Radial growth in Qinghai spruce is most sensitive to severe drought in the Qilian Mountains of Northwest China

Global warming and frequent extreme drought events lead to tree death and extensive forest decline,but the underlying mechanism is not clear.In drought years,cambial development is more sensitive to climate change,but in different phenological stages,the response rela-tionship is nonlinear.Therefore,the dynamic relationship between tree radial growth and climatic/environmental fac-tors needs to be studied.We thus continuously monitored radial growth of Qinghai spruce(Picea crassifolia Kom.)and environmental factors from January 2021 to November 2022 using point dendrometers and portable meteorological weather stations in the central area of the Qilian Mountains.The relationship and stability between the radial growth of Qinghai spruce and environmental factors were compared for different levels of drought in 2021 and 2022.The year 2022 had higher temperatures and less precipitation and was drier than 2021.Compared with 2021,the growing period in 2022 for Qinghai spruce was 10 days shorter,maximum growth rate(Grmax)was 4.5μm·d^(-1) slower,and the initiation of growth was 6 days later.Growth of Qinghai spruce was always restricted by drought,and the stem radial increment(SRI)was more sensitive to precipitation and air relative humidity.Seasonal changes in cumulative radial growth were divided into four phenological stages according to the time of growth onset,cessation,and maximum growth rate(Grmax)of Qinghai spruce.Stability responses of SRI to climate change were stronger in Stage 3 and Stage 4 of 2021 and stronger in Stage 1(initiation growth stage)and Stage 3 of 2022.The results provide important information on the growth of the trees in response to drought and for specific managing forests as the climate warms.

Development of Digital Multi-function Dendrometer

Multi-functional dendrometer is a kind of forestry tool that can measure multiple factors of forest.By combining sensor technology and computer technology,a digital multi-function dendrometer has been developed,which integrated the functions of measuring height,distance,azimuth, slope,elevation,form quotient of any parts of the stem into one body at the same test.The dendrometer can fit the complex forest environment,solve the difficult problems in aspects of plant height,measure distance,central diameter and form quotient of breast height.The accuracy can meet the requirements of general forest survey.

祁连山东部青杄年内径向生长动态对气候的响应

树木径向生长对气候因子的响应是树轮气候学的基础。在我国西北地区,虽然已有大量的树轮-气候响应研究,但是响应分析多基于数理统计结果,缺乏对树木生长过程的理解。基于此,于2013年到2015年在祁连山东部吐鲁沟国家森林公园内通过Dendrometer连续监测了树轮气候重建中常用树种青杄的径向生长,通过平均值法提取2013到2015年生长季内不同时间尺度(1天、7天、10天)的平均径向生长量及对应时间段的平均气候状况。不同时间尺度径向生长量和气候因子的相关分析结果表明,时间尺度的延长削弱了树干水分昼夜变化的干扰,但水分仍然是青杄径向生长的限制因子。为了进一步分析青杄径向生长与气候关系随时间的变化情况,以31天为窗口将日径向生长量与气候要素每隔一天进行滑动相关,结果显示:5、7月青杄的径向生长与降水的关系稳定,都呈显著正相关,但是6月降水的年际变率较大,导致树木可利用水分的变幅也较大,因而树木径向生长与6月水分的响应关系不稳定,存在较大的年际差异,而这可能是一些树轮-气候响应研究中轮宽与6月降水关系不显著的原因。

暖温带马尾松茎干径向变化特征及其对环境因子的响应

探究短时间(月、日)尺度上马尾松生长动态变化及其与环境因子之间的关系,为理解和预测气候变暖对马尾松生长的影响提供科学依据。从2019年6月-2020年5月,通过树干径向生长测量仪(DENDROMETER)和小型气象站,对马尾松茎干年内径向变化和同期环境数据进行连续监测。结果表明:1)马尾松茎干径向日变化呈现昼缩夜胀的基本规律,马尾松茎干半径在8:00-16:00下降到最小值,16:00至次日8:00上升到最大值,年内径向变化范围为-54.4~38.1μm。2)马尾松月累积茎干径向变化量存在2个峰值,分别出现在6月和9月,为943.3μm和823.6μm。3)在非生长季(11月至次年2月),马尾松日径向变化量与土壤含水量、空气湿度、降水量存在正相关关系(P<0.05),与VPD存在负相关关系(P<0.01)。在生长季初期(3-5月),马尾松日径向变化量与空气温度、土壤温度和VPD呈极显著正相关(P<0.01),与土壤含水量呈极显著负相关。但在生长季中后期(6-10月),马尾松日径向变化量与空气温度、土壤温度和VPD的相关关系由正转负,与土壤含水量的相关关系由负转正。这种转变主要是因为生长季初期,较高的温度和土壤含水量有利于马尾松日径向变化量的增加,而生长季中后期,过高的温度和较低的土壤含水量则抑制马尾松日径向变化量的增加。研究结果有助于进一步了解暖温带马尾松树木茎干的径向变化及其对环境变化的响应特征,为判断马尾松未来的生长趋势提供科学依据。

