Relating ring width of Mediterranean evergreen species to seasonal and annual variations of precipitation and temperature

Nijland, Wiebe; Jansma, E.; Addink, E.A.; Domínguez‐Delmás, Marta; Jong, S.M. de

doi:10.5194/bg-8-1141-2011

Cited by 8 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 50 publications

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“…A similar response towards late spring-early summer precipitation and/or drought has also been found in Z. sicula and numerous other species growing in the Mediterranean (e.g. Campelo et al, 2009;Cherubini et al, 2003;Di Filippo et al, 2010;Garfì, 1997;Lebourgeois et al, 2012;Nijland et al, 2011;Tessier et al, 1994;Touchan et al, 2014). No study has been carried out so far to investigate the precise period in which Mediterranean Zelkova species form tree-rings and their relationship with precipitation.…”

Section: Precipitation Of Late Spring To Early Summermentioning

confidence: 61%

Imprisoned in the Cretan mountains: How relict Zelkova abelicea (Ulmaceae) trees cope with Mediterranean climate

Fazan

Guillet

Corona

et al. 2017

Science of The Total Environment

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• We established the first ever centennial chronology for a broadleaved tree on Crete.• Zelkova abelicea is most sensitive to precipitation and drought in May-June.• No growth change can be related to the increase in dry conditions of the past decades.• Z. abelicea has a high capacity to withstand changing environmental conditions.We investigate the sensitivity of the relict, endemic Cretan tree species Zelkova abelicea (Lam.) Boiss. (Ulmaceae) to several climate variables (temperature, precipitation and drought). For this purpose, we establish the first centennial tree-ring chronology for the species, and the first ever tree-ring chronology for a broadleaved species on Crete. We demonstrate the strong sensitivity of Z. abelicea towards precipitation and drought in late spring to early summer and the absence of a significant response to abundant precipitation occurring during winter or early spring. Whereas the late spring sensitivity is strong and consistent through time, the species seems to be experiencing a loss of signal towards early summer conditions since the 1970s, interpreted as an earlier cessation of cambial activity due to the increase in summer drought conditions on Crete. However, despite a reduced vegetative period, no significant decrease in radial growth of Z. abelicea was observed in the tree-ring series for the last decades, thus highlighting the capacity of Z. abelicea to withstand changing environmental conditions.

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Section: Precipitation Of Late Spring To Early Summermentioning

confidence: 61%

Imprisoned in the Cretan mountains: How relict Zelkova abelicea (Ulmaceae) trees cope with Mediterranean climate

Fazan

Guillet

Corona

et al. 2017

Science of The Total Environment

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Vegetation and fire history of coastal north-eastern Sardinia (Italy) under changing Holocene climates and land use

Beffa

Pedrotta

Colombaroli

et al. 2015

Veget Hist Archaeobot

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Little is known about the vegetation and fire history of Sardinia, and especially the long-term history of the thermo-Mediterranean belt that encompasses its entire coastal lowlands. A new sedimentary record from a coastal lake based on pollen, spores, macrofossils and microscopic charcoal analysis is used to reconstruct the vegetation and fire history in north-eastern Sardinia. During the mid-Holocene (c. 8,100-5,300 cal BP), the vegetation around Stagno di Sa Curcurica was characterised by dense Erica scoparia and E. arborea stands, which were favoured by high fire activity. Fire incidence declined and evergreen broadleaved forests of Quercus ilex expanded at the beginning of the late Holocene. We relate the observed vegetation and fire dynamics to climatic change, specifically moister and cooler summers and drier and milder winters after 5,300 cal BP. Agricultural activities occurred since the Neolithic and intensified after c. 7,000 cal BP. Around 2,750 cal BP, a further decline of fire incidence and Erica communities occurred, while Quercus ilex expanded and open-land communities became more abundant. This vegetation shift coincided with the historically documented beginning of Phoenician period, which was followed by Punic and Roman civilizations in Sardinia. The vegetational change at around 2,750 cal BP was possibly advantaged by a further shift to moister and cooler summers and drier and milder winters. Triggers for climate changes at 5,300 and 2,750 cal BP may have been gradual, orbitallyinduced changes in summer and winter insolation, as well as centennial-scale atmospheric reorganizations. Open evergreen broadleaved forests persisted until the twentieth century, when they were partly substituted by widespread artificial pine plantations. Our results imply that highly flammable Erica vegetation, as reconstructed for the mid-Holocene, could re-emerge as a dominant vegetation type due to increasing drought and fire, as anticipated under global change conditions.

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Effect of ecological factors on intra-annual stem girth increment of holm oak

Martín

Vázquez‐Piqué

Fernández

et al. 2014

Trees

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Relating ring width of Mediterranean evergreen species to seasonal and annual variations of precipitation and temperature

Cited by 8 publications

References 50 publications

Imprisoned in the Cretan mountains: How relict Zelkova abelicea (Ulmaceae) trees cope with Mediterranean climate

Imprisoned in the Cretan mountains: How relict Zelkova abelicea (Ulmaceae) trees cope with Mediterranean climate

Vegetation and fire history of coastal north-eastern Sardinia (Italy) under changing Holocene climates and land use

Effect of ecological factors on intra-annual stem girth increment of holm oak

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