Abstract
Key message
The increment duration and rate were equally important in controlling annual stem radial increments of Picea meyeri at its upper limit of distribution.
Abstract
Stem radial increment rate and duration are the most important parameters in determining the width of annual tree rings. To identify the contributions of rate and duration to annual radial increments and their relationships with environmental factors, we analyzed intra-annual stem increments of five Picea meyeri trees in a sub-alpine habitat of North-Central China over 7 years (2008–2015, except for the year 2012) with point dendrometers in this study. The results showed the following. (1) We estimated that approximately 53% of the variability in the annual radial increments is attributable to the rate of radial increment and approximately 47% to its duration. (2) The contribution of cessation time to the annual increments was more than three times that of the initiation time. (3) The initiation of radial increment was primarily controlled by soil temperature and warmer soil temperature could advance the initiation time. The cessation and rate of radial increment were mainly influenced by thermal and light-related environmental factors. During growing seasons, low temperatures and insufficient light caused by many rainy and cloudy days at the high altitudes of the Luya Mountains may result in earlier cessations and lower rates of radial increment. Overall, our results may have further applications in modeling the responses of tree stem growth to climate change in a sub-alpine habitat of North-Central China.
![](http://media.springernature.com/m312/springer-static/image/art%3A10.1007%2Fs00468-018-1693-0/MediaObjects/468_2018_1693_Fig1_HTML.gif)
![](http://media.springernature.com/m312/springer-static/image/art%3A10.1007%2Fs00468-018-1693-0/MediaObjects/468_2018_1693_Fig2_HTML.gif)
![](http://media.springernature.com/m312/springer-static/image/art%3A10.1007%2Fs00468-018-1693-0/MediaObjects/468_2018_1693_Fig3_HTML.gif)
![](http://media.springernature.com/m312/springer-static/image/art%3A10.1007%2Fs00468-018-1693-0/MediaObjects/468_2018_1693_Fig4_HTML.gif)
![](http://media.springernature.com/m312/springer-static/image/art%3A10.1007%2Fs00468-018-1693-0/MediaObjects/468_2018_1693_Fig5_HTML.gif)
![](http://media.springernature.com/m312/springer-static/image/art%3A10.1007%2Fs00468-018-1693-0/MediaObjects/468_2018_1693_Fig6_HTML.gif)
![](http://media.springernature.com/m312/springer-static/image/art%3A10.1007%2Fs00468-018-1693-0/MediaObjects/468_2018_1693_Fig7_HTML.gif)
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Akaike H (1998) Information theory and an extension of the maximum likelihood principle. Selected papers of Hirotugu Akaike. Springer, Berlin, pp 199–213
Antonucci S, Rossi S, Deslauriers A, Morin H, Lombardi F, Marchetti M, Tognetti R (2017) Large-scale estimation of xylem phenology in black spruce through remote sensing. Agric For Meteorol 233:92–100
Cocozza C, Palombo C, Tognetti R, La Porta N, Anichini M, Giovannelli A, Emiliani G (2016) Monitoring intra-annual dynamics of wood formation with microcores and dendrometers in Picea abies at two different altitudes. Tree Physiol 36:832–846
Cuny HE, Rathgeber CBK, Lebourgeois F, Fortin M, Fournier M (2012) Life strategies in intra-annual dynamics of wood formation: example of three conifer species in a temperate forest in north-east France. Tree Physiol 32:612–625
Cuny HE, Rathgeber CB, Frank D, Fonti P, Fournier M (2014) Kinetics of tracheid development explain conifer tree-ring structure. New Phytol 203:1231–1241
