Tree Rings Reveal the Impact of Soil Temperature on Larch Growth in the Forest-Steppe of Siberia

Forests

Konstantin V. Krutovsky¹  Eugene A. Vaganov²  Dina F. Zhirnova³  Elena A. Babushkina³  Liliana V. Belokopytova³  David M. Meko⁴ 

[1] Department of Forest Genetics and Forest Tree Breeding, Georg-August University of Göttingen, D-37077 Göttingen, Germany;Institute of Ecology and Geography, Siberian Federal University, 660036 Krasnoyarsk, Russia;Khakass Technical Institute, Siberian Federal University, 655017 Abakan, Russia;Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721-0045, USA;

关键词: climate–growth relationship;    dendroclimatology;    larch;    soil temperature;    tree rings;   

DOI  :  10.3390/f12121765

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Dendroclimatology has focused mainly on the tree growth response to atmospheric variables. However, the roots of trees directly sense the “underground climate,” which can be expected to be no less important to tree growth. Data from two meteorological stations approximately 140 km apart in southern Siberia were applied to characterize the spatiotemporal dynamics of soil temperature and the statistical relationships of soil temperature to the aboveground climate and tree-ring width (TRW) chronologies of Larix sibirica Ledeb. from three forest–steppe stands. Correlation analysis revealed a depth-dependent delay in the maximum correlation of TRW with soil temperature. Temperatures of both the air and soil (depths 20–80 cm) were shown to have strong and temporally stable correlations between stations. The maximum air temperature is inferred to have the most substantial impact during July–September (R = −0.46–−0.64) and early winter (R = 0.39–0.52). Tree-ring indices reached a maximum correlation with soil temperature at a depth of 40 cm (R = −0.49–−0.59 at 40 cm) during April–August. High correlations are favored by similar soil characteristics at meteorological stations and tree-ring sites. Cluster analysis of climate correlations for individual trees based on the K-means revealed groupings of trees driven by microsite conditions, competition, and age. The results support a possible advantage of soil temperature over air temperature for dendroclimatic analysis of larch growth in semiarid conditions during specific seasons.

【 授权许可】

Unknown