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Title: Subalpine tree growth, climate, and increasing CO sub 2 : An assessment of recent growth trends. [Pinus balfouriana; P. murrayana; Juniperus occidentalis]

Journal Article · · Ecology; (United States)
DOI:https://doi.org/10.2307/1938895· OSTI ID:5678591
 [1]
  1. Univ. of Arizona, Tucson (United States)

Five tree-ring series from foxtail pine (Pinus balfouriana), lodgepole pine (P. murrayana), and western juniper (Juniperus occidentalis) collected in the Sierra Nevada, California, were analyzed to determine if the temporal and spatial patterns of recent growth were consistent with the hypothesized CO{sub 2}-induced growth enhancement. Specifically, the author addresses the following questions: (1) can growth trends be explained solely in terms of climatic variation; (2) are recent growth trends unusual with respect to long-term growth records While the results offer no support for the hypothesized CO{sub 2} fertilization effect, they do provide insights into the response of subalpine conifers to climatic variation. Response surfaces demonstrate that precipitation during previous winter and temperature during the current summer interact in controlling growth and that the response can be nonlinear. Although maximum growth rates occur under conditions of high winter precipitation and warm summers for all three species, substantial species-to-species variation occurs in the response to these two variables.

OSTI ID:
5678591
Journal Information:
Ecology; (United States), Vol. 72:1; ISSN 0012-9658
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English