Regional differences in the carbon isotopic compositions of teak from two monsoonal regimes of India

Inter and intra-annual carbon isotope compositions (δ¹³C) of several annual growth rings of teak trees from two monsoonal regimes from India were studied and compared with the corresponding oxygen isotopic (δ¹⁸O) variations. In teak from both the regimes, amplitudes of intra-annual δ¹³C were ∼2-3 times lower than that observed in δ¹⁸O. Seasonal cycle with lower δ¹³C values at the middle and higher at ring boundaries was observed for teak from central India, dominated by the southwest monsoon. Positive correlations of intra-annual δ¹³C values with the corresponding δ¹⁸O values of the same rings and with relative humidity (RH) of the concurrent period suggest a dominant role of RH in controlling δ¹³C values of teak from central India. Intra-annual δ¹³C variations of teak from southern India, receiving both the southwest and northeast monsoons, revealed an initial decreasing trend followed by an increasing trend before culminating in depleted ¹³C values at the end of the growing season. No correlation was observed between intra-annual δ¹³C and δ¹⁸O variations of teak trees from southern India. Regional differences in the climatology of δ¹³C of atmospheric CO₂ or the lengths of growing season could be likely reasons for differing intra-annual δ¹³C variations of teak from the two climatic regimes.     

Dendroclimatology in Kazakhstan

We have reviewed 43 studies related to dendroclimatology in Kazakhstan, and additionally 13 studies related to other subfields of dendrochronology, which have been published during the past 40 years. This review also includes studies published in Russian, Kazakh, German and Chinese languages, which are not easily accessible to international researchers.Dendroclimatic studies in Kazakhstan began back in the days of the Soviet Union and were actively conducted in the southern and northern parts of the country. With the collapse of the Soviet Union dendroclimatic studies stopped and resumed only 15-20 years later. Within the last 5 years, the intensity and quality of dendroclimatic studies increased significantly. Several research groups have investigated climate-growth relationships of Scots pine, Silver birch, Siberian larch, Siever’s apple and Schrenk spruce. Schrenk spruce was the most widely studied of these species, and several climatic reconstructions have been published based off their climate-growth relationships. Results of most studies on Schrenk spruce demonstrated good consistency, allowing the general patterns of climate-growth relationships to be accurately traced. Unfortunately, studies on other tree species have either lower level or represented just by one or two studies. It would therefore be premature to make any generalizations on these species at the current stage.We conclude that there is a good potential and good base for continuing dendroclimatic studies in Kazakhstan. There is a need to close several research gaps which limit our knowledge, such as chronologies’ length, application of new methods, species composition and spatial coverage. Closing these gaps let us significantly improve the dendrochronological network of Kazakhstan and provide important data for further hydrological and climate studies in Kazakhstan.     

Temperature‐growth divergence in white spruce forests of Old Crow Flats,Yukon Territory,and adjacent regions of northwestern North America

We present a new 23‐site network of white spruce ring‐width chronologies near boreal treeline in Old Crow Flats, Yukon Territory, Canada. Most chronologies span the last 300 years and some reach the mid‐16th century. The chronologies exhibit coherent growth patterns before the 1930s. However, since the 1930s, they diverge in trend and exhibit one of two contrasting, but well‐replicated patterns we call Group 1 and Group 2. Over the instrumental period (1930–2007) Group 1 sites were inversely correlated with previous‐year July temperatures while Group 2 sites were positively correlated with growth‐year June temperatures. At the broader northwestern North America (NWNA) scale, we find that the Group 1 and Group 2 patterns are common to a number of white spruce chronologies, which we call NWNA 1 and NWNA 2 chronologies. The NWNA 1 and NWNA 2 chronologies also share a single coherent growth pattern prior to their divergence (ca. 1950s). Comparison of the NWNA 1/NWNA 2 chronologies against gridded 20th‐century temperatures for NWNA and reconstructed northern hemisphere summer temperatures (ad 1300–2000) indicates that all sites responded positively to temperature prior to the mid‐20th century (at least back to ad 1300), but that some changed to a negative response (NWNA 1) while others maintained a positive response (NWNA 2). The spatial extent of divergence implies a large‐scale forcing. As the divergence appears to be restricted to the 20th century, we suggest that the temperature response shift represents a moisture stress caused by an anomalously warm, dry 20th‐century climate in NWNA, as indicated by paleoclimatic records. However, because some sites do not diverge and are located within a few kilometres of divergent sites, we speculate that site‐level factors have been important in determining the susceptibility of sites to the large‐scale drivers of divergence.     