Variation in growth potential between hybrid clones of Eucalyptus trees in eastern South Africa

Growth of commercial forestry is highly dependent on the availability of fast-growing planting materials. Consequently, the efficient utilization of fastgrowing plantations can greatly impact productivity. The objectives of this study were to evaluate variations in the growth potential of two clones and to estimate the average stem radial growth advantage of a fast-growing clone using data obtained from Sappi landholdings in eastern South Africa and a mixed modelling approach that permits the incorporation of covariance structure into the statistical model. During the first 2 years of growth, the stem radius of nine trees each of two clones was measured using dendrometer attached to the tree. A second-degree fractional polynomial model was chosen to show the functional relationship between stem radius and tree age. Growth of the two hybrid clones differed significantly. The Eucalyptus grandis×Eucalyptus urophylla clone grew faster than the E. grandis×camaldulensis clone, indicating better genetic potential for rapid growth and yield. This study can be considered as starting point to further compare the potential for rapid growth of several hybrid clones using the longitudinal data modelling approach.

Additive mixed models to study the effect of tree age and climatic factors on stem radial growth of Eucalyptus trees

The effect of tree age and climatic variables on stem radial growth of two hybrid clones of Eucalyptus was determined using longitudinal data from eastern South Africa.The stem radius of was measured weekly as the response variable.In addition to tree age,average weekly temperature,solar radiation,relative humidity and wind speed were simultaneously recorded with total rainfall at the site.An additive mixed effects model that incorporates a non-parametric smooth function was used.The results of the analysis indicate that the relationship between stem radius and each of the covariates can be explained by nonlinear functions.Models that account for the effect of clone and season together with their interaction in the parametric part of the additive mixed model were also fitted.The interaction between clone and season was not significant in all cases.For analyzing the joint effect all the covariates,additive mixed models that included two or more covariates were fitted.A significant effect of tree age was found in all cases.Although tree age was the key determinant of stem radial growth,weather variables also had a significant effect that was dependent on season.

Climate and seasonal rainfall anomalies along an elevational gradient in the El Sira Mountains,Peru,and their impacts on tree radial growth

The explicit purpose of this study was to characterize climate and vegetation along the western slope of the El Sira Mountains(Peru)and evaluate radial tree growth in response to seasonal rainfall anomalies.From May 2011 until September 2015,we monitored radial stem growth of 67 trees using point dendrometers and measured climate within five sites along an altitudinal gradient.The transect extends from lowland terra firme forests,over submontane forests,late and mid successional montane cloud forests up to exposed elfin forests.Monthly rainfall estimates by the TRMM PR satellite(product 3B42)were highly correlated with our rain gauge observations but underestimate rainfall at high altitudes.Different intra-annual tree growth patterns could be identified within each elevational forest type,showing species with strictly seasonal growth,continuous growth or alternating growth patterns independent of the seasons.Stem growth at each site was generally larger during rainy seasons,except for the elfin forest.The rainy season from October 2013 to March 2014 was extraordinarily dry,with only 73%of long-term mean precipitation received,which resulted in reduced radial growth,again with the exception of the elfin forest.This indicates that montane tropical rain forests may suffer from prolonged droughts,while exposed ridges with elfin forests still receive plenty of precipitation and benefit from receiving more solar radiation for photosynthesis.

Environmental control of daily stem radius increment in the montane conifer Cedrus libani

Growth response of conifers is species-specific and depends on site and climate conditions.Studies on daily radial stem growth use different analytical approaches to determine species reactions to environmental conditions.These results contribute to improve forecasts of tree growth under a changing climate.During 2013 and2014,radial stem growth of 33 mature Cedrus libani individuals growing under different climatic conditions in Turkey and Germany was monitored hourly using high precision point dendrometers.Stem radius increments(SRI)were extracted from dendrometer readings.The annual course of SRI showed site-specific patterns with mean daily values ranging between 9.9 and 29.3μm over the growing season.Correlation and principal component analyses indicated that humidity and low temperatures during the growing season favored SRI.Multiple regression analyses demonstrated that precipitation and relative air humidity were the most important factors influencing daily SRI.Climate-growth relationships were further evaluated using the regression tree method.Precipitation was the most significant factor on daily SRI for all sites.The close coupling of SRI to relative air humidity and precipitation underlines the importance of stem water status for radial stem growth of C.libani which is native to regions with summer drought.It further explains the superior growth of C.libani in Germany.

