Moisture-driven changes in the sensitivity of the radial growth of Picea crassifolia to temperature, northeastern Tibetan Plateau

Abstract Precipitation is one of the most important climate factors controlling tree growth, yet it is not fully understood how changes in precipitation affect the relationship between growth and temperature. On the northeastern edge of the Tibetan Plateau, nine tree-ring chronologies of Picea crassifolia were developed along a precipitation gradient from semi-arid (mean annual precipitation, 255 mm) to semi-humid (710 mm). We analyze the growth-climate relationships along this precipitation gradient and assess whether these associations are regulated by local precipitation. From 1960 to 2014, temperature increased significantly while precipitation remained stable at the nine sampling sites. The radial growth of P. crassifolia decreased at the semi-arid sites but increased at the semi-humid sites. Growth-temperature relationships gradually changed from negative to positive along the precipitation gradient (from dry to wet sites), particularly during summer. The moist P. crassifolia sites are also characterized by positive correlations with the Palmer Drought Severity Index. The temporal growth-temperature relationships varied significantly among the different spruce sites over the last five decades. Although temperature remains the main factor controlling the growth of P. crassifolia, local precipitation variability is becoming increasingly important. Our findings indicate that considering species distribution areas supports the analyses of the impact of climate change on tree growth.

• Publication year

  2020

• Venue

  Dendrochronologia

• Publication date

  2020-12-01

• Fields of study

  Environmental Science

• Identifiers
  DOI 10.1016/J.DENDRO.2020.125761
• External record

  Open on Semantic Scholar

• Source metadata

  Semantic Scholar

• No claims are published for this paper.

• No concepts are published for this paper.

• Drought-induced tree growth decline in the desert margins of Northwestern China

  2020cited by this paper
• Changes in the radial growth of Picea crassifolia and its driving factors in the mid-western Qilian Mountains, Northwest China since 1851 C.E

  2020cited by this paper
• Recent decadal drought reverts warming‐triggered growth enhancement in contrasting climates in the southern Andes tree line

  2019cited by this paper
• Disentangling the role of photosynthesis and stomatal conductance on rising forest water-use efficiency

  2019cited by this paper
• Geographical adaptation prevails over species‐specific determinism in trees’ vulnerability to climate change at Mediterranean rear‐edge forests

  2019cited by this paper
• Divergent growth between spruce and fir at alpine treelines on the east edge of the Tibetan Plateau in response to recent climate warming

  2019cited by this paper
• Declining growth of deciduous shrubs in the warming climate of continental western Greenland

  2018cited by this paper
• Recent growth trends of black pine (Pinus nigra J.F. Arnold) in the eastern mediterranean

  2018cited by this paper
• Tree rings provide a new class of phenotypes for genetic associations that foster insights into adaptation of conifers to climate change

  2018cited by this paper
• Challenges for growth of beech and co-occurring conifers in a changing climate context

  2018cited by this paper
• Quantification of uncertainties in conifer sap flow measured with the thermal dissipation method.

  2018cited by this paper
• Aerial decay influence on the stable oxygen and carbon isotope ratios in tree ring cellulose

  2018cited by this paper
• Increasing temperature sensitivity caused by climate warming, evidence from Northeastern China

  2018cited by this paper
• Contrasting drivers and trends of coniferous and deciduous tree growth in interior Alaska.

  2018cited by this paper
• Conifer radial growth response to recent seasonal warming and drought from the southwestern USA

  2018cited by this paper
• Variability in temperature dependence of stem CO2 efflux from Norway spruce trees

  2018cited by this paper
• Warming Increased Nitrogen Availability and Tree Growth During the Last Five Decades as Revealed by Annual Ring Data of Pinus merkusii in Central Vietnam

  2018cited by this paper
• Increased growth of Qinghai spruce in northwestern China during the recent warming hiatus

  2018cited by this paper
• Contributions of insects and droughts to growth decline of trembling aspen mixed boreal forest of western Canada

  2018cited by this paper
• Long-term changes in the tree radial growth and intrinsic water-use efficiency of Chuanxi spruce (Picea likiangensis var. balfouriana) in southwestern China

  2018cited by this paper
• Triggers of tree mortality under drought

  2018cited by this paper
• Plant carbon metabolism and climate change: elevated CO2 and temperature impacts on photosynthesis, photorespiration and respiration.

