Is temperature still the most limiting factor for growth in northern boreal forests?

The Holocene ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 095968362110116
Author(s):  
Jeroen DM Schreel
Keyword(s):  
Tree Ring ◽  
Boreal Forests ◽  
Ring Width ◽  
Temperature Fluctuations ◽  
Limiting Factor ◽  
Tree Ring Width ◽  
Climate Reconstructions ◽  
Latewood Density

Over the last few decades – at a range of northern sites – changes in tree-ring width and latewood density have not followed mean summertime temperature fluctuations. This discrepancy sharply contrasts an earlier correlation between those variables. As the origin of this inconsistency has not been fully deciphered, questions have emerged regarding the use of tree-ring width and latewood density as a proxy in dendrochronological climate reconstructions. I suggest that temperature is no longer the most limiting factor in certain boreal areas, which might explain the observed divergence.

scholarly journals Tree-Ring Width and Carbon Isotope Chronologies Track Temperature, Humidity, and Baseflow in the Tianshan Mountains, Central Asia

Forests ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 1308
Author(s):  
Yuting Fan ◽  
Huaming Shang ◽  
Ye Wu ◽  
Qian Li
Keyword(s):  
Stable Isotopes ◽  
Tree Ring ◽  
Ring Width ◽  
River Basins ◽  
Tianshan Mountains ◽  
Limiting Factor ◽  
Source Water ◽  
Tree Ring Width ◽  
The North ◽  
Temperature And Precipitation

Concerns have been raised about the negative impacts of global warming on the hydrological climate change and ecosystems of Asia. Research on the high-altitude mountainous regions of Asia with relatively short meteorological and hydrological records relies on paleoclimate proxy data with long time scales. The stable isotopes of tree-rings are insightful agents that provide information on pre-instrumental climatic and hydrological fluctuations, yet the variability of these data from different regions along the Tianshan Mountains has not been fully explored. Herein, we related climate data with tree-ring width (TRW) chronologies and δ13C (stable carbon isotope discrimination) series to discern if the Picea schrenkiana in the Ili and Manas River Basins are sensitive to climatic factors and baseflow (BF). The results show significant correlations between temperature and TRW chronologies, temperature and δ13C, relative humidity and TRW chronologies, and BF and δ13C. Temperature, particularly the mean late summer to early winter temperature, is a pronounced limiting factor for the tree-ring and the δ13C series in the Manas River Basin, located in the middle of the North Tianshan Mountains. Meanwhile, mean early spring to early autumn temperature is a limiting factor for that of the Ili River Basin, located on the southern slope of the North Tianshan Mountains. We conclude that different seasonal variations in temperature and precipitation of the two river basins exerted significant control on tree growth dynamics. Tree-ring width and tree-ring δ13C differ in their sensitivity to climate and hydrological parameters to which tree-ring δ13C is more sensitive. δ13C showed significant lag with precipitation, and the lag correlation showed that BF, temperature, and precipitation were the most affected factors that are often associated with source water environments. δ13C series correlated positively to winter precipitation, suggesting baseflow was controlling the length of the growing season. The tree-ring δ13C provided information that coincided with TRW chronologies, and supplied some indications that were different from TRW chronologies. The carbon stable isotopes of tree-rings have proven to be powerful evidence of climatic signals and source water variations.

Separating the climatic signal from tree-ring width and maximum latewood density records

Trees ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-44 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander V. Kirdyanov ◽  
Eugene A. Vaganov ◽  
Malcolm K. Hughes
Keyword(s):  
Tree Ring ◽  
Ring Width ◽  
Tree Ring Width ◽  
Maximum Latewood Density ◽  
Climatic Signal ◽  
Latewood Density

Comparison between Blue Intensity (BI) and Maximum Latewood Density (MXD) tree-ring chronologies from the North American Boreal forests

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laia Andreu-Hayles ◽  
Rosanne D'Arrigo ◽  
Rose Oelkers ◽  
Kevin Anchukaitis ◽  
Greg Wiles ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Resolution ◽  
North America ◽  
Tree Ring ◽  
Boreal Forests ◽  
Ring Width ◽  
Maximum Latewood Density ◽  
Latewood Density ◽  
Tree Ring Data ◽  
Summer Temperatures ◽  
Blue Intensity

<p>Tree ring-width (TRW) and Maximum Latewood Density (MXD) series have been largely used to develop high-resolution temperature reconstructions for the Northern Hemisphere. The divergence phenomenon, a weakening of the positive relationship between TRW and summer temperatures, has been observed particularly in northwestern North America chronologies. In contrast, MXD datasets have shown a more stable relationship with summer temperatures, but it is costly and labor-intensive to produce. Recently, methodological advances in image analyses have led to development of a less expensive and labor-intensive MXD proxy known as Blue Intensity (BI). Here, we compare 6 newly developed BI tree-ring chronologies of white spruce (<em>Picea glauca</em> [Moench] Voss) from high-latitude boreal forests in North America (Alaska in USA; Yukon and the Northwestern Territory in Canada), with MXD chronologies developed at the same sites. We assessed the quality of BI in relation to MXD based on mean correlation between trees, chronology reliability based on the Expressed Population Signal (EPS), spectral properties, and the strength and spatial extent of the temperature signal. Individual BI chronologies established significant correlations with summer temperatures showing a similar strength and spatial cover than MXD chronologies. Overall, the BI tree-ring data is emerging as a valuable proxy for generating high-resolution temperature spatial reconstructions over northwestern America.</p>

