Contrasting Growth Response of Jack Pine and Trembling Aspen to Climate Warming in Quebec Mixedwoods Forests of Eastern Canada Since the Early Twentieth Century

Abstract

Forest monitoring studies show contrasting trends in tree growth rates since the mid-twentieth century. However, due to their focus on annual and decadal dynamics, they provide limited insight into the effects of long-term climatic variability on tree growth. Here, we relied on a large tree-ring dataset (similar to 2,700 trees) of two common North American shade-intolerant tree species, trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.) and jack pine (Pinus banksiana Lambert), to assess their lifespan-long growth dynamics in the mixedwood forests of Quebec. We also determined how the environmental conditions of the stands influenced tree growth. We observed a significant increase in the radial growth rate of trembling aspen during the study period, while the jack pine decline was not significant. Over the whole study region, the trees growing in sites with lower competition, and those at the lower sections of the terrain slope experienced more of the positive effects of temperature on growth rates. Our study suggests that the tree growth response to climate warming may be species-specific and will vary across the boreal mixedwoods.

Keywords

above-ground growth; climate change; dendrochronology; GAMM; growth rate response; shade-intolerant species

Published in

Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences
2021, volume: 126, number: 5, article number: e2020JG005873
Publisher: AMER GEOPHYSICAL UNION

SLU Authors

• Drobyshev, Igor

  • Southern Swedish Forest Research Centre, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    
  • Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue (UQAT)

UKÄ Subject classification

Climate Research
Forest Science

Publication identifier

• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1029/2020JG005873

Permanent link to this page (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/112510