  2018cited by this paper
• In situ measurement of stem water content and diurnal storage of an apricot tree with a high frequency inner fringing dielectric sensor

  2018cited by this paper
• The responses of dominant tree species to climate warming at the treeline on the eastern edge of the Tibetan Plateau

  2018cited by this paper
• Radial growth response to climate change along the latitudinal range of the world's southernmost conifer in southern South America

  2018cited by this paper
• Recent Climate Warming-Related Growth Decline Impairs European Beech in the Center of Its Distribution Range

  2017cited by this paper
• New perspective on spring vegetation phenology and global climate change based on Tibetan Plateau tree-ring data

  2017cited by this paper
• Contrasting growth forecasts across the geographical range of Scots pine due to altitudinal and latitudinal differences in climatic sensitivity

  2017cited by this paper
• Higher climate warming sensitivity of Siberian larch in small than large forest islands in the fragmented Mongolian forest steppe

  2017cited by this paper
• Warming induced growth decline of Himalayan birch at its lower range edge in a semi-arid region of Trans-Himalaya, central Nepal

  2017cited by this paper
• Recent climate hiatus revealed dual control by temperature and drought on the stem growth of Mediterranean Quercus ilex

  2017cited by this paper
• Short‐term acclimation to warmer temperatures accelerates leaf carbon exchange processes across plant types

  2017cited by this paper
• Warming Effects on Pinus sylvestris in the Cold–Dry Siberian Forest–Steppe: Positive or Negative Balance of Trade?

  2017cited by this paper
• Drought Influence over Radial Growth of Mexican Conifers Inhabiting Mesic and Xeric Sites

  2017cited by this paper
• Impacts of droughts on the growth resilience of Northern Hemisphere forests

  2017cited by this paper
• Growth response of Scots pines in polar-alpine tree-line to a warming climate

  2017cited by this paper
• Increasing moisture limitation of Norway spruce in Central Europe revealed by forward modelling of tree growth in tree-ring network

  2017cited by this paper
• Site- and species-specific treeline responses to climatic variability in eastern Nepal Himalaya

  2017cited by this paper
• Growth responses to climate in a tree-ring network of European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) from the eastern limit of its natural distribution area

  2017cited by this paper
• Response of stem radial growth of Qinghai spruce (Picea crassifolia) to environmental factors in the Qilian Mountains of China

  2017cited by this paper
• High cloud variations with surface temperature from 2002 to 2015: Contributions to atmospheric radiative cooling rate and precipitation changes

  2017cited by this paper
• Diverging shrub and tree growth from the Polar to the Mediterranean biomes across the European continent

  2017cited by this paper
• Recent climatic drying leads to age‐independent growth reductions of white spruce stands in western Canada

  2017cited by this paper
• Forest disturbances under climate change.

  2017cited by this paper
• From Tibetan Plateau to Third Pole and Pan-Third Pole From Tibetan Plateau to Third Pole and Pan-Third Pole

  2017cited by this paper
• Where, why and how? Explaining the low‐temperature range limits of temperate tree species

  2016cited by this paper
• Seasonality of temperate forest photosynthesis and daytime respiration

  2016cited by this paper
• Complex Challenges of Maintaining Whitebark Pine in Greater Yellowstone under Climate Change: A Call for Innovative Research, Management, and Policy Approaches

  2016cited by this paper
• Contrasting growth and mortality responses to climate warming of two pine species in a continental Mediterranean ecosystem

  2016cited by this paper
• Global warming-related tree growth decline and mortality on the north-eastern Tibetan plateau

  2015cited by this paper
• Plant phenological responses to climate change on the Tibetan Plateau: research status and challenges

  2015cited by this paper
• Spatial coherence and change of opposite white spruce temperature sensitivities on floodplains in Alaska confirms early-stage boreal biome shift

  2015cited by this paper
• To die or not to die: early warnings of tree dieback in response to a severe drought

  2015cited by this paper
• Distinct effects of climate warming on populations of silver fir (Abies alba) across Europe

  2015cited by this paper
• R: A language and environment for statistical computing.

  2014cited by this paper
• Lengthening of the duration of xylogenesis engenders disproportionate increases in xylem production

  2014cited by this paper
• Forest stand growth dynamics in Central Europe have accelerated since 1870

  2014cited by this paper
• Climate–growth analysis of Qilian juniper across an altitudinal gradient in the central Qilian Mountains, northwest China

  2013cited by this paper
• Rapid warming accelerates tree growth decline in semi‐arid forests of Inner Asia

  2013cited by this paper
• Global convergence in the vulnerability of forests to drought

  2012cited by this paper
• Warming experiments underpredict plant phenological responses to climate change

  2012cited by this paper
• Altitude and temperature dependence of change in the spring vegetation green-up date from 1982 to 2006 in the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau

  2011cited by this paper
• Opposite changes in leaf dark respiration and soluble sugars with drought in two Mediterranean oaks.

  2011cited by this paper
• Changes in forest productivity across Alaska consistent with biome shift.

