Intra-Annual Radial Growth of Pinus kesiya var. langbianensis Is Mainly Controlled by Moisture Availability in the Ailao Mountains, Southwestern China
Open Access
- 11 October 2019
- Vol. 10 (10), 899
- https://doi.org/10.3390/f10100899
Abstract
Intra-annual monitoring of tree growth dynamics is increasingly applied to disentangle growth-change relationships with local climate conditions. However, such studies are still very limited in subtropical regions which show a wide variety of climate regimes. We monitored stem radius variations (SRV) of Pinus kesiya var. langbianensis (Szemao pine) over five years (2012–2015 and 2017) in the subtropical monsoon mountain climate of the Ailao Mountains, Yunnan Province, southwest China. On average, the stem radial growth of Szemao pine started in early March and ended in early October, and the highest growth rates occurred during May to June. Stem radius increments were synchronous with precipitation events, while tree water deficit corresponded to the drought periods. Correlation analysis and linear mixed-effects models revealed that precipitation and relative humidity are the most important limiting factors of stem radial increments, whereas air temperature and vapor pressure deficit significantly affected tree water balance and may play an important role in determining the growing season length and seasonality (i.e., duration, start, and cessation). This study reveals that moisture availability plays a major role for tree growth of P. kesiya var langbianensis in the Ailao Mountains, southwest China.Keywords
Funding Information
- National Natural Science Foundation of China (31770533, 31861133007)
- National Key Research Development Program of China (2016YFC0502105)
This publication has 39 references indexed in Scilit:
- Are trees able to grow in periods of stem shrinkage?New Phytologist, 2016
- Diel growth dynamics in tree stems: linking anatomy and ecophysiologyTrends in Plant Science, 2015
- Separating water‐potential induced swelling and shrinking from measured radial stem variations reveals a cambial growth and osmotic concentration signalPlant, Cell & Environment, 2015
- Meteorological forcing of day-to-day stem radius variations of beech is highly synchronic on opposing aspects of a valleyAgricultural and Forest Meteorology, 2013
- Influence of climate on seasonal patterns of stem increment of balsam fir in a boreal forest of Québec, CanadaAgricultural and Forest Meteorology, 2012
- Monitoring seasonal dynamics of wood formationDendrochronologia, 2011
- A global overview of drought and heat-induced tree mortality reveals emerging climate change risks for forestsForest Ecology and Management, 2010
- Impacts of climate change on natural forest productivity – evidence since the middle of the 20th centuryGlobal Change Biology, 2006
- Intra-annual radial growth and water relations of trees: implications towards a growth mechanismJournal of Experimental Botany, 2006
- Tree and forest functioning in an enriched CO2 atmosphereNew Phytologist, 1998