Maximum latewood density records of Great Basin Bristlecone pine (Pinus Longaeva) from the White Mountains, California

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tom De Mil ◽  
Matthew Salzer ◽  
Charlotte Pearson ◽  
Valerie Trouet ◽  
Jan Van den Bulcke
Keyword(s):  
Tree Ring ◽  
Great Basin ◽  
Ring Width ◽  
Temperature Record ◽  
Tree Ring Width ◽  
Maximum Latewood Density ◽  
Latewood Density ◽  
Pinus Longaeva ◽  
Bristlecone Pine ◽  
Temperature Signal

<p>Great Basin Bristlecone pine (Pinus longaeva) is known for its longevity. The longest continuous tree-ring width chronology covers more than 9000 years. Tree-ring width of upper treeline bristlecone pine trees is influenced by summer temperature variability at decadal to centennial scales, but to infer a temperature signal on interannual scales, Maximum Latewood Density (MXD) is a better proxy. Here, we present a preliminary MXD chronology to investigate the temperature signal in upper treeline and lower elevation bristlecone pines. MXD was measured with an X-ray Computed Tomography toolchain in 24 dated cores,  with the oldest sample dating back to 776 CE. Ring and fibre angles were corrected and two MXD chronologies for different elevations were developed, which will be used to study climate-growth relationships and the effect of elevation on them. Future scanning will allow constructing a 5000+ year-long MXD chronology from upper treeline sites, which will provide an annual-resolution North American temperature record covering the mid-to-late Holocene.</p>

Tree-ring width and maximum latewood density at the North American tree line: parameters of climatic change

1992 ◽  
Vol 22 (9) ◽  
pp. 1290-1296 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rosanne D. D'Arrigo ◽  
Gordon C. Jacoby ◽  
Rosemary M. Free
Keyword(s):  
Climatic Change ◽  
Tree Ring ◽  
North American ◽  
Ring Width ◽  
Positive Temperature ◽  
Tree Line ◽  
Tree Ring Width ◽  
Maximum Latewood Density ◽  
Latewood Density ◽  
Instrumental Records

In remote subarctic North America, instrumental records are very short and sparsely distributed. Yet a long-term understanding of subarctic climate is critical to studies of global change. Annual tree-ring width and maximum latewood density are complementary, high-resolution parameters with different environmental and physiological controls that can be used to assess recent centuries of climatic change. In this paper we present a comparison of the different temperature information inferred from these parameters for white spruce (Piceaglauca (Moench) Voss), a dominant North American latitudinal tree line species. Ring-width and maximum latewood density chronologies (with a common period from 1720–1977) are shown for five sites along a widely spaced transect of the forest–tundra transition in northern Canada. The positive temperature response of maximum latewood density to year to year local temperatures is more consistent and covers a longer portion of the growing season than does that of ring width. Unlike density, the ring-width data show a preference for cold spring conditions. Some, but not all, of the ring-width and density series display increases during the recent century's large-scale climatic warming trend. It is concluded that both types of parameters are necessary for understanding changes in climate and forest dynamics at the northern tree line.

scholarly journals Detection and removal of disturbance trends in tree-ring series for dendroclimatology

2016 ◽  
Vol 46 (3) ◽  
pp. 387-401 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miloš Rydval ◽  
Daniel Druckenbrod ◽  
Kevin J. Anchukaitis ◽  
Rob Wilson
Keyword(s):  
Environmental History ◽  
Tree Ring ◽  
Regional Climate ◽  
Ring Width ◽  
Tree Ring Width ◽  
Climate Data ◽  
Climate Trends ◽  
Climate Signal ◽  
Maximum Latewood Density ◽  
Latewood Density

Nonclimatic disturbance events are an integral element in the history of forests. Although the identification of the occurrence and duration of such events may help to understand environmental history and landscape change, from a dendroclimatic perspective, disturbance can obscure the climate signal in tree rings. However, existing detrending methods are unable to remove disturbance trends without affecting the retention of long-term climate trends. Here, we address this issue by using a novel method for the detection and removal of disturbance events in tree-ring width data to assess their spatiotemporal occurrence in a network of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) trees from Scotland. Disturbance trends “superimposed” on the tree-ring record are removed before detrending and the climate signals in the precorrection and postcorrection chronologies are evaluated using regional climate data, proxy system model simulations, and maximum latewood density (MXD) data. Analysis of subregional chronologies from the West Highlands and the Cairngorms in the east reveals a higher intensity and more systematic disturbance history in the western subregion, likely a result of extensive timber exploitation. The method improves the climate signal in the two subregional chronologies, particularly in the more disturbed western sites. Our application of this method demonstrates that it is possible to minimise the effects of disturbance in tree-ring width chronologies to enhance the climate signal.

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