Moisture-Limited Tree Growth for a Subtropical Himalayan Conifer Forest in Western Nepal
Affiliation
Univ Arizona, Tree Ring Res LabIssue Date
2018-06Keywords
dendrochronologycentral Himalayas
western Nepal
Pinus roxburghii
climate change
subtropical forest
pre-monsoon season
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MDPICitation
Sigdel SR, Dawadi B, Camarero JJ, Liang E, Leavitt SW. Moisture-Limited Tree Growth for a Subtropical Himalayan Conifer Forest in Western Nepal. Forests. 2018; 9(6):340.Journal
FORESTSRights
© 2018 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license.Collection Information
This item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at repository@u.library.arizona.edu.Abstract
Chir pine (Pinus roxburghii Sarg.) is a common tree species with ecological and economic importance across the subtropical forests of the central Himalayas. However, little is known about its growth response to the recent warming and drying trends observed in this region. Here, we developed a 268-year-long ring-width chronology (1743-2010) from western Nepal to investigate its growth response to climate. Based on nearby available meteorological records, growth was positively correlated with winter (November to February; r = 0.39, p < 0.05) as well as March to April (r = 0.67, p < 0.001) precipitation. Growth also showed a strong positive correlation with the sum of precipitation from November of the previous year to April of the current year (r = 0.65, p < 0.001). In contrast, a negative relationship with the mean temperature in March to April (r = -0.48, p < 0.05) suggests the influence of warming-induced evapotranspiration on tree growth. Spring droughts lasting 4-6 months constrain Chir pine growth. These results are supported by the synchronization between droughts and very narrow or locally missing rings. Warming and drying tendencies during winter and spring will reduce forest growth and resilience and make Chir pine forests more vulnerable and at higher risk of growth decline and dieback.Note
Open Access Journal.ISSN
1999-4907DOI
10.3390/f9060340Version
Final published versionSponsors
National Natural Science Foundation of China [41661144040, 41525001]; Chinese Academy of Sciences President's International Fellowship Initiative [2018PC0040]; Open Research Fund of Key Laboratory of Tibetan Environmental Changes and Land Surface Processes, Chinese Academy of Sciences; China Scholarship Council [201704910338]; Spanish Ministry of Economy [CGL2015-69186-C2-1-R]Additional Links
http://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/9/6/340ae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.3390/f9060340
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Except where otherwise noted, this item's license is described as © 2018 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license.