The Growth of Bosnian Pine (Pinus hedreichii Christ.) at Tree-Line Locations from Kosovo and its Response to Climate

Abstract

Background and purpose: Pinus heldreichii Christ. is a sub-endemic species occurring at tree-line locations in Kosovo and covering an area of 2500 ha. In high elevation sites radial growth is mainly controlled by low temperatures. The main purpose of this study was the analysis of radial growth of P. heldreichii and its response to local climate conditions. Materials and Methods: Research sites comprise of three high elevation stands of P. heldreichii with specific site conditions. Core samples were collected from 98 healthy dominant and co-dominant trees at breast height using increment borer. They were prepared and cross-dated using standard dendrochronological methods, while tree-ring widths were measured to the nearest 0.001 mm using the TSAP software. The ARSTAN program was used to standardize the tree-ring widths and to calculate dendrochronological statistical parameters. The growth-climate relationship was investigated using bootstrapped correlation function analysing the residual chronologies of each sampled site as a dependent variable and the climatic data from May of the (n-1) year up to the October of the n year for the common period 1951-2013 as an independent variable. Results: The length of Bosnian pine chronologies ranged from 175 to 541 years. All chronologies had high values of firstorder autocorrelation indicating that radial growth of P. heldreichii is affected by the climate conditions of the previous growing year. Koritnik chronology had the highest values of the mean sensitivity due to the influence of drought stress. This conclusion is also supported by the result of growth-climate relationship where radial growth is negatively correlated with June temperatures and positively associated with July and August precipitation. We found that radial growth of young trees from Koritnik site is limited by the combined effect of temperatures and summer drought stress. In high elevation sites, temperature is expected to control the growth of P. heldreichii, but this effect is becoming more restrictive with age. The positive correlation between radial growth and winter temperatures suggests that favorable thermal conditions during winter months influence snow melting or soil moisture availability and indirectly affect the radial growth of P. heldreichii at all three sampled sites. Conclusions: The first tree-ring width chronologies from Kosovo are an important step towards a denser tree ring network in the Balkan region. Growth-climate relationships indicated that for P.heldreichii growth does not depend only on one single dominant factor, but also on various combinations of precipitation and temperature resulting in different climatic sensitivity. Our results provide an important basis for additional tree-ring parameters such as maximum latewood density and stable isotope ratios to be processed, improving the level of knowledge about P. heldreichii's response versus site conditions.

Stable Isotopes Reveal Climate Signal Hidden in Tree Rings of Endemic Balkan Pines

“…In our study, TRW chronologies of both species had only a weak to non-existent climate signal. This seems to be typical of both studied tree species since this characteristic has been reported by several authors [10,16,17,19]. Seim et al [17,18] reported a weak signal in P. heldreichii from Albania, despite the fact that they collected a large number of samples from three sites.…”

“…Teleconnection in P. heldreichii is relatively good. When comparing the P. heldreichii TRW chronology from the Murina site with other P. heldreichii TRW chronologies from other sites across the Western Balkan region we got relatively high statistical values-t BP ranges between 5.89 and 15.50 (see Table 3), which is comparable with chronologies from other researchers [16,17].…”

“…It must be stressed that researchers working with both species in the countries in which the analyzed species also grow (Bulgaria, Albania, Kosovo, Greece) have found relatively low correlations between P. heldreichii TRW and climate, making P. heldreichii less useful for climate It must be stressed that researchers working with both species in the countries in which the analyzed species also grow (Bulgaria, Albania, Kosovo, Greece) have found relatively low correlations between P. heldreichii TRW and climate, making P. heldreichii less useful for climate reconstruction [10,15,16,19]. On the other hand, the results of climate-growth studies in P. peuce from Bulgaria have shown that the climate signal in tree-ring widths is very weak [10].…”

“…A more recent study by Scheithauer et al on P. heldreichii from the northern Pirin mountains suggests that width growth is humidity limited and more sensitive to high summer temperatures on the southern flanks [13,14]. Other published studies include an analysis of the climate-growth relationship using tree-ring widths of P. heldreichii in Kosovo [15,16] and Albania [17,18], in which a relatively weak but stable climate signal was reported. A similarly strong climate signal was found on Mt.…”

Spatial and Temporal Growth Variation of Pinus heldreichii Christ. Growing along a Latitudinal Gradient in Kosovo and Albania

“…In Bulgaria, maximum latewood density of P. heldreichii trees from a high-elevation stand in the Pirin Mountains is used for reconstruction of summer temperatures for the period 1768-2008 [3]. Other studies conducted in Bulgaria [5,6], Greece [7], Kosovo [8] and Albania [9], have addressed the dynamism of climate-growth relationship of this high elevation species at various scales. In Albania, a 1391-year tree-ring width (TRW) chronology (617-2008) was developed and maximum density measurements were acquired on living and dead P. heldreichii trees [9].…”