Relationship of tree growth and climatic factors at treeline of Picea likiangensis var. balfouriana forest in Basu County, Xizang

doi:10.17521/cjpe.2015.0043

Abstract

Abstract: Aims

Temperature is usually hypothesized to be the primary climate factor limiting tree growth at high elevation. We test this hypothesis by investigating the tree growth and climate factors at treeline ecotone on the southeastern Xizang Plateau.

Methods

Tree-ring samples of Picea likiangensis var. balfouriana were collected at treeline ecotone in Kese Village, Bangda Town, Basu County, Xizang. These samples were polished, measured, crossdated, and detrended to produce sequences of tree-ring width indices for each individual sample. Pearson correlation coefficients were calculated among each pair of the individual samples. Correlation between tree-ring sequences and climatic factors (air temperature and precipitation) were also calculated to examine tree-ring responses to air temperature, precipitation.

Important findings

At the treeline ecotone of P. likiangensis var. balfouriana, air temperature had little effect on tree-ring growth. Precipitation in growing season had a strong effect on tree growth with large variation among individual trees. Our results suggest that temperature sensitivity of tree growth might be over-estimated at treeline ecotone on the southeastern Xizang Plateau.

Key words: timberline, growing season precipitation, winter temperature, individual difference, cluster analysis

LIU Juan,DENG Xu,LÜ Li-Xin. Relationship of tree growth and climatic factors at treeline of Picea likiangensis var. balfouriana forest in Basu County, Xizang[J]. Chin J Plan Ecolo, 2015, 39(5): 442-452.

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URL: https://www.plant-ecology.com/EN/10.17521/cjpe.2015.0043

https://www.plant-ecology.com/EN/Y2015/V39/I5/442

Figures/Tables 7

Fig. 1 Diagram of Picea likiangensis var. balfouriana diameter distribution at treeline ecotone in Kese Village, Bangda Town, Basu County, Xizang. The size of each circle is proportional to diameter at breast height (DBH) of the corresponding tree. The number represents the corresponding tree.

Fig. 2 Age classes of Picea likiangensis var. balfouriana forest at treeline ecotone in Kese Village, Bangda Town, Basu County, Xizang.

Fig. 3 Average tree-ring widths of trees at the sampling site.

Fig. 4 Correlation coefficients among tree-ring sequences of Picea likiangensis var. balfouriana at treeline ecotone in Kese Village, Bangda Town, Basu County, Xizang. The number represents the corresponding tree. ●, positive value; ○, negative value. The shaded background denotes significance at p < 0.05 level of Pearson correlation.

Fig. 5 Correlation between climatic factors (temperature and precipitation) and tree-ring sequences of Picea likiangensis var. balfouriana at treeline ecotone in Kese Village, Bangda Town, Basu County, Xizang. Each number represents the corresponding tree.●, positive value; ○, negative value. The shaded background denotes significance at p < 0.05 level of Pearson correlation. The prefix ‘p’ indicates months in the preceding year of tree ring formation.

Fig. 6 Cluster dendrogram of tree growth-climate (air temperature and precipitation) relationships of Picea likiangensis var. balfouriana at treeline ecotone in Kese Village, Bangda Town, Basu County, Xizang.

Fig. 7 Comparisons of altitude gradient, diameter at breast height, tree age, tree-ring widths among cluster groups of of Picea likiangensis var. balfouriana at treeline ecotone in Kese Village, Bangda Town, Basu County, Xizang.

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