东北南部蒙古栎径向生长对气候变化的响应——以千山为例

蒙古栎是东北森林中最重要的阔叶树种之一.本研究利用树木年代学方法研究中国东北南部千山地区蒙古栎的径向变化,结合1951—2010年的温度和降水等气象数据,利用相关函数分析了树木生长与气候变化的关系,揭示蒙古栎径向生长对气候响应规律.结果表明：研究区4—7月的降水量与蒙古栎年轮宽度呈显著正相关,是限制该地区蒙古栎径向生长的主要限制因子;5月极端最高温度与蒙古栎年轮宽度呈显著负相关,也是影响蒙古栎生长的关键因素.研究期间,蒙古栎年轮宽度与4月降水量的相关显著且稳定,自20世纪80年代开始蒙古栎径向生长对夏季温度的响应敏感性逐渐减弱,对温度的响应表现出从响应夏季温度向响应春季温度的转变.     

基于日均温度的华山松径向生长敏感温度研究

树干木质部形成周期与温度密切相关,存在影响形成层活动的敏感温度,但是尚未研究尝试从树木年轮中探索影响径向生长的敏感温度。华山主峰的华山松径向生长对气候变化较敏感,且华山西峰的气象站记录了1953年以来气象资料,这为探索树木径向生长与温度的关系提供了宝贵的材料。以华山主峰的华山松年轮资料和日值温度资料为基础,通过分析历年日平均温度的变化过程和年轮宽度、早材宽度、晚材宽度、最小密度以及最大密度的相关性,尝试探索华山松径向生长与日均温度变化的关系。结果表明春季一定温度的初日时间对华山松径向生长有较大的影响,其中3 ℃和8 ℃初日时间和持续时间对年轮宽度的促进作用最明显,而3 ℃对早材宽度影响较大,8℃初日时间对晚材的影响较大;高于11 ℃的温度会对华山松的径向生长造成限制,其中以11 ℃的作用最明显;而温度的终日时间对年轮特征影响较小。说明3 ℃是早材形成的敏感温度,8 ℃是晚材形成的敏感温度,温度高于11 ℃会对华山松的径向生长构成胁迫。这证明华山松年轮特征中包含了较多的气候信息,形成层活动和木质部的生长存在阈值温度,通过分析不同温度的生长期与年轮特征的关系可以找到影响华山松径向生长的敏感温度。这些敏感的温度是通过什么生理过程影响木质部的形成尚无法得知,但是这为解释树木生长对全球温度升高的响应以及利用华山松年轮重建历史气候提供了重要依据。     

东北南部蒙古栎径向生长对气候变化的响应——以千山为例

蒙古栎是东北森林中最重要的阔叶树种之一.本研究利用树木年代学方法研究中国东北南部千山地区蒙古栎的径向变化,结合1951—2010年的温度和降水等气象数据,利用相关函数分析了树木生长与气候变化的关系,揭示蒙古栎径向生长对气候响应规律.结果表明:研究区4—7月的降水量与蒙古栎年轮宽度呈显著正相关,是限制该地区蒙古栎径向生长的主要限制因子;5月极端最高温度与蒙古栎年轮宽度呈显著负相关,也是影响蒙古栎生长的关键因素.研究期间,蒙古栎年轮宽度与4月降水量的相关显著且稳定,自20世纪80年代开始蒙古栎径向生长对夏季温度的响应敏感性逐渐减弱,对温度的响应表现出从响应夏季温度向响应春季温度的转变.     

