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Understanding the magnitude and cause of variation in tree growth and forest productivity is central to sustainable forest management. Measurements of annual growth rings allow assessments of individual-tree, tree population, and forest ecosystem vulnerabilities to drought stress or other changing forest disturbance regimes (insects, diseases, fire), which can be used to identify areas at greatest risk of forest losses. Given a heightened demand for tree-ring data, we consolidated and synthesized tree-ring studies and datasets gathered over the past 30 years in Canada by scientists with the Canadian Forest Service and research partners. We incorporated these datasets into a data repository that currently contains tree-ring measurements from 40 206 tree samples from 4594 sites and 62 tree species from all Canadian provinces and territories. Through our synthesis, we demonstrate the value of such large ensembles of tree-ring data for identifying patterns in tree growth over large spatial scales by mapping pan-Canadian drought sensitivity. Overall, we found high coherence in the samples analyzed; low coherence was generally limited to data-poor regions and species. Drought sensitivity was widespread across species and regions: 34% of sampled trees displayed a significant positive relationship between annual growth increment and summer soil moisture index. Dependence upon water availability in species Picea mariana (Mill.) BSP, Pinus banksiana Lamb., Pinus contorta Douglas ex Loudon, and Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco was more strongly expressed in the warmest regions of the species' range; for species Picea glauca (Moench) Voss and Populus tremuloides Michx., drought sensitivity was stronger in the driest regions. This unprecedented consolidation and synthesis of tree-ring data will enable new research initiatives (e.g., meta-analyses) aimed at improved understanding of the drivers, patterns, and implications of changes in tree growth, as well as facilitating new research collaborations in earth and environmental sciences. Among other things, there is a need for expanding the spatial distribution of sites across Canada's northern regions, increasing the number of samples collected from older stands and angiosperm species, and integrating datasets from studies that evaluate the effects of silvicultural experiments, including provenance and progeny trials, on tree growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding interactions between competition and climate in relation to their effects on individual tree growth is crucial to the development of climate-sensitive growth models required for modelling boreal forest succession in a changing climate. We used data from permanent growth and yield sample plots in western Canada and Alaska to investigate the impact of competition within a regional gradient of climatic conditions for lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta Douglas ex Loudon), jack pine (Pinus banksiana Lamb.), trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.), balsam poplar (Populus balsamifera L.), white spruce (Picea glauca (Moench) Voss), and black spruce (Picea mariana (Mill.) Britton, Sterns & Poggenb.). We characterized the effects of competition (basal area of spruce–fir, deciduous, and pine trees larger than the focal tree) and climate (mean annual temperature and precipitation) and their interactions on basal area growth of individual trees using linear mixed-effects models. Our results indicated that intraspecific competition had stronger effects on growth than interspecific competition and climate. Moreover, significant interactions between intraspecific competition and climate suggest that an increase in intraspecific competition will lead to a reduction in tree growth for warmer regions (lodgepole pine, trembling aspen, balsam poplar, and white spruce) and wetter regions (jack pine). The manner in which interspecific competition altered tree growth responses to climate was variable, depending on tree species and competition type. These results indicate that the relationships between growth and climate may differ according to the degree of competition and the structure of the stand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]