History of forest disturbance recorded by old trees in Xishan Mountain, Beijing

doi:10.17521/cjpe.2023.0173

Abstract

Abstract:

Aims Old trees not only record the climate and environment change information, but also witness the history of social changes. Understanding the history of growth change and disturbance of old trees is useful to accurately assess the health of old trees in the context of global warming and to develop conservation plans.

Methods We used tree-ring methods to analyze the disturbance history of the old trees (Pinus tabuliformis) in the Xishan Mountain of Beijing.

Important findings There were six major growth suppression (1831-1837, 1855-1868, 1882-1891, 1920-1930, 1960-1970 and 1980-1986) and five release events (1820-1830, 1869-1881, 1909-1918, 1947-1959 and 2004-2010). The response analysis of tree growth to climate factors and the historical data showed that drought events and subsequent climatic improvement were the main reasons for growth suppression and release events. Further studies showed that the average growth rate of diameter at breast height of old trees was 2.70 mm·a^-1 before 1840, and then the growth rate of diameter at breast height gradually decreased. After 1980, there was an obvious growth suppression, and the annual average growth rate decreased to 0.38 mm·a^-1. A stronger negative correlation between tree growth and temperature emerged after 1965, and a significant positive correlation emerged for Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI). These results suggest that the warming and drying trend in Beijing in recent years may further negatively affect old trees in the urban area. These results are helpful for further understanding the regularity of forest disturbance in the Beijing area during historical period, and are of great significance for accurately assessing the healthy status of elderly trees in the context of climate change.

Key words: tree-ring, disturbance history, climate change, old tree

ZHANG Qi, CHENG Xue-Han, WANG Shu-Zhi. History of forest disturbance recorded by old trees in Xishan Mountain, Beijing[J]. Chin J Plant Ecol, 2024, 48(3): 341-348.

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URL: https://www.plant-ecology.com/EN/10.17521/cjpe.2023.0173

https://www.plant-ecology.com/EN/Y2024/V48/I3/341

Figures/Tables 7

Fig. 1 Meteorological data of the Beijing meteorological station from 1952 to 2020. P, annual precipitation; PDSI, palmer drought severity index; T, mean air temperature.

Table 1 Basic information of sampled old trees in Xishan Mountain, Beijing

样本号 Sample ID	胸径 DBH (cm)	树高 Tree height (m)	冠幅 Crown diameter (m)	时间区间 Time-span	年龄 Age
YS01	83.4	15.7	16.7	1766-2021	256
YS02	68.8	13.0	14.0	1807-2021	215
YS03	70.4	13.2	13.5	1777-2013	237
YS04	36.6	7.3	7.8	1925-2021	97
YS05	64.4	12.1	11.9	1814-2021	208
YS06	58.8	10.7	10.1	1811-2021	211
YS07	59.6	11.2	10.8	1846-2021	176
YS08	65.0	12.3	12.0	1834-2021	188
YS09	66.6	12.5	13.5	1837-2021	185
YS10	62.8	11.6	12.6	1802-2021	220
YS11	61.8	10.7	11.9	1804-2021	218
YS12	57.8	9.2	9.6	1836-2021	186
YS13	63.2	12.1	10.5	1839-2021	183

Table 2 Statistic characteristics of standard tree-ring chronology of sampled old trees in Xishan Mountain, Beijing

统计特征 Statistical characteristics	数值 Value
样本量 Number of samples	13
标准差 Standard deviation	0.41
序列间平均相关系数 Series intercorrelation coefficient	0.68
一阶自相关系数 First-order autocorrelation coefficient	0.41
信噪比 Signal-to-noise ratio	12.88
群体表达信号(EPS) >85%起始年 Starting year of expressed population signal > 85%	1820

Fig. 2 Tree ring width, tree ring width index and percentage growth change of sampled old trees in Xishan Mountain, Beijing. The grey line represents individual trees and the black line shows the mean of different trees.

Fig. 3 Number of old trees with release and suppression changes over time of sampled old trees in Xishan Mountain, Beijing.

Fig. 4 Correlation coefficients between the standard tree-ring chronology of sampled old trees and climatic factors in Xishan Mountain, Beijing. P, precipitation; PDSI, Palmer drought severity index; T, mean air temperature. “p” and “c” before the numbers at the x-axis represent the month of previous year and current year, respectively. Horizontal dashed and solid lines represent Bonferroni-corrected p levels of 0.05 and 0.01.

Fig. 5 Moving correlation coefficients between the standard tree-ring chronology and climatic factors of sampled old trees in Xishan Mountain, Beijing. The sliding correlation analysis window is set to 30 years. P, annual precipitation; PDSI, Palmer drought severity index; T, mean annual air temperature. “c” before the numbers at the y-axis represent the month of current year.

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