树木年轮宽度与气候变化关系研究进展

 树木的生长和立地环境密切相关并受多种气候因子的影响。树木年轮宽度的增加与温度、降水、太阳辐射、CO2浓度等气候因子有着复杂的相关关系。在干旱或半干旱地区,温度是限制树木生长的重要气候因子。生长季开始时最低温度的升高有利于延长生长季,与年轮宽度正相关;但是当生长季温度过高时,即使降水非常充裕,当年也只能形成窄年轮。生长季的温度过高则会加快土壤蒸发失水量并提高蒸汽压差,使土壤水分不足而不利于树木生长,因而生长季的高温多表现为与年轮宽度的负相关。生长期内降水量与树木的径向生长也成正相关,但当生长季的降水量充足或过多时,降水对树木径向生长不相关或负相关。受温度和降水共同调控的土壤湿度是树木径向生长的主要限制因子,良好的水分状况对树木生长起决定性作用。某一地区的太阳辐射能量高常会导致高温少雨,故高强度的太阳辐射使表土的湿度降低而不利于树木的径向生长。而在受季风影响的地区,树木年轮宽度的增加与当年雨季的气候变化关系不大。当年季风到来之前的气候（温度和降水）是树木生长的主要限制因子。有关CO2浓度的升高对树木生长的影响,研究的结果很不一致。一些温室实验及田间控制实验证明,CO2浓度的升高能对短命的一年生草本植物和植物幼苗产生“施肥效应”,并有利于其生长;还有些研究证明CO2浓度的升高能使高海拔地带的树木年轮宽度增加;但也有些研究认为CO2浓度的升高对生长在自然条件下的自然植被影响不大。近年来,有关树木径向生长和气候变化的研究越来越引起人们的关注,相关研究也取得了较大的进展。这些研究在帮助人们了解和研究古气候变化对森林植被的影响,以及预测未来全球变化对陆地生态系统的影响等方面有重要的理论和现实意义。综述了气候变化对树木年轮宽度影响的研究进展和应用,并概述了研究方法和发展前景,希望能加快和拓宽这一领域的发展。     

天山东西部雪岭云杉径向生长对气候变暖的响应差异

运用树木年轮气候学方法,研究了天山东西部森林上下限雪岭云杉(Picea schrenkiana)树木生长与气候因子的关系,以期揭示不同地区雪岭云杉径向生长对气候因子响应的差异及气候变暖影响下雪岭云杉的敏感性。结果表明:(1)昭苏地区年轮年表的统计特征更显著,比哈密地区树木径向生长对气候因子的响应更敏感;(2)2个地区树木生长受温度与降水的综合影响,从西部到东部,森林下限树木径向生长与温度的响应由显著正相关转为显著负相关;而森林上限树木生长与降水的关系由显著负相关转变为显著正相关;(3)进入快速升温阶段,气候条件对昭苏和哈密地区森林下限雪岭云杉生长的影响增强,而对哈密地区森林上限雪岭云杉生长的影响减弱;(4)随着温度升高,昭苏森林下限和哈密森林上下限的雪岭云杉径向生长与气候因子的关系均出现了显著变化。快速升温后,4月温度对哈密森林上限树木径向生长的促进作用显著增加,6月温度对昭苏和哈密森林下限树木生长的抑制作用显著增加,而对哈密森林上限树木生长的促进作用显著减弱;5和6月份降水分别对昭苏森林下限和哈密森林上限雪岭云杉径向生长的促进作用显著增加;4月温度和10月降水对哈密森林下限树木生长的抑制作用显著减弱。昭苏森林上限降水能够满足树木生长,气温升高对树木生长与气候因子关系的影响不显著。     

结合微树芯方法的树木生长生理生态学研究进展

近年来迅速发展的微树芯技术(micro-sampling approach)通过每周采集树干木质部的微样芯,并制作生物切片来实时监测整个生长季的树干形成层细胞分裂活动以及木质部的形成过程。与传统的树木年轮学方法相比,微树芯技术能从一个更微观、更准确的角度探索树木内在生理过程及树木生长对外界环境的响应。该文概述了微树芯技术的发展历程和应用前景,并结合国内外研究来阐述利用树木微树芯技术研究树木初级生长和次级生长及其关系,以及在全球变化(升温、干旱以及碳、氮增肥效应)背景下树木年内径向生长的响应机制,为进一步预测森林生产力和固碳潜力以及实现可持续林业经营管理的政府决策提供科学依据。     

