Age-specific responses to climate identified in the growth of Quercus alba |
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Authors: | Carolyn A Copenheaver Christopher J Crawford Todd M Fearer |
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Institution: | (1) Department of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24060, USA;(2) Department of Geography, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA;(3) Appalachian Mountains Joint Venture, Conservation Management Institute, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA |
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Abstract: | The objective of this research was to determine whether the dendroclimatic responses of young Quercus alba (aged 29–126 years) differ from those of old Q. alba (149–312 years). We collected Q. alba increment cores across a range of size classes from Buffalo Mountain Natural Area Preserve, an oak-hickory forest in southcentral
Virginia, USA. Tree cores were crossdated and raw ring widths were detrended to remove the influence of increasing circumference
with age, microsite, and local stand dynamics. Standardized ring widths were averaged to develop two master chronologies from
the 20 oldest and youngest trees. Ring-width indices were correlated with temperature, precipitation, and Palmer Drought Severity
Index (PDSI). Annual tree-ring growth in old and young Q. alba was significantly correlated with precipitation from the previous growing season, but was not significantly correlated with
temperature. Only the old trees showed a significant correlation between annual ring width and PDSI. These results may indicate
that growth in old trees is more sensitive to drought than in young trees. If future climate change includes the predicted
increase in mid-growing season droughts, tree-level responses are likely to be age-dependent with older trees experiencing
relatively greater reductions in growth. |
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