Abstract
To climatic variables in monthly resolution have been applied. The obtained parameters were subject to principal component analysis to derive a more condensed representation of climatic constraints on tree growth. Soil water balance modeling was applied to refine the connections between regional climate and growth reactions to drought in terms of site quality. A modification of Brook90 (Brook90-LWF) has been employed for water balance modeling. Pointer years were choosen a priori according to documented drought years and used to calculate short- and long-term impact of drought on tree-growth. For all species under investigation, critical areas for tree growth could be identified. Generally, the warmer and drier northern part of the investigation area is more unfavorable, with spruce generally being more affected than other species in terms of short- and long-term impact of summer drought on tree-growth (Figure 1). Furthermore, in a condensed view of dendroclimatic forcings, spruce depicts the strongest connection to the aspect "summer drought" throughout the investigation area, whereas oak shows the weakest connection (Figure 5). As a main result, oak is superior to all other species under investigation regarding drought tolerance throughout the investigation area. But also silver fir could replace the most critical spruce on a wide range of sites. Furthermore, the surprisingly high variability in reaction to drought observed on regional and stand level (Figure 3) implies a high adaptive potential of the populations within the possibilities of their inherent genetic diversity, hampering the derivation of clear climatic or site-related thresholds (compare Figure 2).
Original language | English |
---|---|
Pages (from-to) | 98-112 |
Number of pages | 15 |
Journal | Allgemeine Forst- und Jagdzeitung |
Volume | 182 |
Issue number | 5-6 |
State | Published - 2011 |
Keywords
- Buche
- Dendroökologie
- Douglasie
- Eiche
- Fichte
- Kiefer
- Tanne
- Trockenstress