Abstract
Relationships between stem growth and climatic and edaphic factors, notably air temperatures and soil moisture for different slopes, are not completely understood. Stem radial variations were monitored at the bottom and top slope positions in a Larix principis-rupprechtii plantation during the 2017 and 2018 growing seasons. Total precipitation during the growing season in 2017 and 2018 was 566 mm and 728 mm, respectively. Stem contractions typically occurred after mid-morning followed by swelling in the late afternoon in both plots, reflecting the diurnal cycle of water uptake and loss. Trees at the two locations showed the same growth initiation (mid-May) because of the small differences in air and soil temperatures. There were no significant differences in cumulative stem radial growth between the bottom plot (1.57 ± 0.34 mm) and the top plot (1.55 ± 0.26 mm) in 2018. However, in 2017, the main growth period of the bottom plot ceased 17 days earlier than in the top plot, while cumulative seasonal growth of the bottom plot (1.08 ± 0.25 mm) was significantly less than the top plot (1.54 ± 0.43 mm). Maximum daily stem shrinkage was positively correlated with air and soil temperatures, solar radiation, vapor pressure deficits, and negatively correlated with volumetric soil moisture content. The maximum daily shrinkage reflected transpiration rates as affected by environmental factors. Daily radial stem increment was correlated with precipitation and volumetric soil moisture in both years, but with air temperatures only in 2017. The seasonal growth of L. principis-rupprechtii Mayr thus shows interannual dynamics, while precipitation constitutes a key driving factor.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Adams HD, Kolb TE (2005) Tree growth response to drought and temperature in a mountain landscape in northern Arizona, USA. J Biogeogr 32(9):1629–1640
Biondi F, Hartsough P (2010) Using automated point dendrometers to analyze tropical tree line stem growth at Nevado de Colima. Mexico Sens 10(6):5827–5844
Boisvenue C, Running SW (2006) Impacts of climate change on natural forest productivity: evidence since the middle of the 20th century. Glob Change Biol 12(5):862–882
Brunori A, Nair PKR, Rockwood DL (1995) Performance of two Eucalyptus species at different slope positions and aspects in a contour-ridge planting system in the Negev Desert of Israel. For Ecol Manage 75(1–3): 0–48
Campbell GS, Norman JM (1998) An Introduction to Environmental Biophysics, 2nd edn. Springer-Verlag, New York, USA
Campelo F, Gutiérrez E, Ribas M, Sánchez-Salguero R, Nabais C, Camarero JJ (2018) The facultative bimodal growth pattern in Quercus ilex—a simple model to predict sub-seasonal and inter-annual growth. Dendrochronologia 49:77–88
Ciais Ph, Reichstein M, Viovy N, Granier A, Ogée J, Allard V, Aubinet M, Buchmann N, Chr B, Carrara A, Chevallier F, De Noblet N, Friend AD, Friedlingstein P, Grünwald T, Heinesch B, Keronen P, Knohl A, Krinner G, Loustau D, Manca G, Matteucci G, Miglietta F, Ourcival JM, Papale D, Pilegaard K, Rambal S, Seufert G, Soussana JF, Sanz MJ, Schulze ED, Vesala T, Valentini R (2005) Europe-wide reduction in primary productivity caused by the heat and drought in 2003. Nature 437(7058):529–533
Deslauriers A, Morin H (2005) Intra-annual tracheid production in balsam fir stems and the effect of meteorological variables. Trees 19(4):402–408
Deslauriers A, Morin H, Urbinati C, Carrer M (2003) Daily weather response of balsam fir (Abies balsamea (L.) Mill.) stem radius increment from dendrometer analysis in the boreal forests of Québec (Canada). Trees 17(6):477–484
Deslauriers A, Anfodillo T, Rossi S, Carraro V (2007) Using simple causal modeling to understand how water and temperature affect daily stem radial variation in trees. Tree Physiol 27(8):1125–1136