Geographic variation in growth response of Douglas‐fir to interannual climate variability and projected climate change

We used 179 tree ring chronologies of Douglas‐fir [Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco] from the International Tree‐Ring Data Bank to study radial growth response to historical climate variability. For the coastal variety of Douglas‐fir, we found positive correlations of ring width with summer precipitation and temperature of the preceding winter, indicating that growth of coastal populations was limited by summer dryness and that photosynthesis in winter contributed to growth. For the interior variety, low precipitation and high growing season temperatures limited growth. Based on these relationships, we chose a simple heat moisture index (growing season temperature divided by precipitation of the preceding winter and current growing season) to predict growth response for the interior variety. For 105 tree ring chronologies or 81% of the interior samples, we found significant linear correlations with this heat moisture index, and moving correlation functions showed that the response was stable over time (1901–1980). We proceeded to use those relationships to predict regional growth response under 18 climate change scenarios for the 2020s, 2050s, and 2080s with unexpected results: for comparable changes in heat moisture index, the most southern and outlying populations of Douglas‐fir in Mexico showed the least reduction in productivity. Moderate growth reductions were found in the southern United States, and strongly negative response in the central Rocky Mountains. Growth reductions were further more pronounced for high than for low elevation populations. Based on regional differences in the slope of the growth–climate relationship, we propose that southern populations are better adapted to drought conditions and could therefore contain valuable genotypes for reforestation under climate change. The results support the view that climate change may impact species not just at the trailing edges but throughout their range due to genetic adaptation of populations to local environments.     

Negative impacts of high temperatures on growth of black spruce forests intensify with the anticipated climate warming

An increasing number of studies conclude that water limitations and heat stress may hinder the capacity of black spruce (Picea mariana (Mill.) B.S.P.) trees, a dominant species of Canada's boreal forests, to grow and assimilate atmospheric carbon. However, there is currently no scientific consensus on the future of these forests over the next century in the context of widespread climate warming. The large spatial extent of black spruce forests across the Canadian boreal forest and associated variability in climate, demography, and site conditions pose challenges for projecting future climate change responses. Here we provide an evaluation of the impacts of climate warming and drying, as well as increasing [CO₂], on the aboveground productivity of black spruce forests across Canada south of 60°N for the period 1971 to 2100. We use a new extensive network of tree‐ring data obtained from Canada's National Forest Inventory, spatially explicit simulations of net primary productivity (NPP) and its drivers, and multivariate statistical modeling. We found that soil water availability is a significant driver of black spruce interannual variability in productivity across broad areas of the western to eastern Canadian boreal forest. Interannual variability in productivity was also found to be driven by autotrophic respiration in the warmest regions. In most regions, the impacts of soil water availability and respiration on interannual variability in productivity occurred during the phase of carbohydrate accumulation the year preceding tree‐ring formation. Results from projections suggest an increase in the importance of soil water availability and respiration as limiting factors on NPP over the next century due to warming, but this response may vary to the extent that other factors such as carbon dioxide fertilization, and respiration acclimation to high temperature, contribute to dampening these limitations.     

Climate Signals from Tree Ring Chronologies of the Upper and Lower Treelines in the Dulan Region of the Northeastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

The radial growth of trees In mountainous areas is subject to environmental conditions associated with changes In elevation. To assess the sensitivity of tree-ring growth to climate variation over a wide range of elevations, we compared the chronological characteristics of Sabina przewalskii Kom. and their relationships with climatic variables at the upper and lower treellnes In the Dulan region of the northeastern Qlnghal-Tlbetan Plateau. It was found that the radial growth in this region was controlled primarily by precipitation in late spring and early summer （from May to June）. In addition, a higher temperature from April to June could Intensify drought stress and lead to narrow tree rings. The significant similarity In climate-tree growth relationships at both the upper and lower treellnes Indicated that tree rings of S. przewalskU In this region are able to provide common regional climate information. However, the chronologies at the lower forest limits showed a higher standard deviation and more significant correlations with climatic factors, suggesting that the radial growth there was more significantly Influenced by climate variation. The first principal component of the four chronologies showed a common growth response to local climate. The second principal component showed a contrasting growth response between different sampling sites. The third principal component revealed different growth patterns In response to altitudinal variation. Further analysis Indicated that the precipitation In late spring and early summer controlled the growth of S. przewalskii on a regional scale and that other factors, such as mlcroenvlronment at the sampling sites, also affected the strength of the climatic response of tree growth.     

13CO2 pulse-labelling of photoassimilates reveals carbon allocation within and between tree rings

Post-photosynthetic fractionation processes during translocation, storage and remobilization of photoassimilate are closely related to intra-annual sigma13C of tree rings, and understanding how these processes affect tree-ring sigma13C is therefore indispensable for improving the quality of climate reconstruction. Our first objective was to study the relationship between translocation path and phloem grain. We pulse-labelled a branch of Larix gmelinii (Rupr.) Rupr. and later analysed the sigma13C distribution in the stem. A 13C spiral translocation path closely related to the spiral grain was observed. Our second objective was to study the use of remobilized storage material for earlywood formation in spring, which is a suspected cause of the autocorrelation (correlation of ring parameters to the climate in the previous year) observed in (isotope) dendroclimatology. We pulse-labelled whole trees to study how spring, summer and autumn photoassimilate is later used for both earlywood and latewood formation. Analysis of intra-annual sigma13C of the tree rings formed after the labelling revealed that earlywood contained photoassimilate from the previous summer and autumn as well as from the current spring. Latewood was mainly composed of photoassimilate from the current year's summer/autumn, although it also relied on stored material in some cases. These results emphasize the need for separating earlywood and latewood for climate reconstruction work with narrow boreal tree rings.