基于生长测量仪监测的亚热带地区马尾松多时间尺度径向变化及其与环境因子的关系

树干径向变化的多尺度研究提供了树木生长及其和环境因子关系的详细信息,有助于准确评估全球气候变化背景下森林生态系统碳汇变异。以往树干径向变化研究主要集中在温带和热带地区,且大多数研究方法基于时间分辨率较粗的树木年轮法,然而缺少亚热带地区高时间分辨率树干径向变化的研究。利用树干径向变化记录仪连续监测亚热带地区马尾松13个月的树干径向变化动态,探索不同时间尺度树干径向变化规律及与环境因子的关系。结果表明：（1）在日尺度,马尾松径向变化模式为白天收缩夜晚膨胀,秋冬季节夜晚膨胀没有春夏季明显。（2）在季节尺度,马尾松树干径向变化可分为4个时期,其中3-8月是主要生长月份,4月是累计生长量最大的月份。（3）在日尺度上,相对湿度和饱和水汽压亏缺是调节马尾松径向变化主要环境因素;在季节尺度上,土壤温度对树干径向变化的影响大于空气温度,降水量与相对湿度等水分因素对树干径向生长的促进作用在生长季中后期更为明显。研究结果有助于深入理解亚热带季风气候区树干径向变化及其对环境变化的响应,为气候变化背景下亚热带地区的植树造林设计和森林可持续管理提供依据。     

北亚热带马尾松年轮宽度与NDVI的关系

北亚热带地处暖温带向亚热带的过渡地区,对环境变化较为敏感。因此,研究北亚热带马尾松年轮宽度与森林NDVI的关系对于揭示陆地生态系统对全球气候变化的响应具有重要意义。以马尾松自然分布北界的南郑县和河南省鸡公山自然保护区为研究地点,利用北亚热带马尾松年轮宽度指数和1982-2006年逐月NOAA/AVHRR的归一化植被指数(NDVI)数据及气候数据,在分析年轮宽度及NDVI与气候因子关系的基础上,重点讨论了北亚热带马尾松径向生长与NDVI之间的关系。结果表明:北亚热带NDVI受水热条件的共同控制,其中与月均温相关性较强,且以正相关为主,与月降水量和干旱度指数多负相关;马尾松的径向生长与上一生长季的温度呈正相关,降水和干旱度指数为负相关,当年生长季内的温度和降水以促进作用为主,而与干旱度指数的关系在两地区内相反;南郑县和鸡公山地区年轮宽度与NDVI年值之间关系均不显著(P>0.05)。单月来讲,南郑县3、4、12月NDVI值与年表显著相关,鸡公山地区9月份的NDVI值与差值年表RES相关性最大;南郑县树木生长受温度影响最大,而鸡公山地区受温度和降水的综合作用。因此,在北亚热带地区,长时间序列的年轮宽度数据并不能很好反应NDVI的长期变化,利用树轮宽度指数来重建北亚热带地区NDVI需要进一步研究。     

