Longitudinal variation of radial growth at Alaska's northern treeline—recent changes and possible scenarios for the 21st century

Wilmking, Martin; Juday, Glenn P.

doi:10.1016/j.gloplacha.2004.10.017

Cited by 108 publications

(119 citation statements)

References 38 publications

(55 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

108

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…A number of causal factors have been proposed and are still being debated though one suggestion is that the recent warming has invoked increasing drought stress [26]. A consistent long-term control of boreal forest growth by summer moisture availability has been observed in the drier continental interiors of Alaska and North-Western Canada where increased tree growth is stimulated by cooler and wetter growing seasons [23,27,28]. Hence, warming in these boreal regions has often been associated with tree growth declines rather than with increases [23], consistent in cases with co-located NDVI browning trends [18].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Temperature and Snow-Mediated Moisture Controls of Summer Photosynthetic Activity in Northern Terrestrial Ecosystems between 1982 and 2011

et al. 2014

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Recent warming has stimulated the productivity of boreal and Arctic vegetation by reducing temperature limitations. However, several studies have hypothesized that warming may have also increased moisture limitations because of intensified summer drought severity. Establishing the connections between warming and drought stress has been difficult because soil moisture observations are scarce. Here we use recently developed gridded datasets of moisture variability to investigate the links between warming and changes in available soil moisture and summer vegetation photosynthetic activity at northern latitudes (>45 • N) based on the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) since 1982. Moisture and temperature exert a significant influence on the interannual variability of Remote Sens. 2014, 6 1391 summer NDVI over about 29% (mean r 2 = 0.29 ± 0.16) and 43% (mean r 2 = 0.25 ± 0.12) of the northern vegetated land, respectively. Rapid summer warming since the late 1980s (∼0.7 • C) has increased evapotranspiration demand and consequently summer drought severity, but contrary to earlier suggestions it has not changed the dominant climate controls of NDVI over time. Furthermore, changes in snow dynamics (accumulation and melting) appear to be more important than increased evaporative demand in controlling changes in summer soil moisture availability and NDVI in moisture-sensitive regions of the boreal forest. In boreal North America, forest NDVI declines are more consistent with reduced snowpack rather than with temperature-induced increases in evaporative demand as suggested in earlier studies. Moreover, summer NDVI variability over about 28% of the northern vegetated land is not significantly associated with moisture or temperature variability, yet most of this land shows increasing NDVI trends. These results suggest that changes in snow accumulation and melt, together with other possibly non-climatic factors are likely to play a significant role in modulating regional ecosystem responses to the projected warming and increase in evapotranspiration demand during the coming decades.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Temperature and Snow-Mediated Moisture Controls of Summer Photosynthetic Activity in Northern Terrestrial Ecosystems between 1982 and 2011

et al. 2014

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Investigators have speculated that negative growth trends reflect an increasing importance of temperature-induced drought stress and that increases in treeline stand density may be expected in mesic and wet areas, but not in dry areas, with future climate warming (e.g., Wilmking and Juday, 2005). There have been very few studies of tree physiology near the Arctic treeline (Vowinckel et al, 1975;Sveinbjö rnsson, 1983;Goldstein et al, 1985;Sveinbjö rnsson et al, 1992), yet process-level studies of tree physiology and growth may be required to develop a satisfactory understanding of the relationships between climate and tree performance.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Environmental Controls on Needle Gas Exchange and Growth of White Spruce (Picea glauca) on a Riverside Terrace near the Arctic Treeline

Sullivan

Sveinbjörnsson

2011

Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…Several studies have shown temperature increases during the latter half of the 20 th century have limited, rather than facilitated, radial growth of white spruce (Barber et al 2000;Davi et al 2003;D' Arrigo et al 2004D' Arrigo et al , 2007Wilmking et al 2004;Wilmking and Juday 2005), although this response also varies regionally and among sites (Ohse et al 2012). Dif- ferential effects seem to relate to the relative change in precipitation versus temperature with the phase change in the PDO.…”

Section: Pdo Phases and Factors Limiting White Spruce Growthmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, white spruce (Picea glauca [Moench] Voss) often grows on relatively dry sites (Nienstaedt and Zasada 1990) where low precipitation and moisture availability (e.g., low precipitation combined with warm temperatures) can be more limiting than cool temperatures (Barber et al 2000, Lloyd and Fastie 2002, Youngblut and Luckman 2008, Ohse et al 2012. Recent research has shown non-linear or unstable climate-growth relations for white spruce in response to increased temperatures since the 1950s (Barber et al 2000;Davi et al 2003;D' Arrigo et al 2004D' Arrigo et al , 2007Wilmking et al 2004;Wilmking and Juday 2005). Ohse et al (2012) have shown climate variation associated with different phases of the PDO can change the climatic factors that limit white spruce growth and directional climate warming interacts with these effects.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Did the 1976–77 switch in the Pacific Decadal Oscillation make white spruce in the southwest Yukon more susceptible to spruce bark beetle?

Chavardès

Daniels²,

Waeber³

et al. 2012

The Forestry Chronicle

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

We applied dendrochronology to quantify the effects of climatic variation on white spruce radial growth in southwest Yukon, Canada. Local climate is cold and dry, thus tree growth was primarily limited by moisture, rather than temperature, although the mechanisms varied through time. Regionally, both temperature and precipitation increased in recent decades, in part due to the shift from the negative to positive phase of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation. Climate projections for this region include further increases in temperature and precipitation. Such changes may benefit white spruce growth and disturbance agents like the spruce bark beetle; however, specific impacts will depend on the seasonality and magnitude of climatic changes.Key words: dendrochronology, climate change, climate-growth relations, climatic variation, PDO, Picea glauca, spruce bark beetle RÉSUMÉNous avons utilisé la dendrochronologie pour quantifier les effets des variations climatiques sur la croissance radiale de l' épinette blanche dans le sud-ouest du Yukon au Canada. Le climat local est froid et sec, ce qui fait que la croissance des arbres est limitée principalement par l'accès à l' eau, plutôt que la température, même si ces mécanismes ont varié au cours du temps. Régionalement, tant la température que les précipitations ont augmenté au cours des dernières décennies, ceci étant dû en partie au changement de la phase négative à la phase positive de l'Oscillation Décennale du Pacifique. Les projections climatiques pour cette région prévoient encore d'autres augmentations de température et de précipitations. De tels changements pourront favoriser la croissance de l' épinette blanche ainsi que les agents de perturbation comme le typographe européen de l' épinette; cependant, les impacts spéci-fiques dépendront du caractère saisonnier et de l'ampleur des changements climatiques.

show abstract

Longitudinal variation of radial growth at Alaska's northern treeline—recent changes and possible scenarios for the 21st century

Cited by 108 publications

References 38 publications

Temperature and Snow-Mediated Moisture Controls of Summer Photosynthetic Activity in Northern Terrestrial Ecosystems between 1982 and 2011

Temperature and Snow-Mediated Moisture Controls of Summer Photosynthetic Activity in Northern Terrestrial Ecosystems between 1982 and 2011

Environmental Controls on Needle Gas Exchange and Growth of White Spruce (Picea glauca) on a Riverside Terrace near the Arctic Treeline

Did the 1976–77 switch in the Pacific Decadal Oscillation make white spruce in the southwest Yukon more susceptible to spruce bark beetle?

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About