Detecting snow-related signals in radial growth of Pinus uncinata mountain forests

Sanmiguel‐Vallelado, Alba; Camarero, J. Julio; Gazol, Antonio; Morán-Tejéda, Enrique; Sangüesa‐Barreda, Gabriel; Alonso‐González, Esteban; Gutiérrez, Emília; Alla, Arben Q.; Galván, J. Diego; López‐Moreno, Juan I.

doi:10.1016/j.dendro.2019.125622

Cited by 23 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 55 publications

(126 reference statements)

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“…The benefits of mild winters on subalpine tree growth are commonly documented and typically linked to longer growing seasons (Vitas 2006, Millar et al 2018, Harvey et al 2020). The negative effects of mild winters reported in tree‐ring studies are often attributed to the effects that reduced winter snow accumulation and early spring snowmelt have on growing‐season soil moisture availability (Sanmiguel‐Vallelado et al 2019, Harley et al 2020). The relatively weak relationships we found between growth increment and PAS imply other factors play a more important role.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Size‐, species‐, and site‐specific tree growth responses to climate variability in old‐growth subalpine forests

et al. 2021

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Tree-ring data have become widely used to model tree growth responses to climate variability and gain insight about the potential effects of global warming on forests. We capitalized on a rare opportunity to develop growth-climate models using tree-ring data collected from all trees (>4 cm in diameter at breast height) within 50 × 50 m plots established in subalpine old-growth forests of western Canada. Our objective was to determine how tree growth responses to climate vary among tree size classes, species, and sites. We modeled relationships between times series of annual basal area increment (ΔBA) and yearly climate variables for individual trees; this approach obviated key statistical criticisms of "traditional" tree-ring analysis methods. Time series of annual basal area increment were detrended a priori for size, age, legacy, and competition effects. We found that the overall climate signal in our time series of ΔBA was weak; <6% of the interannual variance was explained by climate variables. Nevertheless, there were clear patterns in climate-growth relationships related to tree size and species. Relationships between ΔBA and five climate variables increased in strength with tree size class; large trees were most sensitive to annual climate fluctuations and accounted for~71% of the overall climate effect on growth across all trees and sites. In all stands, ΔBA variance explained by climate variables was stable over the 20th century for large trees but decreased in the 1940s for small trees, indicating a temporal reduction in sensitivity to annual fluctuations in five climate variables. In coastal forests, relationships between ΔBA and climate for Callitropsis nootkatensis were significantly different in direction and magnitude than those of co-occurring Pinaceae species. The effect of climate on tree growth was idiosyncratic among stands and could not be discriminated by forest type (coastal vs. interior). Our individual-tree modeling approach adds to a growing body of research providing novel insights about the complexities of tree growth responses to climate variability and the challenges associated with predicting future tree growth and forest productivity using tree-ring data.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Size‐, species‐, and site‐specific tree growth responses to climate variability in old‐growth subalpine forests

et al. 2021

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“…The snowpack has been also reported to have a significant influence on forest growth and health in several Pyrenean areas at 1,300–2,300 m a.s.l. (Sanmiguel‐Vallelado et al ., 2019). There are more than 30 ski resorts in the Pyrenees, serving a mean annual population of 5 million skiers, and is the major source of income for many Pyrenean valleys (Gilaberte‐Búrdalo et al ., 2017).…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Long‐term trends (1958–2017) in snow cover duration and depth in the Pyrenees

López‐Moreno¹,

Soubeyroux

Gascoin

et al. 2020

Intl Journal of Climatology

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This study investigated the temporal variability and changes in snow cover duration and the average snow depth from December to April in the Pyrenees at 1,500 and 2,100 m a.s.l. for the period 1958–2017. This is the first such analysis for the entire mountain range using SAFRAN‐Crocus simulations run for this specific purpose. The SAFRAN‐Crocus simulations were evaluated for the period 1980–2016 using 28 in situ snow depth data time series, and for the period 2000–2017 using MODIS observations of the snow cover duration. Following confirmation that the simulated snow series satisfactorily reproduced the observed evolution of the snowpack, the Mann–Kendall test showed that snow cover duration and average depth decreased during the full study period, but this was only statistically significant at 2,100 m a.s.l. The temporal evolution in the snow series indicated marked differences among massifs, elevations, and snow variables. In general, the most western massifs of the French Pyrenees underwent a greater decrease in the snowpack, while in some eastern massifs the snowpack did not decrease, and in some cases increased at 1,500 m a.s.l. The results suggest that the trends were consistent over time, as they were little affected by the start and end year of the study period, except if trends are computed only starting after 1980, when no significant trends were apparent. Most of the observed negative trends were not correlated with changes in the atmospheric circulation patterns during the snow season. This suggests that the continuous warming in the Pyrenees since the beginning of the industrial period, and particularly the sharp increase since 1955, is a major driver explaining the snow cover decline in the Pyrenees.

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“…Similar results have also been reported for mountain pine (Pinus uncinata Ram.) in the Spanish Pyrenees (Sanmiguel-Vallelado et al 2019). On the other hand, abundant soil moisture from spring snowmelt may promote tree growth on xeric sites (Walsh et al 1994;Pederson et al 2011;St.…”

Section: Communicated By Vospernikmentioning

confidence: 99%

Soil frost affects stem diameter growth of Norway spruce with delay

Repo

Domisch

Kilpeläinen

et al. 2021

Trees

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Key message A lack of snow cover and increased soil freezing may not only have short-term impacts on trees but longer-lasting lagged effects on radial growth. Abstract Soil temperature and soil frost intensity are affected by the depth of insulating snow cover and the timing of snowmelt which are predicted to change by climate warming. This may increase tree growth if there is less soil freezing or decrease growth if there is no insulating snow cover, but frost temperatures still exist. Previously, we showed that the changes in soil frost by snow manipulations in a ~ 50-year-old stand of Norway spruce [Picea abies (L.) Karst.] in eastern Finland in two winters (2005/2006 and 2006/2007) led to short-term changes in physiology, morphology, and the growth of the shoots and roots. The treatments were: (1) control with natural insulating snow accumulation and melting; (2) snow removal during winter; and (3) snow removal in winter and insulation at the top of the forest floor in late winter to delay soil thawing. In this study, we examined the lagged effects of those treatments by radial trunk increment cores during the nine-year recovery period after the termination of the treatments. Annual ring width index (AWI) was calculated for each year by normalization of the ring width in the respective year in proportion to the ring width in the last year (2005) before the treatments. No differences in AWI were found between the treatments before or during the snow manipulation period. However, differences started to appear 1 year after the treatments were finished, became significant 4 years later in 2011 and lasted for 3 years. The radial increment was lower in the treatment with snow removed than in the control and in the treatment with insulation to delay soil thawing, but there were no differences between the latter two treatments. The results indicate that a lack of snow cover may not only have short-term impacts but longer-lasting consequences on the radial growth of trees. The positive effects of prolonged growing season by the increasing summer temperatures on forest growth predicted for the boreal region may therefore not be fully realised due to the negative effects of decreased snow cover and increasing soil freezing.

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Detecting snow-related signals in radial growth of Pinus uncinata mountain forests

Cited by 23 publications

References 55 publications

Size‐, species‐, and site‐specific tree growth responses to climate variability in old‐growth subalpine forests

Size‐, species‐, and site‐specific tree growth responses to climate variability in old‐growth subalpine forests

Long‐term trends (1958–2017) in snow cover duration and depth in the Pyrenees

Soil frost affects stem diameter growth of Norway spruce with delay

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