Intra-annual radial growth of Schrenk spruce (Picea schrenkiana Fisch. et Mey) and its response to climate on the northern slopes of the Tianshan Mountains

Schrenk spruce (Picea schrenkiana Fisch. et Mey.) is widely distributed in the Tianshan Mountains. In this study, four Schrenk spruce trees were continuously monitored with dendrometers from 27 April to 30 September 2014 on the northern slopes of the Tianshan Mountains in northwest China. The goal of this monitoring study was to determine the main growing season of Schrenk spruce and to analyze intra-annual radial growth variability and its relation to daily meteorological factors. Our studies have shown that the critical growing season of Schrenk spruce is from late May to late July and that the rapid growth stage is from mid-June to early July. Meanwhile, in the growing season, changes in the radial growth of Schrenk spruce were negatively correlated with daily temperature, evaporation, sunshine hours and vapor pressure deficit (VPD), and were positively correlated with precipitation and relative humidity (RH). The correlation coefficient between radial growth and RH can be as high as 0.750 (Pearson, p < 0.0001, n = 60). Dates in which precipitation occurred corresponded to periods of rapid growth. The results of the climate-growth analysis show that changes in radial growth reflect the effect of water stress on tree growth, whether or not the changes are positively or negatively correlated with the above climatic factors. This indicates that moisture plays a major role in the growth of Schrenk spruce. We suggest that precipitation between late May to late June is a limiting factor for radial growth of Schrenk spruce on the northern slopes of the Tianshan Mountains.