Cuny HE, Rathgeber CBK, Frank D, Fonti P, Mäkinen H, Prislan P, Rossi S, Del Castillo EM, Campelo F, Vavrčík H, Camarero JJ, Bryukhanova MV, Jyske T, Gričar J, Gryc V, De Luis M, Vieira J, Čufar K, Kirdyanov AV, Oberhuber W, Treml V, Huang J, Li X, Swidrak I, Deslauriers A, Liang E, Nöjd P, Gruber A, Nabais C, Morin H, Krause C, King G, Fournier M (2015) Woody biomass production lags stem-girth increase by over one month in coniferous forests. Nat Plants. https://doi.org/10.1038/nplants.2015.160
de Andrés EG, Camarero JJ, Büntgen U (2015) Complex climate constraints of upper treeline formation in the Pyrenees. Trees Struct Funct 29:941–952
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 Struct Funct 17:477–484
Deslauriers A, Rossi S, Anfodillo T (2007) Dendrometer and intra-annual tree growth: what kind of information can be inferred? Dendrochronologia 25:113–124
Dong M, Jiang Y, Zhang W, Yang Y, Yang H (2011) Effect of alpine treeline conditions on the response of the stem radial variation of Picea meyeri Rebd. et Wils to environmental factors. Pol J Ecol 59:729–739
Duchesne L, Houle D, D Orangeville 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 33:175–186
Fan X, Wang M (2010) Temporal and spatial variations in sunshine duration during 1959–2008 over Shanxi, China. Ecol Environ Sci 19:605–609 (Chinese, with English abstract)
Ford KR, Harrington CA, Bansal S, Gould PJ, St. Clair JB (2016) Will changes in phenology track climate change? A study of growth initiation timing in coast Douglas-fir. Glob Change Biol 22:3712–3723
Ford KR, Harrington CA, St. Clair JB (2017) Photoperiod cues and patterns of genetic variation limit phenological responses to climate change in warm parts of species’ range: modeling diameter-growth cessation in coast Douglas-fir. Glob Change Biol 23:3348–3362
Fromm J (2013) Xylem development in trees: from cambial divisions to mature wood cells. In: Fromm J (ed) Cellular aspects of wood formation. Springer, Berlin, pp 3–39
Garonna I, De Jong R, De Wit AJW, Mucher CA, Schmid B, Schaepman ME (2014) Strong contribution of autumn phenology to changes in satellite-derived growing season length estimates across Europe (1982–2011). Glob Change Biol 20:3457–3470
Garonna I, de Jong R, Schaepman ME (2016) Variability and evolution of global land surface phenology over the past three decades (1982–2012). Glob Change Biol 22:1456–1468
Gutierrez E, Campelo F, Julio Camarero J, Ribas M, Muntan E, Nabais C, Freitas H (2011) Climate controls act at different scales on the seasonal pattern of Quercus ilex L. stem radial increments in NE Spain. Trees Struct Funct 25:637–646
IPCC (2013) Climate change 2013: The physical science basis. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, New York
Jeong S, Ho C, Gim H, Brown ME (2011) Phenology shifts at start vs. end of growing season in temperate vegetation over the Northern Hemisphere for the period 1982–2008. Glob Change Biol 17:2385–2399
Jiang Y, Zhang Y, Guo Y, Kang M, Wang M, 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 6:3809–3827
Johnson JW, LeBreton JM (2004) History and use of relative importance indices in organizational research. Organ Res Methods 7:238–257
Jones B, Tardif J, Westwood R (2004) Weekly xylem production in trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides) in response to artificial defoliation. Can J Bot 82:590–597
Jyske T, Manner M, Mäkinen H, Nöjd P, Peltola H, Repo T (2012) The effects of artificial soil frost on cambial activity and xylem formation in Norway spruce. Trees Struct Funct 26:405–419
Jyske T, Mäkinen H, Kalliokoski T, Nöjd P (2014) Intra-annual tracheid production of Norway spruce and Scots pine across a latitudinal gradient in Finland. Agric For Meteorol 194:241–254
Kabacoff R (2015) R in action: data analysis and graphics with R: Manning Publications Co, New York
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
Körner C (2003) Alpine plant life: functional plant ecology of high mountain ecosystems. Springer Science & Business Media, Berlin