玉龙雪山不同针叶树种树轮宽度年表特征及其与气候因子的关系北大核心CSCD

为揭示滇西北高原树木径向生长与气候关系的规律,该研究分别在玉龙雪山采集高山松(Pinus densata)、云南松(Pinus yunnanensis)和云南铁杉(Tsuga dumosa)年轮样本,建立3个树种树轮宽度差值年表,将年轮指数与气候因子进行响应分析和冗余分析,以明确影响玉龙雪山树木径向生长的主要气候因子,为该区域森林生态系统的管理保护提供依据,并为探讨气候变化背景下滇西北森林动态提供依据。结果表明:(1)所建立的3个树种树轮宽度差值年表具有较少的低频变化,且离散程度较低、逐年变化共性较高,可代表采样点树木的年轮特征;高山松、云南松和云南铁杉差值年表的平均敏感度依次分别为0.21、0.22和0.17,样本总体代表性分别为0.96、0.96和0.94,均高于0.85的阈值,说明年表中信息具有代表性。(2)响应分析结果显示,高山松径向生长与当年2月的降水量呈显著正相关关系;云南松径向生长与当年5月的平均气温和最高温呈显著负相关关系,与当年10月平均气温呈显著正相关关系;云南铁杉径向生长与当年1月和5月的降水、当年10月相对湿度均呈显著正相关关系,与当年5月最高气温呈显著负相关关系。(3)冗余分析结果显示,当年1月降水、2月降水、5月干旱指数对3个树种均具有促进作用,且5月干旱指数的显著相关性最强;当年10月降水的增加有利于高山松和云南铁杉的径向生长,但对云南松径向生长具有抑制作用。研究认为,当年冬季降水、5月湿润条件以及10月降水是影响玉龙雪山3个树种径向生长的重要环境因子;若干暖化趋势加剧,将不利于滇西北高原3个树种的生长,从而影响区域森林生态系统结构和功能。     

玉龙雪山不同海拔丽江云杉径向生长对气候变异的响应

为研究滇西北高原树木径向生长与气候关系随海拔的变化规律, 分别在玉龙雪山低、中、高海拔采集丽江云杉(Picea likiangensis)年轮样本, 建立了不同海拔丽江云杉树轮宽度残差年表, 将年轮指数与气候因子进行响应分析、冗余分析以及滑动响应分析。结果表明: 玉龙雪山丽江云杉径向生长受气温和降水共同影响, 但不同海拔径向生长响应模式存在差异。其中当年1-3月降水与不同海拔丽江云杉径向生长均呈显著正相关关系; 当年生长季后期降水与中、低海拔树木生长呈显著负相关关系, 与高海拔树木生长呈显著正相关关系; 中、低海拔树木生长还受当年春季干旱胁迫; 而当年7月气温升高促进高海拔丽江云杉生长。冗余分析与响应分析结果基本一致, 说明冗余分析能够有效量化树轮宽度指数与气候因子的关系。滑动响应分析显示气温和降水在小时间尺度上的变化也会影响树木生长。结合不同海拔丽江云杉生长对气候因子的响应模式及未来气候预测, 玉龙雪山高海拔丽江云杉生长将得到加强, 而中、低海拔丽江云杉生长则表现出不确定性。     

山西忻州地区1900-2012年典型森林的健康历史

健康的森林对维持其区域生态系统服务起着至关重要的作用,了解树木的生长历史对评估气候变化背景下森林的健康状况具有促进作用。选择山西高原中北部忻州地区保存较好的4个森林为研究对象,利用树木年轮学方法分析其生长变化特征,获得了该地区森林健康的时间和空间特征。结果表明：该地区森林在过去1个世纪中,存在3次不健康事件（1910-1940、1970-1987和1990-2012年）且在空间上表现出明显的同步性,不同时期的不健康事件持续时间和强度不尽相同,1930s的不健康事件持续时间最长也最为显着。树木径向生长与气象观测资料的相关分析显示,该地区森林生长主要与当年5-6月份温度呈负相关,与7月份降水和5-9月PDSI指数显着正相关。生长季持续的高温或降水减少造成的极端干旱事件是不健康事件空间一致性的主要驱动力,各采样点树种以及林分组成差异是影响时间特征不一致的可能原因。研究结果提供的森林健康历史数据对评估极端气候条件对森林健康生长的影响及制定合理的森林保护措施具有积极的现实意义。     

Tree-ring distinctness,dating potential and climatic sensitivity of laurel forest tree species in Tenerife Island