Deslauriers A, Rossi S, Turcotte A, Morin H, Krause C (2011) Three-step procedure in SAS to analyze the time series from automatic dendrometers. Dendrochronologia 29(3):151–161
Devine WD, Harrington CA (2011) Factors affecting diurnal stem contraction in young Douglas-fir. Agric For Meteorol 151(3):414–419
Dong MY, Jiang Y, Wang MC, Zhang WT, Yang HC (2012) Seasonal variations in the stems of Larix principis-rupprechtii at the tree line of the Luya Mountains. Acta Ecol Sin 32(23):7430–7439
Downes GM, Beadle C, Worledge D (1999) Daily stem growth patterns in irrigated Eucalyptus globutus and E. nitens in relation to climate. Trees 14(2):102–111
Duchesne L, Houle D, Dorangeville L (2012) Influence of climate on seasonal patterns of stem increment of balsam fir in a boreal forest of Québec, Canada. Agric For Meteorol. 162–163:108–114
Dufour B, Morin H (2013) Climatic control of tracheid production of black spruce in dense mesic stands of eastern Canada. Tree Physiol 33(2):175–186
Ernst VDM, Marieke MT, Smiljanić M, Rossi S, Simard S, Wilmking M, Deslauriers A, Fonti P, Arx GV, Bouriaud O (2016) dendrometeR: analyzing the pulse of trees in R. Dendrochronologia 40:12–16
Fritts HC (1976) Tree Rings and Climate. Academic Press, London
Gou XH, Chen FH, Yang MX, Li J, Peng JF, Jin LY (2005) Climatic response of thick leaf spruce (Picea crassifolia) tree-ring width at different elevations over Qilian Mountains, northwestern China. J Arid Environ 61(4):513–524
Gruber A, Baumgartner D, Zimmermann J, Oberhuber W (2009) Temporal dynamic of wood formation in Pinus cembra along the alpine treeline ecotone and the effect of climate variables. Trees 23(3):623–635
Guan W (2007) A study on the growth of Larix principis-rupprechtii and the influence of water condition in the small watershed of Diediegou on the north side of Liupan Mountains. Doctoral Dissertation, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing, China
Gutiérrez E, Campelo F, Camarero JJ, Ribas M, Muntán E, Nabais C, Freitas H (2011) Climate controls act at different scales on the seasonal pattern of of Quercus ilex L. stem radial increments in NE Spain. Trees 25(4):637–646
Han XS, Wang YH, Yu PT, Xiong W, Li ZH, Cai JJ, Hao Xu (2019) Temporal and spatial variation and influencing factors of soil moisture in a Larix principis-rupprechtii plantation in semiarid Liupan Mountains. Northwest China J Soil Water Conserv 33(1):111–117
Herzog KM, Hӓsler R, Thum R (1995) Diurnal changes in the radius of a subalpine Norway spruce stem: their relation to the sap flow and their use to estimate transpiration. Trees 10(2):94–101
Jiang Y, Zhang YP, Guo YY, Kang MY, Wang MC, Wang B (2015) Intra-Annual xylem growth of Larix principis-rupprechtii at its upper and lower distribution limits on the Luyashan Mountain in north-central China. Forests 6(12):3809–3827
King G, Fonti P, Nievergelt D, Büntgen U, Frank D (2013) Climatic drivers of hourly to yearly tree radius variations along a 6 °C natural warming gradient. Agric For Meteorol 168:36–46
Levanič T, Gričar J, Gagen M, Jalkanen R, Loader NJ, McCarroll D, Oven P, Robertson I (2009) The climate sensitivity of Norway spruce [Picea abies (L.) Karst] in the southeastern European Alps. Trees 23:169–180
Li ZH (2014) The evapotranspiration of typical vegetation and the scale effect of the hydrologic features in slopes of Diediegou watershed of Liupan Mountains. Doctoral Dissertation, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing, China
Li XH, Liu R, Mao Z, Song Y, Liu L, Sun T (2014) Daily stem radial variation of Pinus koraiensis and its response to meteorological parameters in Xiaoxinganling Mountains. Sheng Tai Xue Bao 34:1635–1644
Liu HX (2009) Study on effect of the climatic factors on the increment of Larix principis-rupprechtii. Master Dissertation, Hebei Agricultural University, Heibei, China
Liu YH (2011) The characteristics of growth and carbon sequestration and water consumption in the small watershed of Xiangshuihe, Liupan Mountains. Doctoral Dissertation, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing, China