Körner C (2006) Significance of temperature in plant life. In: Morison J.I.L., Morecroft MD (eds) Plant growth and climate change. Blackwell, Oxford, pp 48–69
Korpela M, Mäkinen H, Nöjd P, Hollmén J, Sulkava M (2010) Automatic detection of onset and cessation of tree stem radius increase using dendrometer data. Neurocomputing 73:2039–2046
Kulmala L, Read J, Nöjd P, Rathgeber CBK, Cuny HE, Hollmén J, Mäkinen H (2017) Identifying the main drivers for the production and maturation of Scots pine tracheids along a temperature gradient. Agric For Meteorol 232:210–224
Lempereur M, Martin-StPaul NK, Damesin C, Joffre R, Ourcival J, Rocheteau A, Rambal S (2015) Growth duration is a better predictor of stem increment than carbon supply in a Mediterranean oak forest: implications for assessing forest productivity under climate change. New Phytol 207:579–590
Li X, Liang E, Ar JG, Rossi S, Ufar K (2017) Critical minimum temperature limits xylogenesis and maintains treelines on the southeastern Tibetan Plateau. Sci Bull 62:804–812
Linares JC, Camarero JJ, Carreira JA (2009) Plastic responses of Abies pinsapo xylogenesis to drought and competition. Tree Physiol 29:1525–1536
Linderholm HW (2006) Growing season changes in the last century. Agric For Meteorol 137:1–14
Liu L (1996) Vegetation of hebei province. Science Press, Beijing (in Chinese)
Liu Q, Fu YH, Zhu Z, Liu Y, Liu Z, Huang M, Janssens IA, Piao S (2016) Delayed autumn phenology in the Northern Hemisphere is related to change in both climate and spring phenology. Glob Change Biol 22:3702–3711
Lupi C, Morin H, Deslauriers A, Rossi S (2010) Xylem phenology and wood production: resolving the chicken-or-egg dilemma. Plant Cell Environ 33:1721–1730
Ma Z, Shangguan GT (2001) Vegetation of shanxi province. Science and Technology Press, Beijing (Chinese)
Makinen H, Nojd P, Saranpaa P (2003) Seasonal changes in stem radius and production of new tracheids in Norway spruce. Tree Physiol 23:959–968
Makinen H, Seo J, Nojd P, Schmitt U, Jalkanen R (2008) Seasonal dynamics of wood formation: a comparison between pinning, microcoring and dendrometer measurements. Eur J For Res 127:235–245
Menzel A, Fabian P (1999) Growing season extended in Europe. Nature 397:659–659
Michelot A, Simard S, Rathgeber C, Dufrene 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 32:1033–1045
Nabuurs G, Pussinen A, Karjalainen T, Erhard M, Kramer K (2002) Stemwood volume increment changes in European forests due to climate change-a simulation study with the EFISCEN model. Glob Change Biol 8:304–316
Pan Y, Birdsey RA, Fang J, Houghton R, Kauppi PE, Kurz WA, Phillips OL, Shvidenko A, Lewis SL, Canadell JG, Ciais P, Jackson RB, Pacala SW, McGuire AD, Piao S, Rautiainen A, Sitch S, Hayes D (2011) A large and persistent carbon sink in the World’s Forests. Science 333:988–993
Park T, Ganguly S, Tommervik H, Euskirchen ES, Hogda K, Karlsen SR, Brovkin V, Nemani RR, Myneni RB (2016) Changes in growing season duration and productivity of northern vegetation inferred from long-term remote sensing data. Environ Res Lett 11:084001
R Core Team (2017) R: a language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria. http://www.R-project.org/. Accessed 14 Oct 2017
Rathgeber CBK, Rossi S, Bontemps JD (2011) Cambial activity related to tree size in a mature silver-fir plantation. Ann Bot 108:429–438
Ren P, Rossi S, Gricar J, Liang E, Cufar K (2015) Is precipitation a trigger for the onset of xylogenesis in Juniperus przewalskii on the north-eastern Tibetan Plateau? Ann Bot 115:629–639
Rossi S, Deslauriers A, Anfodillo T, Morin H, Saracino A, Motta R, Borghetti M (2006) Conifers in cold environments synchronize maximum growth rate of tree-ring formation with day length. New Phytol 170:301–310