Growth at the microscale:long term thinning effects on patterns and timing of intra-annual stem increment in radiata pine

Background: Stem radial growth in forests is not uniform. Rather, it is characterized by periods of relatively fast or slow growth, or sometimes no growth at all. These fluctuations are generally a function of varying environmental conditions(e.g. water availability) and, importantly, will also be associated with adjustments in proprties in the wood formed. Stand level conditions and forest management, particularly thinning and stand density will, thowever, also have a major influence on patterns of growth variation. We explore how different thinning histories and/or stand densities influence these dynamics of tree growth in the important commercial plantation species Pinus radiata D. Don.Methods: Daily stem size change was measured using electronic point dendrometers over two growing seasons on P. radiata trees at two sites, subjected to different thinning regimes. Timing, rates and periodicity of annual growth were calculated from these data.Results: Greater overall cross-sectional growth in thinned plots was driven mainly by two dynamics. First, the cessation of seasonal growth occurred at least 3 weeks later in the stands in which thinning had taken place. There was no difference between thinned/unthinned stands, however, in the timing of growth onset. Second, within the longer season, trees in thinned plots had more growth days(as much as 20% more) than unthinned plots. The rates of growth on days when growth occurred were not different, however. In this context, it is notable that in trees in the unthinned plots experiencing the most severe competition there were strong "pulses" of growth following drought-breaking rainfall events. Unthinned plots at high stand densities also maintained a smaller(but consistent) zone of dividing cells throughout the season than thinned plots.Conclusions: In Pinus radiata growing under conditions as in our study, conditions late in summer, particularly drought, have an important effect on the timing of cessation of growth. Early season temperature appears to have no effect in determining timing of annual growth. Limiting conditions during the season reduce growing duration, and thus total growth, more in unthinned stands than thinned stands. These findings are valuable in developing new generations of fine-scale growth and wood property models.

Research progress in monitoring and simulating stem radius growth:an overview

Traditional dendroclimatology research is based on the statistical correlation between tree-ring chronology and modem observation data, but lacks consideration of the mechanisms of tree-ring growth. In order to reconstruct past climatic conditions more reliably, the response of stem radius growth dynamics should be studied in detail. At present, in intemational researches, monitoring and simulation methods are generally treated as two separate approaches. The monitoring method generally consists of dendrometer measurements, micro-coring, and pinning. Here, we present the research progress of stem radius growth dynamics studies derived from these methods, and provide prospects for future study.

祁连山西部青海云杉径向生长对气候因子的响应

利用树木径向生长监测仪(Dendrometer)和自动气象站在祁连山西部对8棵青海云杉的径向生长及环境因子进行了连续监测研究。结果表明:Gompertz函数拟合结果显示,2018—2020年青海云杉的径向生长分别开始于4月19日、4月17日和4月10日,在日平均气温超过5.5℃时径向生长开始;青海云杉生长结束时间分别为8月17日、8月21日和7月19日,生长结束时间与生长季末期降水量有关。研究区青海云杉径向生长量受干旱抑制强烈,其中与7月的日均温(负相关)和日降水量(正相关)相关性最高,与生长季初期(5月)的日降水量的相关关系存在年际间差异。

Different Patterns of Changes in the Dry Season Diameter at Breast Height of Dominant and Evergreen Tree Species in a Mature Subtropical Forest in South China

Information on changes in diameter at breast height （DBH） is important for net primary production （NPP） estimates, timing of forest inventory, and forest management. In the present study, patterns of DBH change were measured under field conditions during the dry season for three dominant and native tree species in a monsoon evergreen broad-leaved forest in the Dinghushan Biosphere Reserve. For each tree species, different patterns of DBH change were observed. In the case of the fast-growing tree species Castanopsis chinensis Hance, large diurnal fluctuations occur, with a peak DBH in the early morning （around 05：00 h） that decreases to a minimum by about 14：00 h. Both Schima superba Gardn. et Chemp and Cryptocarya chinensis （Hance） Hemsh exhibited less diurnal swelling and shrinkage. Diurnal fluctuations for these species were observed on a few occasions over the period of observation. Graphical comparisons and statistical analysis of changes in DBH with meteorological variables indicate that for different trees, the different changes in DBH observed responded to different meteorological variables. Large stem changes were found to occur for Ca. chinensis trees that were associated with variations in solar radiation. However, both S. superba and Cr. chinensis were found to be less sensitive to solar radiation. Changes in the DBH of these two species were found to be controlled mainly by soil temperature and soil moisture. During the later dry season, with a lower soil temperature and soil moisture, all three tree species stopped growing and only negligible shrinkage, expansion, or fluctuation occurred, suggesting that the optimum time to measure tree growth in the Dinghushan Biosphere Reserve is the later dry season.