Tree-ring climate response of two Larix species from the central Nepal Himalaya

Aryal, Prakash Chandra; Dhamala, Man Kumar; Gaire, Narayan Prasad; Bhatta, Sijar; Suwal, Madan Krishna; Bhuju, Dinesh Raj; Chhetri, Parveen K.

doi:10.1007/s42965-020-00082-w

Cited by 7 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…Nonetheless, periodic biomass estimation gives some glimpse on biomass production and temporal enhancement but subsequent changes in methodologies on the analyses do not provide a good evidence for comparison and growth performance assessment [3]. Some site-specific studies are also available [33,34], however, they provide point-based information on biomass (carbon) in the forest. Thus, this paper would be a reference for biomass production, carbon sequestration and rotation management of P. roxburghii forests for the site, in the country and beyond, in the long run for sustainable management of forests.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The age of forest stand would help to determine the rotation of the forest stand in addition to other significant environmental changes such as disturbance on forest or precipitation or drought [33]. Different types of false rings could be observed [12,35] that they signify the major disturbances occurred in the environment.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Several studies are employing differing methodologies to determine the age of standing trees and subsequent interrelationships. Some of these are ring count by destructive sampling techniques [9], coring by Pressler's borer [10,11], and using radiometric scanner [12] or Tomography [13,14]. If the forest is dominated by Pinus, the approximate age of the stands can be found by counting the whorls of branches [1].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Tapering, Tree Rings and Biomass Production of Pinus roxburghii (Sarg.): A Dendrochronological Study

Pandey¹,

Pokhrel²

2020

Preprint

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Distinguishable annual growth rings produce in Pinus roxburghii are an asset to find out the age of individual tree. This paper aimed to determine the age of P. roxburghii through coring samples and test the relationship with forest production. The biomass estimated, girths measured at two different sections and heights measured which allowed to determine the rate of tapering of the stand. The regression analysis was performed to test the relationship between various variables. The mean age of the P. roxburghii stand was found to be 23.97 (~24 years). The result showed the significant (p<0.05) positive correlation coefficient has been seen between age with girth at breast height, biomass, volume and carbon stock. However, no significant (p>0.05) correlation (r = 0.08) was found between age and height of the stand. In contrast, a correlation between diameter at breast height (DBH) was significant (p<0.05) and positive with volume, biomass, but no significant (p>0.05) correlation (r = 0.14) found between DBH and height of the stand. However, height has a significant (p<0.05) positive correlation with biomass. The mean biomass was 375 kg and mean annual increment (MAI) was 15 kg per tree. Rate of tapering of the studied stand predicted to be 3 cm diameter decreased with trunk height running at 100 cm from base to upward of P. roxburghii stand and vice versa. Result suggests that height-age relation is very weak whereas age, DBH, biomass and carbon has a significant correlation signifies that time-based forests' production and potential production estimation can be obtained in a relatively accurate way by utilizing the age of stand. The time-based forest production analysis is pioneer work in Nepal. The study affirms the tree ring count in P. roxburghii would be a credible and accurate method to determine the age of standing trees.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Tapering, Tree Rings and Biomass Production of Pinus roxburghii (Sarg.): A Dendrochronological Study

Pandey¹,

Pokhrel²

2020

Preprint

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“…Dendrochronology is a well-established science initially proposed by Andrew Ellicott Douglass at the beginnings of the 20 th century and that provides estimates of both the annual growth of woody plants and other environmentally relevant information through the analysis of physical or chemical properties of tree-ring wood (Bannister, 1963; Coulthard and Smith, 2013; Fritts, 1976; Fritts et al, 1965; Shroder, 1976; Smith and Lewis, 2006). Tree-ring methods have been applied across many different disciplines, including archaeology, for example, dendroprovenancing (Cherubini, 2021; Cherubini et al, 2022; Domínguez-Delmás, 2020; Wilson et al, 2017), environmental reconstructions including hydroclimatic parameters, such as temperature (Aryal et al, 2020) and precipitation (Tejedor et al, 2020), streamflow (Akkemik et al, 2008), floods (Speer et al, 2019), droughts (He et al, 2018) and events such as snow avalanches (Laxton and Smith, 2009; Luckman, 2010; Yadav and Bhutiyani, 2013), landslides (Chalupová et al, 2020), forest fires (Brown et al, 2020), air pollution episodes (Ballikaya et al, 2022; McLaughlin et al, 2002), insect outbreaks (Büntgen et al, 2009) and fungal attacks (Cherubini et al, 2002, 2021). Tree-ring based environmental reconstructions have two major advantages.…”

Section: Himalayan Dendrochronologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Tree-ring hydrological research in the Himalaya: State of the art and future directions