Rossi S, Deslauriers A, Griçar J, Seo J, Rathgeber CB, Anfodillo T, Morin H, Levanic T, Oven P, Jalkanen R (2008) Critical temperatures for xylogenesis in conifers of cold climates. Global Ecol Biogeogr 17:696–707
Rossi S, Girard M, Morin H (2014) Lengthening of the duration of xylogenesis engenders disproportionate increases in xylem production. Glob Change Biol 20:2261–2271
Smilauer P, Lepš J (2014) Multivariate analysis of ecological data using CANOCO 5. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
Swidrak I, Schuster R, Oberhuber W (2013) Comparing growth phenology of co-occurring deciduous and evergreen conifers exposed to drought. Flora 208:609–617
Trahan MW, Schubert BA (2016) Temperature-induced water stress in high-latitude forests in response to natural and anthropogenic warming. Glob Change Biol 22:782–791
Walther GR, Post E, Convey P, Menzel A, Parmesan C, Beebee T, Fromentin JM, Hoegh-Guldberg O, Bairlein F (2002) Ecological responses to recent climate change. Nature 416:389–395
Wang Q, Fan X, Qin Z, Wang M (2012) Change trends of temperature and precipitation in the Loess Plateau Region of China, 1961–2010. Glob Planet Change 92:138–147
Wang Z, Yang B, Deslauriers A, Bräuning A (2015) Intra-annual stem radial increment response of Qilian juniper to temperature and precipitation along an altitudinal gradient in northwestern China. Trees Struct Funct 29:25–34
Wu Z (1980) Vegetation of China. Science Press, Beijing (Chinese)
Xia J, Niu S, Ciais P, Janssens IA, Chen J, Ammann C, Arain A, Blanken PD, Cescatti A, Bonal D, Buchmann N, Curtis PS, Chen S, Dong J, Flanagan LB, Frankenberg C, Georgiadis T, Gough CM, Hui D, Kiely G, Li J, Lund M, Magliulo V, Marcolla B, Merbold L, Montagnani L, Moors EJ, Olesen JE, Piao S, Raschi A, Roupsard O, Suyker AE, Urbaniak M, Vaccari FP, Varlagin A, Vesala T, Wilkinson M, Weng E, Wohlfahrt G, Yan L, Luo Y (2015) Joint control of terrestrial gross primary productivity by plant phenology and physiology. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 112:2788–2793
Zhang W, Jiang Y, Dong M, Kang M, Yang H (2012) Relationship between the radial growth of Picea meyeri and climate along elevations of the Luyashan Mountain in North-Central China. For Ecol Manage 265:142–149
Zhang L, Yan J, Liu L (2013) Climate change and drought and flood disasters trend in Shanxi. J Arid Land Res Environ 27:120–125 (Chinese)
Zhou S, Zhang Y, Caylor KK, Luo Y, Xiao X, Ciais P, Huang Y, Wang G (2016) Explaining inter-annual variability of gross primary productivity from plant phenology and physiology. Agric For Meteorol 226–227:246–256
Zhu X, He H, Liu M, Yu G, Sun X, Gao Y (2010) Spatio-temporal variation of photosynthetically active radiation in China in recent 50 years. J Geog Sci 20:803–817
Zweifel R, Eugster W, Etzold S, Dobbertin M, Buchmann N, Hasler R (2010) Link between continuous stem radius changes and net ecosystem productivity of a subalpine Norway spruce forest in the Swiss Alps. New Phytol 187:819–830
Acknowledgements
We are grateful to Liang Jiao, Haochun Yang, Yan’gang Yang, Yan Wen, Zijian Zhou and Yuanyuan Guo for their help in the fieldwork. This work was supported by the National Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 41630750 and 41771051). Special thanks to the anonymous referees for their valuable comments and suggestions.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Additional information
Communicated by E. Liang.
Electronic supplementary material
Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Wang, M., Jiang, Y., Dong, M. et al. The contributions of rate and duration of stem radial increment to annual increments of Picea meyeri in a sub-alpine habitat, North-Central China. Trees 32, 1029–1041 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00468-018-1693-0
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00468-018-1693-0