

Tree Growth ◽

European Alps ◽

Upward Migration ◽

Treeline Ecotone ◽

Austrian Alps ◽

Tree Survival ◽

Manipulative Experiments

This review summarizes the present knowledge about effects of climate change on conifers within the treeline ecotone of the Central Austrian Alps. After examining the treeline environment and the tree growth with respect to elevation, possible effects of climate change on carbon gain and water relations derived from space-for-time studies and manipulative experiments are outlined. Finally, long-term observational records are discussed, working towards conclusions on tree growth in a future, warmer environment. Increases in CO2 levels along with climate warming interact in complex ways on trees at the treeline. Because treeline trees are not carbon limited, climate warming (rather than the rising atmospheric CO2 level) causes alterations in the ecological functioning of the treeline ecotone in the Central Austrian Alps. Although the water uptake from soils is improved by further climate warming due to an increased permeability of root membranes and aquaporin-mediated changes in root conductivity, tree survival at the treeline also depends on competitiveness for belowground resources. The currently observed seedling re-establishment at the treeline in the Central European Alps is an invasion into potential habitats due to decreasing grazing pressure rather than an upward-migration due to climate warming, suggesting that the treeline in the Central Austrian Alps behaves in a conservative way. Nevertheless, to understand the altitude of the treeline, one must also consider seedling establishment. As there is a lack of knowledge on this particular topic within the treeline ecotone in the Central Austrian Alps, we conclude further research has to focus on the importance of this life stage for evaluating treeline shifts and limits in a changing environment.

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Comparison of the Radial Growth Response of Picea crassifolia to Climate Change in Different Regions of the Central and Eastern Qilian Mountains

Forests ◽

10.3390/f12081015 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (8) ◽

pp. 1015

Author(s):

Xuan Wu ◽

Liang Jiao ◽

Dashi Du ◽

Changliang Qi ◽

Ruhong Xue

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Tree Growth ◽

Central Region ◽

Radial Growth ◽

Growing Season ◽

Qilian Mountains ◽

Growth Patterns ◽

Total Precipitation ◽

Picea Crassifolia ◽

The Qilian Mountains

It is important to explore the responses of radial tree growth in different regions to understand growth patterns and to enhance forest management and protection with climate change. We constructed tree ring width chronologies of Picea crassifolia from different regions of the Qilian Mountains of northwest China. We used Pearson correlation and moving correlation to analyze the main climate factors limiting radial growth of trees and the temporal stability of the growth–climate relationship, while spatial correlation is the result of further testing the first two terms in space. The conclusions were as follows: (1) Radial growth had different trends, showing an increasing followed by a decreasing trend in the central region, a continuously increasing trend in the eastern region, and a gradually decreasing trend in the isolated mountain. (2) Radial tree growth in the central region and isolated mountains was constrained by drought stress, and tree growth in the central region was significantly negatively correlated with growing season temperature. Isolated mountains showed a significant negative correlation with mean minimum of growing season and a significant positive correlation with total precipitation. (3) Temporal dynamic responses of radial growth in the central region to the temperatures and SPEI (the standardized precipitation evapotranspiration index) in the growing season were unstable, the isolated mountains to total precipitation was unstable, and that to SPEI was stable. The results of this study suggest that scientific management and maintenance plans of the forest ecosystem should be developed according to the response and growth patterns of the Qinghai spruce to climate change in different regions of the Qilian Mountains.

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Disentangling the Legacies of Climate and Management on Tree Growth

Ecosystems ◽

10.1007/s10021-021-00650-8 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Laura Marqués ◽

Drew M. P. Peltier ◽

J. Julio Camarero ◽

Miguel A. Zavala ◽

Jaime Madrigal-González ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Forest Management ◽

