Elsevier

Forest Ecology and Management

Volume 171, Issue 3, 15 November 2002, Pages 243-259
Forest Ecology and Management

Radial growth variation of Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.) across latitudinal and altitudinal gradients in central and northern Europe

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0378-1127(01)00786-1Get rights and content

Abstract

Regional and temporal growth variation of Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.) and its dependence on air temperature and precipitation were compared in stands across latitudinal and altitudinal transects in southwestern and eastern Germany, Norway, and Finland. The temporal variation of radial growth was divided into two components: medium- and high-frequency variation, i.e. decadal and year-to-year variation, respectively. The medium-frequency component was rather different between regions, especially the southern and northern ones. However, within each region the medium-frequency growth variation was relatively similar, irrespective of altitudinal and latitudinal differences of the sample sites. A part of the high-frequency variation was common to all four regions, which suggests that some factors synchronising tree growth are common for the entire study area. The high-frequency component of growth was more strongly related to monthly air temperature and precipitation than was the medium-frequency variation. The limiting effect of low temperatures was more significant at northern as well as high-altitude sites, while the importance of precipitation increased in the south and at low altitudes.

Introduction

During the past decades, considerable attention has been focused on global climate change. Climate models predict that global warming will impact the whole Europe, especially the higher northern latitudes, even though the magnitude of the warming is very uncertain (e.g. Carter et al., 1995, Kattenberg et al., 1996). The climate of the North Atlantic region and bordering areas affects tree growth and forest productivity throughout central and northern Europe (e.g. Briffa et al., 1987). Changes of climate are known to have caused synchronous shifts in tree growth throughout Europe; such a change took place, for example, during the Little Ice Age (e.g. Grove, 1988, Briffa et al., 1990).

Findings on a regional basis clearly show that climatic variation is a major driving force behind growth variation, as well as variation of tree mortality (Becker, 1989, Innes, 1994, Spiecker, 1995, Spiecker, 2000, Raitio, 2000, Makinen et al., 2001). Investigations on growth trends of European forests have indicated increasing forest growth and forest site productivity in central Europe and southern Scandinavia (Kauppi et al., 1992, Elfving et al., 1996, Spiecker et al., 1996, Pretzsch, 1999). Standing volume per hectare and average age of stands have also increased considerably in recent decades (Kauppi et al., 1992, Kuusela, 1994, Spiecker et al., 1996). However, studies carried out in northernmost Europe have not revealed such trend-like changes in forest productivity (Mielikäinen and Timonen, 1996). The latter result suggests that growth trends in Europe may not have followed a uniform pattern and emphasises the need for investigating climate–growth relationships of trees in different areas.

Spatial comparison of long time series of tree growth enables one to identify environmental driving forces of growth variation and underlying mechanisms behind it. Impacts of environmental factors on tree growth are known to change gradually across altitudinal, latitudinal, and longitudinal gradients. By comparing growth reactions in different regions representing different environmental conditions, more general knowledge about the effects of environmental factors on growth can be obtained. Spatial and temporal gradients also offer possibilities for formulating more specific hypotheses on the effects of changing climate on tree growth over time. Therefore, such analyses are useful tools for assessing the responses of forest ecosystems to possible changes in future global climate.

In discussions about long-term forest growth trends in Europe, considerable attention has been focused on Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.). This is due to the economical importance of the species, as well as reports about increased mortality of Norway spruce at high altitudes in central Europe during the 1980s (e.g. Bosch et al., 1983, Zottl and Mies, 1983, Papke, 1988). Four regions representing different climatic conditions were selected for this study: southwestern Germany, eastern Germany, Norway, and Finland. In all these areas, Norway spruce has an economically and ecologically important role in forest management. Southwestern Germany and Norway represent a more maritime climate, whereas in eastern Germany and Finland the conditions are more continental. In addition, in all these regions except Finland, spruce forests are found at widely varying altitudes.

Our starting hypothesis was that high- and medium-frequency changes in tree growth are connected to changes in precipitation and air temperature. Growth variation patterns and the influence of climate on Norway spruce growth were analysed in the four different geographical areas. The specific objectives were to determine: (1) how radial growth varies across the latitudinal gradient, and (2) which climate variables affect the variation in Norway spruce growth at low- and high-altitudes in each region. Total variation in ring-width series’ was divided into low-, medium-, and high-frequency variation in order to emphasise variations in different frequency ranges. Medium- and high-frequency growth variation and factors influencing them were analysed separately. The medium-frequency increment series describe the main features of growth variation in a time scale of decades, while the high-frequency series represent the year-to-year variation. Low-frequency variation was not analysed because it was considered to be mainly caused by tree age, silvicultural treatments, etc.

Section snippets

Material and methods

The study material was collected across a transect starting from southern Germany and extending to the Arctic spruce timberline in Fennoscandia. The four study regions were located in southwestern Germany, eastern Germany, Norway, and Finland. In addition to the south–north gradient, the sample includes maritime and more continental areas at fairly similar latitudes in southern and eastern Germany, as well as in Norway and Finland. Within regions, sampling was carried out across elevational

Results

The medium-frequency increment chronologies showed rather similar pattern of variation between the sub-regions of each region (Fig. 3). Between the regions growth development differed more, although some common patterns were also observed. The most pronounced growth depression occurred during the late 1970s and early 1980s in eastern Germany. It was followed by an equally strong recovery. At the same time, a growth decline was also observed in southwestern Germany and Norway, even though the

Discussion

This study represents a geographical approach to growth variation of Norway spruce across latitudinal and altitudinal transects and the relationships between growth and weather variation. The studied latitudinal gradient ranged from the Arctic spruce timberline in Fennoscandia to the temperate zone in central Europe. In each region (excluding Finland), the altitudinal gradient extended from lowlands almost to the elevational forest limit of Norway spruce. Growth variation was divided into

Conclusions

The variation of annual growth of Norway spruce, especially the medium-frequency variation, was rather different between the four regions, although certain similarities were observed. However, within each individual region the medium-frequency growth variation was relatively similar, irrespective of altitudinal and latitudinal differences of the sample sites. Medium-frequency variation is probably affected by extreme weather events resulting in regional growth patterns.

The high-frequency

Acknowledgements

We thank the field and laboratory assistants for their work during the study. The research was supported by the European Union (Fair3-CT96-1310).

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