Climate effect on radial growth of Pinus sylvestris at its southern and western distribution limits

Abstract

The associations between tree-ring width and climatic variables, the tree age effect on climate-growth relationship and the drought index impact on radial growth of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) were studied in Mediterranean environments in the Iberian Peninsula. Dendrochronological techniques were applied to construct six tree-ring width chronologies for P. sylvestris. The association between tree growth and climate was analysed with correlation coefficients and bootstrapped response functions. Drought index (DRI) was used to detect the effects of aridity. Tree-ring width was positively correlated with rainfall in the growing season but this association stated earlier at the lowest altitudinal sites. The effects of temperature varied according to the site. The response to climatic variables depended on the age of the trees: more of the variability was explained by climatic variables in young stands than in old stands. The significant association between radial growth and DRI suggests that drought is a determining factor in the radial growth of P. sylvestris. Climate forecast scenarios show an increase in rainfall irregularity in the Mediterranean region so the differential tree response to rainfall at different elevations can be used to predict tree growth for determining silvicultural treatments.

Forest Carbon Sequestration: The Impact of Forest Management

“…Greater efficiency in use of resources has been reported in some studies, such as that of Bogino and Bravo (2014) for water in Mediterranean pines in Spain. The impact of climate change on forest growth,and the interaction of climate changes with silvicultural treatments (Olivar et al, 2014), is differentiated in ecosystems across Europe (i.e., Bogino and Bravo, 2008, Bogino et al, 2009, Olivar et al, 2012, Granda et al, 2014, Pretzsch et al, 2014, The combined effects of reducing deforestation and forest degradation while promoting afforestation, forest management, agro-forestry and bio-energy have the potential to increase in the future (IPPC, 2007), contributing to climate change mitigation and sustainable development.…”

Extreme pointer years in tree-ring records of Central Spain as evidence of climatic events and the eruption of the Huaynaputina Volcano (Peru, 1600 AD)

“…This record of pointer years in Central Spain provides information regarding their significance and distribution over the last 405 years, which can be contrasted with other extensive dendrochronological records of Pinus from throughout Spain (Andreu et al, 2007;Bogino et al, 2009;Génova, 1998;Fernández, 1998-1999;Génova et al, 2009) in order to characterise anomalies of growth, indicating macroclimatic events in the Iberian Peninsula. The year 1601 is registered in the tree rings of Central Spain as the most unfavourable for growth of the last 405 yr. As Génova (2000) already noted "... 1601 was the only year in which the indices of regional chronologies were lower than two standard deviations from the mean".…”

Las poblaciones ibéricas de pino albar ante el cambio climático: con la muerte en los talones

“…Numerosos estudios han mostrado que el crecimiento radial del pino albar es menor en años secos, caracterizados por una reducida pluviosidad en relación a la demanda evaporativa atmosférica (e.g., Bogino et al 2009;Martínez-Vilalta et al 2008;, Sánchez-Salguero et al 2012a). Los estudios anteriores muestran también que el efecto de la temperatura es variable en función, entre otras cosas, de la aridez de la zona de estudio.…”

“…Bogino et al (2009) encontraron que las variables climáticas explicaban una mayor proporción de la variabilidad en el crecimiento en los pinares jóvenes. En otro estudio reciente, mostramos que los árboles de mayor edad presentan una menor resiliencia ante un episodio de sequía extrema .…”