Tree Growth ◽

European Beech ◽

Ring Formation ◽

Silver Fir ◽

Past Climate ◽

Climate Conditions ◽

Ecological Memory ◽

Historical Forest

AbstractLegacies of past climate conditions and historical management govern forest productivity and tree growth. Understanding how these processes interact and the timescales over which they influence tree growth is critical to assess forest vulnerability to climate change. Yet, few studies address this issue, likely because integrated long-term records of both growth and forest management are uncommon. We applied the stochastic antecedent modelling (SAM) framework to annual tree-ring widths from mixed forests to recover the ecological memory of tree growth. We quantified the effects of antecedent temperature and precipitation up to 4 years preceding the year of ring formation and integrated management effects with records of harvesting intensity from historical forest management archives. The SAM approach uncovered important time periods most influential to growth, typically the warmer and drier months or seasons, but variation among species and sites emerged. Silver fir responded primarily to past climate conditions (25–50 months prior to the year of ring formation), while European beech and Scots pine responded mostly to climate conditions during the year of ring formation and the previous year, although these responses varied among sites. Past management and climate interacted in such a way that harvesting promoted growth in young silver fir under wet and warm conditions and in old European beech under drier and cooler conditions. Our study shows that the ecological memory associated with climate legacies and historical forest management is species-specific and context-dependent, suggesting that both aspects are needed to properly evaluate forest functioning under climate change.

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High-altitude and high-latitude tree growth in relation to past, present and future global climate change

The Holocene ◽

10.1177/095968369100100210 ◽

1991 ◽

Vol 1 (2) ◽

pp. 168-173 ◽

Cited By ~ 71

Author(s):

J.L. Innes

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

High Altitude ◽

Tree Growth ◽

Global Climate Change ◽

High Latitude ◽

Global Climate

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Tree growth decline as a response to projected climate change in the 21st century in Mediterranean mountain forests of Chile

Global and Planetary Change ◽

10.1016/j.gloplacha.2020.103406 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 103406

Author(s):

Vladimir Matskovsky ◽

Alejandro Venegas-González ◽

René Garreaud ◽

Fidel A. Roig ◽

Alvaro G. Gutiérrez ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

21St Century ◽

Tree Growth ◽

Mountain Forests ◽

Growth Decline

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The influence of climate and drought on urban tree growth in southeast Australia and the implications for future growth under climate change

Landscape and Urban Planning ◽

10.1016/j.landurbplan.2017.06.012 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 167 ◽

pp. 275-287 ◽

Cited By ~ 24

Author(s):

Craig R. Nitschke ◽

Scott Nichols ◽

Kathy Allen ◽

Cynnamon Dobbs ◽

Stephen J. Livesley ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Tree Growth ◽

Urban Tree ◽

Southeast Australia ◽

Future Growth

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Predicting Tree Growth Dynamics of Boreal Forest in Response to Climate Change

Landscape Ecology in Forest Management and Conservation ◽

10.1007/978-3-642-12754-0_8 ◽

2011 ◽

pp. 176-205 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Zewei Miao ◽

Chao Li

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Boreal Forest ◽

Tree Growth ◽

Growth Dynamics

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The impact of drought on tree growth in Mediterranean sites

10.5194/egusphere-egu21-8635 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Giovanna Battipaglia ◽

Francesco Niccoli ◽

Arturo Pacheco-Solana

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Tree Growth ◽

Sustainable Forest Management ◽

Climatic Factors ◽

Management Strategies ◽

Ring Width ◽

Limiting Factor ◽

Individual Tree ◽

Annual Growth Rings ◽

The Impact

Climate-induced forest mortality is a critical issue in the Mediterranean basin, with major consequences for the functioning of these key ecosystems. Indeed, in Mediterranean ecosystems, where water stress is already the most limiting factor for tree performance, climatic changes are expected to entail an increase in water deficit. In this context, annual growth rings can provide short- (e.g., years) and long-term (e.g., decades) information on how trees respond to drought events. With climate change, Pinus pinaster and Pinus pinea L. are expected to reduce their distribution range in the region, being displaced at low altitudes by more drought tolerant taxa such as sub Mediterranean Quercus spp.This study aims was to assess the physiological response of Pinus and Quercus species growing in the Vesuvio National park, located in Southern Italy and where an increase of temperature and drought events has been recorded in the recent years. Our preliminary results underlined the importance of temperature on the tree ring width of all the analyses species. The high temperatures can cause a change in the constant kinetics of the RuBisCo, leading to a consequent decrease in carboxylation rate and thus to a reduction in tree growth. On the other hand, also precipitation seemed to affect the growth of the sampled trees: indeed, in all the chronologies a reduction in growth was found after particular dry years: for example, the low rainfall in 1999 (455 mm/year) determined a drastic decline in growth in 2000 in all the species. In addition to the climatic factors, competition can also play an important role in the growth rate: dendrochronological analyzes have highlighted how stand specific properties (i.e. density, structure and composition) can influence individual tree responses to drought events. The knowledge of those researches should be integrated into sustainable forest management strategies to minimize the potential impacts of climate change on forest ecosystems.

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