Radial Growth Response of Scots Pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) after Increasing the Availability of Water Resources

Abstract

In the years 1998–2022, about eight thousand hydrotechnical facilities were built or planned for construction at the State Forests National Forest Holding in Poland, which could slow down the outflow of water from small forest catchments and store over 50 hm³ of water. Due to the innovative and unprecedented nature of investments retaining water resources on forest land, having a significant impact on the adaptation and mitigation of the negative effects of climate change, the literature on the subject lacks in studies describing their impact on the adjacent forest environment. The aim of the presented research is to determine the evolution of the tree-ring width of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) before and after the reconstruction of two water reservoirs and the construction of gates in drainage ditches as part of small retention projects in lowland areas. The research was carried out on the basis of core drillings collected in four forest districts and climate data provided by the Polish Institute of Meteorology and Water Management—National Research Institute. In the first stage of the work, no statistically significant influence of climatic conditions on the shaping of growths was demonstrated. In the next step, the variability of increments and their width in individual years before and after the investment was examined. Then, the distance of individual trees from reservoirs and drainage ditches was analyzed, as well as its importance in forming increments. The calculated statistical significance of differences in increments, average, minimum and maximum values, as well as standard deviation indicated the possible influence of retention reservoirs and valves on shaping the increments. The study did not confirm the importance of the distance of trees from the newly available water resources in the growth of the width of the increments.

Tree Radial Growth Responses to Climate and Reservoir Impoundment in Valleys in Southwestern China

“…Previous research has identified tree growth response to reservoir impoundment or lake with fluctuating water levels resembling a reservoir. Some studies applied tree-ring width to detect radial growth and plant phenology responding to changes in precipitation, temperature, and drought induced by reservoir impoundment [33][34][35]. Through a spatial comparison between coastal and inland trees in the vicinity of aquatic lakes, the response patterns of radial growth were found to be similar to those seen in reservoir impoundment [36].…”

Interrelation of the Radial Increment of Trees with Various Factors

“…Seasonal and annual fluctuations in precipitation and temperature are the most common factors limiting the growth of sensitive trees [8]. Many researchers have found a dependence between changes in the radial growth of woody plants and climatic factors, in particular, temperature and soil moisture [9][10][11][12]. However, as noted by the researchers themselves, the correlation between the growth characteristics of woody plants and the values of meteorological and hydrodynamic variables are currently not well understood.…”

“…This study also aims to determine whether there is a regularity of the change in the temperature factor by the value of the annual radial increment of the different species of trees used in landscaping an industrial city. It should be noted that there are essentially no studies on the influence of the creation of artificial reservoirs on the radial growth of woody plants [12]. At the same time, thanks to such studies, it is possible to track the real physiological change in plants in response to such a coordinate in the environment.…”

Heavy Metals and Sulphur in Needles of Pinus sylvestris L. and Soil in the Forests of City Agglomeration

“…Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) is a species in the Pinaceae family and is the main forest-forming species in Eurasia which, due to a high ecological and economic importance, attracts much interest of foresters and naturalists [1,2]. Both the needles and the bark of Scots pine can be used medicinally.…”