Macaronesian laurel forests are the only remnants of a subtropical palaeoecosystem dominant during the Tertiary in Europe and northern Africa. These biodiverse ecosystems are restricted to cloudy and temperate insular environments in the North Atlantic Ocean. Due to their reduced distribution area, these forests are particularly vulnerable to anthropogenic disturbances and changes in climatic conditions. The assessment of laurel forest trees’ response to climate variation by dendrochronological methods is limited because it was assumed that the lack of marked seasonality would prevent the formation of distinct annual tree rings. The aims of this study were to identify the presence of annual growth rings and to assess the dendrochronological potential of the most representative tree species from laurel forests in Tenerife, Canary Islands. We sampled increment cores from 498 trees of 12 species in two well-preserved forests in Tenerife Island. We evaluated tree-ring boundary distinctness, dating potential, and sensitivity of tree-ring growth to climate and, particularly, to drought occurrence. Eight species showed clear tree-ring boundaries, but synchronic annual tree rings and robust tree-ring chronologies were only obtained for Laurus novocanariensis, Ilex perado subsp. platyphylla, Persea indica and Picconia excelsa, a third of the studied species. Tree-ring width depended on water balance and drought occurrence, showing sharp reductions in growth in the face of decreased water availability, a response that was consistent among species and sites. Inter-annual tree-ring width variation was directly dependent on rainfall input in the humid period, from previous October to current April. The four negative pointer years 1995, 1999, 2008 and 2012 corresponded to severe drought events in the study area. This study gives the first assessment of dendrochronological potential and tree-ring climate sensitivity of tree species from the Tenerife laurel forest, which opens new research avenues for dendroecological studies in Macaronesian laurel forests.     

Linking drought legacy effects across scales: From leaves to tree rings to ecosystems

Severe drought can cause lagged effects on tree physiology that negatively impact forest functioning for years. These “drought legacy effects” have been widely documented in tree‐ring records and could have important implications for our understanding of broader scale forest carbon cycling. However, legacy effects in tree‐ring increments may be decoupled from ecosystem fluxes due to (a) postdrought alterations in carbon allocation patterns; (b) temporal asynchrony between radial growth and carbon uptake; and (c) dendrochronological sampling biases. In order to link legacy effects from tree rings to whole forests, we leveraged a rich dataset from a Midwestern US forest that was severely impacted by a drought in 2012. At this site, we compiled tree‐ring records, leaf‐level gas exchange, eddy flux measurements, dendrometer band data, and satellite remote sensing estimates of greenness and leaf area before, during, and after the 2012 drought. After accounting for the relative abundance of tree species in the stand, we estimate that legacy effects led to ~10% reductions in tree‐ring width increments in the year following the severe drought. Despite this stand‐scale reduction in radial growth, we found that leaf‐level photosynthesis, gross primary productivity (GPP), and vegetation greenness were not suppressed in the year following the 2012 drought. Neither temporal asynchrony between radial growth and carbon uptake nor sampling biases could explain our observations of legacy effects in tree rings but not in GPP. Instead, elevated leaf‐level photosynthesis co‐occurred with reduced leaf area in early 2013, indicating that resources may have been allocated away from radial growth in conjunction with postdrought upregulation of photosynthesis and repair of canopy damage. Collectively, our results indicate that tree‐ring legacy effects were not observed in other canopy processes, and that postdrought canopy allocation could be an important mechanism that decouples tree‐ring signals from GPP.     

Wildfires affect tree growth and resilience in Northeastern China natural Dahurian larch forests: A dendrochronological perspective