Liu ZB (2018) Spatio-temporal variations and scale transition of hydrological impact of Larix principis-ruprechtii plantation on a slope of Liupan Mountains, Doctoral Dissertation, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing, China
Liu HY, Williams AP, Allen CD, Guo DL, Wu XC, Anenkhonov OA, Liang EY, Sandanov DV, Yin Y, Qi ZH, Badmaeva NK (2013) Rapid warming accelerates tree growth decline in semi-arid forests of Inner Asia. Glob Change Biol 19(8):2500–2510
Liu ZB, Wang YH, Tian A, Yu PT, Xiong W, Xu LH, Wang YR (2017a) Intra-annual variation of stem radius of Larix principis-rupprechtii and its response to environmental factors in Liupan mountains of northwest China. Forests 8(10):382
Liu ZB, Wang YH, Xu LH, Liu Y, Deng XX, Wang YR, Zuo HJ (2017b) Temporal stability off soil moisture on a slope covered by Larix principis-ruprechtii plantation in Liupan Mountains. J Soil Water Conserv 31(1):153–165
Liu ZB, Wang YH, Xu LH, Deng XX, Tian A (2018) Spatial-temporal variations and scale effect of soil moisture on Larix principis-ruprechtii plantation slope in semi humid Liupan Mountains, China. Mountain Res 36:43–52
Lu M (2016) Monitoring radial growth of three conifer species in the eastern Qilian Mountains. Master Dissertation, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China
Lu LH, He RM, Nong RH, Zhao ZG (2012) Effect of Slope Position on the Growth of Mangli etiaglauc. For Res 25(6):789–794
Lu M, Gou XH, Zhang JZ, Zhang F, Man ZH (2015) Seasonal radial growth dynamics of Qilian Juniper and its response to environmental factors in the eastern Qilian Mountains. Quaternary Sci 35(5):1201–1208
Mencuccini M, Salmon Y, Mitchell P, Hölttä T, Choat B, Meir P, O’Grady A, Tissue D, Zweifel R, Sevanto S, Pfautsch S (2017) An empirical method that separates irreversible stem radial growth from bark water content changes in trees: theory and case studies. Plant Cell Environ 40(2):290–303
Michelot A, Simard S, Rathgeber C, Dufrêne E, Damesin C (2012) Comparing the intra-annual wood formation of three European species (Fagus sylvatica, Quercus petraea and Pinus sylvestris) as related to leaf phenology and non-structural carbohydrate dynamics. Tree Physiol 32(8):1033–1045
Oberhuber W, Gruber A, Kofler W, Swidrak I (2014) Radial stem growth in response to microclimate and soil moisture in a drought-prone mixed coniferous forest at an inner Alpine site. Eur J For Res 133(3):467–479
Pantin F, Simonneau T, Muller B (2012) Coming of leaf age: control of growth by hydraulics and metabolics during leaf ontogeny. New Phytol 196(2):349–366
Pärn H (2003) Growth of scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) on dunes of southwest Estonia related to climate. For Ecosyst Coastal Dunes Southwest Estonia 39:65–80
Pérez CA, Carmona MR, Aravena JC, Fariña JM, Armesto JJ (2009) Environmental controls and patterns of cumulative radial increment of evergreen tree species in montane, temperate rainforests of Chiloé Island, southern Chile. Austral Ecol 34(3):259–271
Pompa-García M, Sánchez-Salguero R, Camarero JJ (2017) Observed and projected impacts of climate on radial growth of three endangered conifers in northern Mexico indicate high vulnerability of drought-sensitive species from mesic habitats. Dendrochronologia 45:145–155
Rossi S, Deslauriers A, Anfodillo T (2006) Assessment of cambial activity and xylogenesis by micro sampling tree species: an example at the Alpine timberline. IAWA J 27(4):383–394
Rossi S, Deslauriers A, Anfodillo T, Carraro V (2007) Evidence of threshold temperatures for xylogenesis in conifers at high altitudes. Oecologia 152(1):1–12
Shrestha KB, Chhetri PK, Bista R (2017) Growth responses of Abies spectabilis to climate variations along an elevational gradient in Langtang National Park in the central Himalaya, Nepal. J For Res. 1–8.
