Site- and Species-Specific Influences on Sub-Alpine Conifer Growth in Mt. Rainier National Park, USA

Legendre-Fixx, Myesa; Anderegg, Leander D. L.; Ettinger, Ailene K.; HilleRisLambers, Janneke

doi:10.3390/f9010001

Cited by 7 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 51 publications

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“…Among the five climate variables examined, JULT and MINWT had the strongest influences on basal area increment at all sites; many tree-ring studies in temperate forests (using various methods) find these two aspects of climate to be key drivers of tree growth (e.g., Biondi et al 1999, Briffa et al 2002, McCoullough et al 2017. Given the findings of other North American studies in subalpine forests (Buechling et al 2017, Legendre-Fixx et al 2018, we anticipated that warmer-than-average current-year JULT would increase basal area increment, but at two of our four sites (one coastal and one interior site), we found a negative relationship between basal area increment and JULT. Many subalpine tree-ring studies report reductions in annual growth on warm, dry sites due to summer moisture stress (e.g., Peterson et al 2002, Büntgen et al 2006, Nakawatase and Peterson 2006, Kelsey et al 2018) but moisture stress can also reduce growth on some mesic sites (Splechtna et al 2000).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 86%

“…None of the species we examined in closed‐canopy forests were near their geographic or edaphic distributional limits, where we might expect them to be most sensitive to interannual fluctuations in climate parameters (Buechling et al 2017, Klesse et al 2018). However, other tree‐ring studies in closed‐canopy subalpine and coastal montane forests of western North America report somewhat larger climate influences on interannual growth variability (Buechling et al 2017, Kelsey et al 2018, Legendre‐Fixx et al 2018). Such differences in climate influences among studies could be due to differences in site conditions, species studied, and various methodological factors.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

“…However, both the magnitude and direction of growth–climate relationships were site‐specific within each region. Several other tree‐ring studies report variable growth responses among sites and attribute this to spatial differences in regional climate and local site factors, such as topo‐edaphic conditions, underlying geology, stand structure, species composition, competition intensity, and genotype (Babst et al 2012, Buechling et al 2017, Kelsey et al 2018, Legendre‐Fixx et al 2018, Millar et al 2018, Nothdurft and Vospernik 2018, Marchand et al 2019, Sáenz‐Romero et al 2019). A greater abundance of C. nootkatensis at Mt.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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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: 86%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

et al. 2021

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“…Species-specific climatic drivers have been identified and their influence has been quantified. Also, the geographical variations in climate influences have been highlighted [23,[30][31][32]. However, tree-ring chronology classical procedures include standardizations to remove biological trends and non-climate signals in tree-ring measurements by transforming growth width into growth indices [33][34][35].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Contrasting Patterns of Tree Growth of Mediterranean Pine Species in the Iberian Peninsula

Castillo

Tejedor

Serrano‐Notivoli

et al. 2018

Forests

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Wood formation is the primary biological process through which carbon is durably sequestered in woody plants, and is thus a major contributor to mitigate climate change. We analyzed the tree growth patterns of four conifer species across the Iberian Peninsula (IP) based on a dense dendrochronological network (179 sites) combined with a high resolution climate dataset. Generalized linear-mixed models were used to predict the potential tree growth of different pine species under different climate conditions considering different age classes. We found a strong age dependency of tree growth, significant variations across the climate gradients, and a significant interaction of both age and climate effects on the four species considered. Overall, Pinus halepensis was the species with the highest climate sensitivity and the highest growth rates in all age classes and across its distribution area. Due to its stronger plastic character and its potential adaptability, Pinus halepensis was demonstrated to be the most suitable species in terms of tree growth and potentiality to enhance carbon sequestration in the IP. Since its potential distribution largely exceeds its actual distribution, P. halepensis arises as a key species to cope with future climate conditions and to keep fixing carbon regardless of the climatic circumstances.

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“…Tree growth responses to climate vary among species (e.g. Rehfeldt et al 1999, Miyamoto et al 2010, Messaoud and Chen 2011, Legendre-Fixx et al 2017. Some species are more sensitive to climate or combinations of climatic variables than others (Clark et al 2012).…”

Section: Tree and Forest Responses To Climatementioning

confidence: 99%

White spruce growth sensitivity to climate variability in pure and mixedwood stands

Cardoso¹

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It is prudent to understand how tree growth responds to climate variability to better project their growth in the current and future changes in climate in boreal forests. In this thesis, I studied how climate variables influence individual white spruce trees (Picea glauca (Moench) Voss) over short and intermediate periods in pure and mixedwood stands in northeastern British Columbia. In Chapter 2, I studied the importance and the influence of annual, seasonal, and monthly microclimate variables on the annual growth of white spruce trees in pure and mixedwood stands. In Chapter 3, I studied the importance and the influence of microclimate variables on sap flow of white spruce trees through different time scales in these two stand types. My key finding in these two chapters is that stand composition and structure are essential determinants of how spruce radial growth and sap flow respond to fluctuations in climate variables, and how they will respond to projected future climate scenarios. A combination of warmer temperatures and drought during summer will negatively affect white spruce trees growth in pure and mixedwood stands in the studied region. Spruce sap flow in both stand types is likely to increase as the climate warms, increasing the demand for soil water. As this resource becomes less available, white spruce in both stand types are likely to respond with processes that can compromise their physiological integrity. White spruce growing in mixedwood stands might be more sensitive to drought stress than in pure stands due to the higher competition for limiting resources (primarily water). This thesis provides information of expected changes in tree growth to climate variability and demonstrates the importance of appropriate site selection to plant spruce trees and management of pure and mixedwood stands.

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Site- and Species-Specific Influences on Sub-Alpine Conifer Growth in Mt. Rainier National Park, USA

Cited by 7 publications

References 51 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

Contrasting Patterns of Tree Growth of Mediterranean Pine Species in the Iberian Peninsula

White spruce growth sensitivity to climate variability in pure and mixedwood stands

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