Effects of climate change on growth of pine in Mediterranean environments

Abstract

Mediterranean environments are of special interest for the study of the relationships between climate, growth and anatomic features. Dendrochronological techniques were applied at eight sampling sites that were selected throughout the natural distribution area of Pinus halepensis in Spain. The objectives of this paper were: i) to identify relationships between radial growth and climate for different crown classes of Aleppo pine (Pinus halepensis Mill.) ii) to quantify the presence of intra-annual density fluctuations (IADFs) according to crown class and cambial age and iii) to establish the relationships between IADFs and climate. In the more mesic sites, dominant trees showed higher climate sensitivity than suppressed trees, while in the more xeric sites suppressed trees showed higher sensitivity than dominant trees. Tree-ring growth of both crown classes correlated positively with precipitation during and prior to the growing season. IADFs were more frequent in young than in old stands without differences between crown classes.