Islam,

Vennemann,

Büntgen

et al. 2024

Progress in Physical Geography: Earth and Environment

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Recent developments in tree-ring research offer great potential for reconstructing past climate changes; determining the frequencies of natural hazards; and assessing the availability of freshwater resources over timescales that extend well into the pre-instrumental period. Here, we review the state of dendrochronological research in the Himalaya and outline future directions for tree-ring-based hydrological reconstructions in a region that has a pressing societal need to understand the causes and consequences of past, present and future changes in the hydrological cycle. We used ‘tree ring’ and ‘Himalaya’ as keywords to identify scholarly articles from the Web of Science that were published between 1994 and 2022. The resulting 173 publications were separated by their spatial coverage into the western, central and eastern Himalaya, as well as their scientific purpose (e.g. reconstructing growth-climate relationships, temperature, precipitation, streamflow, floods, droughts, etc.). Our analysis shows that dendrochronological research in the Himalaya primarily focused on understanding growth-climate relationships using annual tree-ring widths measurements obtained for coniferous species, and their application in climate reconstructions. Reconstructions of hydrological processes such as streamflows, and extremes such as glacial and landslide lake outburst floods, have received less attention. Recent advances in dendrochronology, including blue intensity (BI), quantitative wood anatomy (QWA), and tree-ring stable isotopes (TRSI) should be combined to improve the resolution and accuracy of hydrological reconstructions in all parts of the Himalaya. Such studies may allow us to better understand the effects of climate change and the Himalayan water resources for its lowland surroundings. They may also facilitate decision-making processes for mitigating the impacts of climate change on natural hazards, and for better managing water resources in the region.

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“…Climate change is expected to directly alter the composition of communities and the functioning of ecosystems across the globe (Mokany et al 2015). Recent studies (Bhatta et al 2018;Aryal et al 2020) have already shown the influence of climate on growth of Larix species in Nepal Himalaya. Phenophase adjustments such as flower initiation of Larix himalaica was noted in LNP (Kunwar 2011).…”

Section: Parametermentioning

confidence: 99%

Population structure and regeneration of Himalayan endemic Larix species in three high-altitude valleys in Nepal Himalaya

Dhamala

Aryal²,

Suwal

et al. 2020

j ecology environ

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Background The Himalayan forests are of great importance to sustain the nature and community resource demands. These forests are facing pressures both from anthropogenic activities and ongoing global climatic changes. Poor natural regeneration has been considered a major problem in mountainous forests. To understand the population structure and regeneration status of Larix (Larix griffithiana and Larix himalaica), we conducted systematic vegetation surveys in three high-altitude valleys namely Ghunsa (Kanchenjunga Conservation Area, KCA), Langtang (Langtang National Park, LNP), and Tsum (Manaslu Conservation Area, MCA) in Nepal Himalaya. The average values of diameter at breast height (DBH), height, and sapling height were compared for three sites and two species using Kruskal-Wallis test. Population structure was assessed in terms of proportion of seedlings, saplings, and trees. Regeneration was analyzed using graphical representation of frequencies of seedlings, saplings, and trees in histograms. Results The results showed that the population structure of Larix in terms of the proportion of seedling, sapling, and tree varied greatly in the three study areas. KCA had the highest record of seedling, sapling, and tree compared to other two sites. Seedlings were the least among three forms and many plots were without seedlings. We found no seedling in MCA study plots. The plot level average DBH variation among sites was significant (Kruskal-Wallis χ2 = 7.813, df = 2, p = 0.02) as was between species (Kruskal-Wallis χ2 = 5.9829, df = 1, p = 0.014). Similarly, the variation in average tree height was significant (Kruskal-Wallis χ2 = 134.23, df = 2, p < 0.001) among sites as well as between species (Kruskal-Wallis χ2 = 128.01, df = 1, p < 0.001). All the sites showed reverse J-shaped curve but more pronounced for KCA and MCA. In comparing the two species, Larix griffithiana has clear reverse J-shaped diameter distribution but not Larix himalaica. Conclusion The varied responses of Larix manifested through regeneration status from spatially distinct areas show that regeneration limitations might be more pronounced in the future. In all the three studied valleys, regeneration of Larix is found to be problematic and specifically for Larix griffithiana in MCA and Larix himalaica in LNP. To address the issues of disturbances, especially serious in LNP, management interventions are recommended to sustain the unique Himalayan endemic conifer.

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Tree-ring climate response of two Larix species from the central Nepal Himalaya

Cited by 7 publications

References 38 publications

Tapering, Tree Rings and Biomass Production of <em>Pinus</em> <em>roxburghii</em> (Sarg.): A Dendrochronological Study

Tapering, Tree Rings and Biomass Production of <em>Pinus</em> <em>roxburghii</em> (Sarg.): A Dendrochronological Study

Tree-ring hydrological research in the Himalaya: State of the art and future directions

Population structure and regeneration of Himalayan endemic Larix species in three high-altitude valleys in Nepal Himalaya

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