Wildfires are natural and ubiquitous disturbances in boreal forests. Assessing their impacts on tree growth and resilience are particularly important to recognize the adaptation strategies of fire-tolerant species and forest succession in fire conditions. To date, the growth resilience of fire-tolerant species in boreal forests remains largely unquantified, and the drivers of resilience are poorly understood. Here, we measured the tree-ring widths of 99 fire-scarred trees from three sites in natural Dahurian larch (Larix gmelinii) forests. Three moderate-severity fire events in years 1987, 1990, and 2000 occurring at three sites were detected from the records of local forestry bureau. Based on tree-ring width data, we calculated resilience components (i.e., resistance, recovery, resilience and relative resilience) to quantify the responses of growth resilience in the larch trees to fires and analyzed their drivers at three sites. Results indicated that fires significantly reduced the tree growth. With the increasing tree age, these reductions were more pronounced. As for resilience components, our study showed a limited resistance but high recovery of tree growth against fires, and resistance tended to increase northwards but recovery showed the opposite, suggesting a growth-survival tradeoff was exhibited in Dahurian larch trees. With an increasing tree age, regional resistance and resilience showed a decreasing trend, whereas recovery and relative resilience showed an increasing trend. Resilience components were mainly affected by the climatic factors in spring. An increase in moisture availability enhanced resistance, a reduction in diurnal temperature range enhanced recovery, and an increase in mean temperature enhanced resilience and relative resilience. This study reveals that Dahurian larch could be even less favorable when faced with moderate or severe fire events, but a high capacity of recovery enables this species to adapt to the fire-prone condition. Moreover, this work highlights that the resilience of tree growth should be considered to understand tree behaviors and survival strategies of boreal forests following fires across fire-prone regions under future climate warming.     

Climatic signal in growth-rings of Copaifera lucens: An endemic species of a Brazilian Atlantic forest hotspot,southeastern Brazil

In this study, we present the first tree-ring chronology for the tropical tree species Copaifera lucens and its climatic signal in southeastern Brazil. Tree-ring width series were compared with local climate indices using a drought index (Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index —SPEI), in monthly, bi-monthly and four-monthly scales. We also calculated negative pointer years over the time-span of the tree-ring width. The radial growth of C. lucens showed a positive correlation with the SPEI of the current summer and autumn in all the three analyzed time scales, while the negative pointer years matched with drier years. The species was highly sensitive to very low summer precipitation, which may lead to a 49% reduction in growth. We conclude that the long-living C. lucens has a great potential for dendrochronological studies as it shows a marked climatic signal. Our study also reinforces the importance of rainfall in regulating radial growth in tropical forests and sheds light on the local climate influence on tree growth in recent decades.     

Time lag and negative responses of forest greenness and tree growth to warming over circumboreal forests

The terrestrial forest ecosystems in the northern high latitude region have been experiencing significant warming rates over several decades. These forests are considered crucial to the climate system and global carbon cycle and are particularly vulnerable to climate change. To obtain an improved estimate of the response of vegetation activity, e.g., forest greenness and tree growth, to climate change, we investigated spatiotemporal variations in two independent data sets containing the dendroecological information for this region over the past 30 years. These indices are the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI3g) and the tree‐ring width index (RWI), both of which showed significant spatial variability in past trends and responses to climate changes. These trends and responses to climate change differed significantly in the ecosystems of the circumarctic (latitude higher than 67°N) and the circumboreal forests (latitude higher and lower than 50°N and 67°N, respectively), but the way in which they differed was relatively similar in the NDVI3g and the RWI. In the circumarctic ecosystem, the climate variables of the current summer were the main climatic drivers for the positive response to the increase in temperatures showed by both the NDVI3g and the RWI indices. On the other hand, in the circumboreal forest ecosystem, the climate variables of the previous year (from summer to winter) were also important climatic drivers for both the NDVI3g and the RWI. Importantly, both indices showed that the temperatures in the previous year negatively affected the ecosystem. Although such negative responses to warming did not necessarily lead to a past negative linear trend in the NDVI3g and the RWI over the past 30 years, future climate warming could potentially cause severe reduction in forest greenness and tree growth in the circumboreal forest ecosystem.     

