Twentieth century increase of Scots pine radial growth in NE Spain shows strong climate interactions
Martínez Vilalta, Jordi, 1975- (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Biologia Animal, de Biologia Vegetal i d'Ecologia)
Claramunt López, Bernat (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Biologia Animal, de Biologia Vegetal i d'Ecologia)
Adell, N. (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Servei d'Estadística Aplicada)
Badiella Busquets, Llorenç (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Matemàtiques)
Ninyerola i Casals, Miquel (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Biologia Animal, de Biologia Vegetal i d'Ecologia)

Date:	2008
Abstract:	Stem radial growth responds to environmental conditions, and has been widely used as a proxy to study long-term patterns of tree growth and to assess the impact of environmental changes on growth patterns. In this study, we use a tree ring dataset from the Catalan Ecological and Forest Inventory to study the temporal variability of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L. ) stem growth during the 20th century across a relatively large region (Catalonia, NE Spain) close to the southern limit of the distribution of the species. Basal area increment (BAI) was modelled as a function of tree size and environmental variables by means of mixed effects models. Our results showed an overall increase of 84% in Scots pine BAI during the 20th century, consistent with most previous studies for temperate forests. This trend was associated with increased atmospheric CO2 concentrations and, possibly, with a general increase in nutrient availability, and we interpreted it as a fertilization effect. Over the same time period, there was also a marked increase in temperature across the study region (0. 19 °C per decade on average). This warming had a negative impact on radial growth, particularly at the drier sites, but its magnitude was not enough to counteract the fertilization effect. In fact, the substantial warming observed during the 20th century in the study area did not result in a clear pattern of increased summer drought stress because of the large variability in precipitation, which did not show any clear time trend. But the situation may change in the future if temperatures continue to rise and/or precipitation becomes scarcer. Such a change could potentially reverse the temporal trend in growth, particularly at the driest sites, and is suggested in our data by the relative constancy of radial growth after ca. 1975, coinciding with the warmer period. If this situation is representative of other relatively dry, temperate forests, the implications for the regional carbon balance would be substantial.
Rights:	Tots els drets reservats.
Language:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; recerca ; Versió publicada
Subject:	Basal area increment (BAI) ; Climate change ; Climate-growth responses ; CO2 fertilization ; Dendroecology ; Drought ; Pinus sylvestris (Scots pine) ; Tree rings ; Water availability ; Increment en àrea basal (BAI) ; Canvi climàtic ; Creixement del clima respostes ; Fertilització amb CO2 ; Dendroecologia ; Sequera ; Pinus sylvestris (pi roig) ; Anells dels arbres ; Disponibilitat d'aigua ; Incremento en área basal (BAI) ; Cambio climático ; Crecimiento del clima respuestas ; Fertilización con CO2 ; Dendroecología ; Sequía ; Pinus sylvestris (pino silvestre) ; Anillos de los árboles ; Disponibilidad de agua
Published in:	Global change biology, Vol. 14, Núm. 12 ( 2008) , p. 2868-2881, ISSN 1365-2486

DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2486.2008.01685.x

14 p, 379.3 KB

The record appears in these collections:
Research literature > UAB research groups literature > Research Centres and Groups (research output) > Experimental sciences > Grupo de Investigación Métodos y Aplicaciones en Teledetección y Sistemas de Información Geográfica (GRUMETS)
Research literature > UAB research groups literature > Research Centres and Groups (research output) > Experimental sciences > CREAF (Centre de Recerca Ecològica i d'Aplicacions Forestals)
Articles > Research articles
Articles > Published articles