Dendroclimatic analysis of Betula ermanii forests at their upper limit of distribution in Changbai Mountain, Northeast China

Climatic response of Betula ermanii along an altitudinal gradient in the northern slope of Changbai Mountain, China

“…Precipitation during previous November and current May took the form of snow, and we considered that the positive growth response to a large amount of snow might be due to the insulating effect of snow cover in preventing low soil temperatures, rather than in increasing water availability, which is rarely a limiting factor during winter (Carrer et al 1998). Warmer soil condition might be conducive to the survival of winter bud and would lead to a longer period of root inactivity to further protect the root system from damage caused by severe coldness (Yu et al 2007). Some studies reported that winter precipitation positively affected radial growth of P. jezoensis and Betula species (Takahashi et al 2003, Yu et al 2005, Cedro 2007).…”

“…It has been proved by increasing studies that the climate/tree growth relationships are not consistent along altitudinal gradient (Fritts et al 1965, Fritts 1976, Kienast et al 1987, Zhang and Hebda 2004, Yu et al 2007, Peng et al 2008, Carrer et al 2010. Typically, radial growth at low-elevations was more related to precipitation-relevant variables, and changes into temperature-related variables at high-elevations (Zhang and Hebda 2004, Yu et al 2007, Carrer et al 2010.…”

“…Above subalpine coniferous forest, it forms open woodlands of more than 300 m in vertical width, and invades to the uppermost limit of tree growth at nearly 2,100 m a.s.l., providing ideal places and materials for the dendroclimatical study (Wu et al 2009). Unfortunately, such studies on B. ermanii are in a shortage, and most of which were developed at upper tree-lines (Takahashi et al 2005;Yu et al 2005;Yu et al 2007), which could not give a thorough interpreting of the dendroclimatical features of Betula ermanii. With the objective to explore the climatic factors affecting variation in tree-ring growth and to identify whether these factors differ with altitude, we performed a dendroclimatic analysis on Betula ermanii in the northern slope of Changbai Mountain (41°31'-42°28' N, 127°9'-128°55' E).…”

Tree Height-Diameter Relationships in the Alpine Treeline Ecotone Compared with Those in Closed Forests on Changbai Mountain, Northeastern China

“…On Changbai Mountain in northeastern China, this species is distributed from low altitude to high altitude and forms the alpine treeline at~2050 m above see level (a.s.l.). It has been reported that radial growth of this species was sensitive to temperature [20,21]. However, no studies have focused on the responses of height growth or the allometric relationship of height-radial growth of Erman's birch to temperature.…”

Response of radial growth to climate change for Larix olgensis along an altitudinal gradient on the eastern slope of Changbai Mountain, Northeast China

“…生长与环境因子的关系 (Hasenauer et al, 1999)。山 地森林生态系统对气候变化反映比较敏感 (Fritts, 1976), 这为研究树木生长对气候变化的时空响应 提供了极佳条件 。树木生长与气 候的关系随海拔梯度变化存在差异 (Fritts et al, 1965)。通常情况下, 高海拔地区树木径向生长主要 受温度控制, 低海拔地区主要与降水量有关 (Yu et al, 2007)。 然而, 由于各地区气候的空间差异, 这一 规律并不是在所有地区都适用的 Esper et al, 2007;Liang et al, 2010;Shi et al, Fritts, 1976;Cullen et al, 2001)。 然而, 林线处小生境 的异质性较大及自然干扰事件频发均会降低林线处 树木对气候变化的敏感性 (Norton, 1985;Scherrer & Körner, 2011)。林线下方显示有较少的干扰证据, 可 能会提供更多的气候信号 (Yu et al, 2007) …”