Competition and regeneration in quaking aspen–white fir (Populus tremuloides–Abies concolor) forests in the Northern Sierra Nevada,USA

Question: How does competition between quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides) and white fir (Abies concolor) affect growth and spatial pattern of each species? Location: The northern Sierra Nevada, California, USA. Methods: In paired plots in mixed aspen‐ (n=3) or white fir‐dominated (n=2) stands, we mapped trees and saplings and recorded DBH, height, species, and condition and took increment cores. We tallied seedlings by species. Tree ring widths were used as a measure of basal area change over the last decade, and canopy openness was identified using hemispherical photographs. Linear mixed models were used to relate neighborhood indices of competition, stand, and tree‐level variables to diameter increment. Spatial patterns of stems were identified using the Neighborhood Density Function. Results: White fir radial growth was higher in aspen‐ than white fir‐dominated plots. Individual‐level variables were more important for white fir than for aspen growth, while variables representing competitive neighborhood were important only for aspen. The forest canopy was more open in aspen‐ than white fir‐dominated stands, but ample aspen seedlings were observed in all stands. Canopy stems of aspen and white fir were randomly distributed, but saplings and small trees were clumped. Aspen saplings were repelled by canopy aspen stems. Conclusions: Variation in canopy openness explained more stand–stand variation in white fir than aspen growth, but high light levels were correlated with recruitment of aspen seedlings to the sapling class. Radial growth of aspen was predicted by indices of neighborhood competition but not radial growth of white fir, indicating that spacing and stem arrangement was more important for aspen than white fir growth. Fire suppression has removed a major disturbance mechanism that promoted aspen persistence and reduced competition from encroaching conifers, and current forests favor species that regenerate best by advance regeneration (white fir).     

Amazon drought and forest response: Largely reduced forest photosynthesis but slightly increased canopy greenness during the extreme drought of 2015/2016

Amazon droughts have impacted regional ecosystem functioning as well as global carbon cycling. The severe dry‐season droughts in 2005 and 2010, driven by Atlantic sea surface temperature (SST) anomaly, have been widely investigated in terms of drought severity and impacts on ecosystems. Although the influence of Pacific SST anomaly on wet‐season precipitation has been well recognized, it remains uncertain to what extent the droughts driven by Pacific SST anomaly could affect forest greenness and photosynthesis in the Amazon. Here, we examined the monthly and annual dynamics of forest greenness and photosynthetic capacity when Amazon ecosystems experienced an extreme drought in 2015/2016 driven by a strong El Niño event. We found that the drought during August 2015–July 2016 was one of the two most severe meteorological droughts since 1901. Due to the enhanced solar radiation during this drought, overall forest greenness showed a small increase, and 21.6% of forests even greened up (greenness index anomaly ≥1 standard deviation). In contrast, solar‐induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF), an indicator of vegetation photosynthetic capacity, showed a significant decrease. Responses of forest greenness and photosynthesis decoupled during this drought, indicating that forest photosynthesis could still be suppressed regardless of the variation in canopy greenness. If future El Niño frequency increases as projected by earth system models, droughts would result in persistent reduction in Amazon forest productivity, substantial changes in tree composition, and considerable carbon emissions from Amazon.     

Climatic impact on tree-ring widths in Abies borisii-regis forests from South-East Albania

The long-term radial growth responses to drought and climatic variability of less-studied species such as Abies borisii-regis (Mattf.) remain poorly understood.We tested the hypothesis that severe short-term drought conditions during summer months will impact the radial growth of A. borisii-regis (Mattf.) trees and such impact will have a more pronounced effect on latewood (LW) than earlywood (EW) width.Correlation analysis was employed to investigate the impact of climatic drivers (temperature, precipitation) and drought, using the Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI) calculated at cumulative time scales (1–12 months), on EW, LW and tree-ring width (TRW) in A. borisii-regis (Mattf.) trees from South-Eastern Albania.We found that EW width was positively correlated with precipitation in July and previous September, while the LW width and TRW was enhanced by the current June–July precipitation. Previous autumn and current summer high temperatures constrained the radial growth in A. borisii-regis (Mattf.) trees, particularly the LW and TRW. All the tree-ring widths components showed the highest significant response to drought at short cumulative time scales (<4 months) mainly during July, August and September. The highest impact of drought was observed for the LW width.Under a future reduction of summer precipitation and temperature increase, the A. borisii-regis (Mattf.) may show a decrease in EW formation, causing a decline of radial growth, leading to a reduction in hydraulic conductivity and carbon uptake in these forests.