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Detecting snow-related signals in radial growth of Pinus uncinata mountain forests
- Source :
- Digital.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC, instname
- Publication Year :
- 2019
-
Abstract
- Climate warming is responsible for observed reduction in snowpack depth and an earlier and faster melt-out in many mountains of the Northern Hemisphere. Such changes in mountain hydroclimate could negatively affect productivity and tree growth in high-elevation forests, but few studies have investigated how and where recent warming trends and changes in snow cover influence forest growth. A network comprising 36 high-elevation Pinus uncinata forests was sampled in the NE Iberian Peninsula, mainly across the Spanish Pyrenees, using dendrochronology to relate tree radial growth to a detailed air temperature and snow depth data. Radial growth was negatively influenced by a longer winter snow season and a higher late-spring snowpack depth. Notably, the effect of snow on tree growth was found regardless the widely reported positive effect of growing-season air temperatures on P. uncinata growth. No positive influence of moisture from spring snowmelt on annual growth of P. uncinata was detected in sampled forests. Tall trees showed a lower growth responsiveness to snow than small trees. Decreasing trends in winter and spring snow depths were detected at most Pyrenean forests, suggesting that the growth of high-elevation P. uncinata forests can beneficiate for a shallower and of shorter duration snowpack associated with warmer conditions. However, water-limited sites located on steep slopes or on rocky substrates, with poor soil-water holding capacity, could experience drought stress because of early depleted snow-related soil moisture.<br />This study was funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness [grant numbers CGL2014-52599-P (IBERNIEVE), CGL2017-82216-R (HIDROIBERNIEVE)]. A. Sanmiguel-Vallelado is supported by a University Professor Training grant [grant number FPU16/00902] funded by the Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport.
- Subjects :
- 0106 biological sciences
010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences
Ecology
Global warming
Pyrenees
Northern Hemisphere
Plant Science
Snowpack
Snow
Tree-ring width
01 natural sciences
Dendroecology
Productivity (ecology)
Snowmelt
Dendrochronology
Environmental science
Subalpine forests
Physical geography
Water content
human activities
010606 plant biology & botany
0105 earth and related environmental sciences
Subjects
Details
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Digital.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC, instname
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....c10911e5f7474b806fb7ae0f047d8ca0