Abstract
Hot droughts, droughts attributed to below-average precipitation and exceptional warmth, are increasingly common in the twenty-first century, yet little is known about their effect on coniferous tree growth because of their historical rarity. In much of the American West, including California, radial tree growth is principally driven by precipitation, and narrow ring widths are typically associated with either drier or drought conditions. However, for species growing at high elevations (e.g., Larix lyalli, Pinus albicaulis), growth can be closely aligned with above-average temperatures with maximum growth coinciding with meteorological drought, suggesting that the growth effects of drought span from adverse to beneficial depending on location. Here, we compare radial growth responses of three high-elevation old-growth pines (Pinus jeffreyi, P. lambertiana, and P. contorta) growing in the San Jacinto Mountains, California, during a twenty-first-century hot drought (2000–2020) largely caused by exceptional warmth and a twentieth-century drought (1959–1966) principally driven by precipitation deficits. Mean radial growth during the hot drought was 12% above average while 18% below average during the mid-century drought illustrating that the consequences of environmental stress exhibit spatiotemporal variability. We conclude that the effects of hot droughts on tree growth in high-elevation forests may produce responses different than what is commonly associated with extended dry periods for much of western North America’s forested lands at lower elevational ranges and likely applies to other mountainous regions (e.g., Mediterranean Europe) defined by summer-dry conditions. Thus, the climatological/biological interactions discovered in Southern California may offer clues to the unique nature of high-elevation forested ecosystems globally.
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Data from this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
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Acknowledgements
This project was made possible by internal funding from a University of North Carolina Greensboro Faculty First Grant and a University Research Council grant at Appalachian State University. We are grateful for the support of Ken Kietzer of the California State Parks system for helping facilitate the permitting process, Stephen James and other staff at the Long Valley Ranger Station at Mt. Jacinto State Park for providing climate data and information about the forest ecosystem, and Tim Jones of the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway for providing complimentary tram passes so that we could access the study site. Lastly, this manuscript benefitted substantially from the input of three external reviewers who offered constructive feedback and we are thankful for their help.
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Knapp, P.A., Soulé, P.T., Mitchell, T.J. et al. Increasing radial growth in old-growth high-elevation conifers in Southern California, USA, during the exceptional “hot drought” of 2000–2020. Int J Biometeorol 68, 743–748 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00484-024-02619-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00484-024-02619-3