Tardif J, Flannigan M, Bergeron Y (2001) An analysis of the daily radial activity of 7 boreal tree species. Northwestern Québec Environ Monit Assess 67(1–2):141–160
Taschler D, Neuner G (2004) Summer frost resistance and freezing patterns measured in situ in leaves of major alpine plant growth forms in relation to their upper distribution boundary. Plant Cell Environ 27(6):737–746
Tian QY, He ZB, Xiao SC, Peng XM, Ding AJ, Lin PF (2017) Response of stem radial growth of Qinghai spruce (Picea crassifolia) to environmental factors in the Qilian Mountains of China. Dendrochronologia 44:76–83
Turcotte A, Morin H, Krause C, Deslauriers A, Thibeault-Martel M (2009) The timing of spring rehydration and its relation with the onset of wood formation in black spruce. Agric For Meteorol 149(9):1403–1409
Vieira J, Rossi S, Campelo F, Freitas H, Nabais C (2013) Seasonal and daily cycles of stem radial variation of Pinus pinaster in a drought-prone environment. Agric For Meteorol 180:173–181
Wang YB (2013) A study on the stem diameter variations and its response to environment factors for Larixprincipis-rupprechtii plantation in the semi-arid area of Liupan Mounains, northwest China. Master Dissertation, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University. Huhehaote, China
Wang YN, Deng XX, Wang YH, Cao GX, Yu PT, Xiong W, Xu LH (2015a) The variation of biomass of Larix principis-rupprechtii plantation along slopes and it's scale effect in the Xiangshuihe watershed of Liupan Mountains of China. Ningxia For Res 28(5):701–707
Wang ZY, Yang B, Deslauriers A, Bräuning A (2015b) Intra-annual stem radial increment response of Qilian juniper to temperature and precipitation along an altitudinal gradient in northwestern China. Trees 29(1):25–34
Wang WB, Zhang F, Yuan LM, Wang QT, Zheng K, Zhao CY (2016) Environmental factors effect on stem radial variations of Picea crassifolia in Qilian Mountains. Northwestern China For 7:210
Xiao SC, Xiao HL, Si JH, Xi HY (2010) Study on the sub-diurnal radial growth of the Populus euphratica. J Glaciol Geocryol 32(4):816–822
Xiao SC, Nie YQ, Wen F (2018) Seasonal dynamics of stem radial increment of Pinus taiwanensis Hayata and its response to environmental factors in the Lushan mountains. Southeastern China For 9:387
Xiong W, Wang YH, Yu PT, Liu HL, Shi ZJ, Guan W (2007) Growth in stem diameter of Larix principis-rupprechtii and its response to meteorological factors in the south of Liupan Mountain. China Sheng Tai Xue Bao 27(2):432–440
Zhang JZ (2018) Cambial phenology and intra-annual radial growth dynamics of conifers over the Qilian Mountains. Doctor Dissertation, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China
Zhang RB, Yuan YJ, Gou XH, Zhang TW, Zhou C, Ji CR, Fan ZA, Qin L, Shang HM, Li XJ (2016) 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. Dendrochronologia 40:36–42
Zweifel R, Zimmermann L, Zeugin F, Newbery DM (2006) Intra-annual radial growth and water relations of trees: Implications towards a growth mechanism. J Exp Bot 57(6):1445–1459
Zweifel R, Haeni M, Buchmann N, Eugster W (2016) Are trees able to grow in periods of stem shrinkage? New Phytol 211(3):839–849
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Project funding: The work was supported by the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region (QCYL-2018-12), the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2016YFC0501603 and 2017YFC0504602), and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41671025).
The online version is available at http://www.springerlink.com
Corresponding editor: Tao Xu.
Electronic supplementary material
Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Ma, J., Guo, J., Wang, Y. et al. Variations in stem radii of Larix principis-rupprechtii to environmental factors at two slope locations in the Liupan Mountains, northwest China. J. For. Res. 32, 513–527 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11676-020-01114-w
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11676-020-01114-w