Responses of Larix principis-rupprechtii Radial Growth to Climatic Factors at Different Elevations on Guancen Mountain, North-Central China

Abstract

Larix principis-rupprechtii is an important afforestation tree species in the North China alpine coniferous forest belt. Studying the correlations and response relationships between L. principis-rupprechtii radial growth and climatic factors at different elevations is helpful for understanding the growth trends of L. principis-rupprechtii and its long-term sensitivity and adaptability to climate change. Pearson correlation, redundancy (RDA), and sliding analysis were performed to study the correlations and dynamic relationships between radial growth and climatic factors. The main couclusions are as follows: (1) The three-elevation standard chronologies all exhibited high characteristic values, contained rich climate information and were suitable for tree-ring climatological analyses. (2) Both temperature and precipitation restricted lowelevation L. principis-rupprechtii radial growth, while monthly maximum temperatures mainly affected mid-high-elevation L. www.videleaf.com principis-rupprechtii radial growth. (3) Mid-elevation L. principis-rupprechtii radial growth responded to climate factors with a "lag effect" and was not restricted by spring and early summer drought. (4) Long-term sliding analysis showed that spring temperatures and winter precipitation were the main climatic factors restricting L. principis-rupprechtii growth under warming and drying climate trends at different elevations. The tree-ring width index and Palmer drought severity index (PDSI) were positively correlated, indicating that L. principisrupprechtii growth is somewhat restricted by drought. These results provide a reference and guidance for L. principisrupprechtii management and sustainable development in different regions under warming and drying background climate trends.