  2011cited by this paper
• Evidence of increased net ecosystem productivity associated with a longer vegetated season in a deciduous forest in south‐central Indiana, USA

  2010cited by this paper
• Divergent growth responses and increasing temperature limitation of Qinghai spruce growth along an elevation gradient at the northeast Tibet Plateau

  2010cited by this paper
• Climate change and plant distribution: local models predict high‐elevation persistence

  2009cited by this paper
• Smoothing of climate time series revisited

  2008cited by this paper
• Increasing Aridity is Enhancing Silver Fir Abies Alba Mill.) Water Stress in its South-Western Distribution Limit

  2006cited by this paper
• DENDROCLIM2002: A C++ program for statistical calibration of climate signals in tree-ring chronologies

  2004cited by this paper
• ASSOCIATION BETWEEN ENVIRONMENTAL AND GENETIC HETEROGENEITY IN FOREST TREE POPULATIONS

  2001cited by this paper
• Response of subarctic vegetation to transient climatic change on the Seward Peninsula in north‐west Alaska

  2000cited by this paper
• Daily air temperature interpolated at high spatial resolution over a large mountainous region

  1997cited by this paper
• Temperature Adaptation and Acclimation Potential of Leaf Dark Respiration in Two Species of Ranunculus from Warm and Cold Habitats

  1997cited by this paper
• An Introduction to Tree-Ring Dating

  1996cited by this paper
• Methods of Dendrochronology

  1990cited by this paper
• Forest Ecosystems: Analysis at Multiple Scales

  1985cited by this paper
• On the Average Value of Correlated Time Series, with Applications in Dendroclimatology and Hydrometeorology

  1984cited by this paper
• Computer-Assisted Quality Control in Tree-Ring Dating and Measurement

  1983cited by this paper
• Applied Multivariate Statistical Analysis

  1983cited by this paper

• Spatial heterogeneity of tree-growth responses to climate across temperate forests in Northeast Asia

  2025cites this paper
• Drought-driven tree growth limitations and missing rings in the Altai Mountains, China

  2025cites this paper
• Arid and tropical forests face highest drought vulnerability in the Northern Hemisphere

  2025cites this paper
• Climate driven divergence of growth resilience of Picea crassifolia from semi-arid to semi-humid habitats

  2025cites this paper
• Altitudinal Variation in Effect of Climate and Neighborhood Competition on Radial Growth of Picea schrenkiana Fisch. et C.A.Mey. in the Middle Tianshan Mountains, China

  2025cites this paper
• Responses of radial growth to climate change for two dominant artificial coniferous trees

  2024cites this paper
• Differential response of radial growth and δ^13C in Qinghai spruce (Picea crassifolia) to climate change on the southern and northern slopes of the Qilian Mountains in Northwest China

  2024cites this paper
• Local Topography Has Significant Impact on Dendroclimatic Response of Picea jezoensis and Determines Variation of Factors Limiting Its Radial Growth in the Southern Sikhote-Alin

  2023cites this paper
• Divergent tree radial growth patterns of Qinghai spruce (Picea crassifolia) at the alpine timberline along a moisture gradient in the Qilian mountains, Northwest China

  2023cites this paper
• Divergent responses of Qinghai spruce (Picea crassifolia) to recent warming along elevational gradients in the central Qilian Mountains, Northwest China

  2023cites this paper
• Spatial and temporal patterns of the sensitivity of radial growth response by Picea schrenkiana to regional climate change in the Tianshan Mountains

  2023cites this paper
• Tree Ring Width Responses of Pinus densiflora and Robinia pseudoacacia to Climate Variation in the Mount Tai Area of Northern China

  2023cites this paper
• Divergent responses of Picea crassifolia Kom. In different forest patches to climate change in the northeastern Tibetan Plateau

  2023cites this paper
• Functional traits and stand factors as strong drivers of radial growth response to hotter drought in a temperate forest of North China

  2022cites this paper
• Assessing the influence of local environment, regional climate and tree species on radial growth in the Hexi area of arid northwest China

  2022cites this paper
• Climate change on potential suitable areas for typical Pinaceae species on the Western Sichuan Plateau

  2022cites this paper
• A Tree-Ring-Based Precipitation Reconstruction since 1760 CE from Northeastern Tibetan Plateau, China

  2021influential citation
• Tree Species Classification Based on Sentinel-2 Imagery and Random Forest Classifier in the Eastern Regions of the Qilian Mountains

  2021cites this paper
• Comparison of the Radial Growth Response of Picea crassifolia to Climate Change in Different Regions of the Central and Eastern Qilian Mountains

  2021cites this paper
• Climate-growth pattern of Pinus tabulaeformis plantations and their resilience to drought events in the Loess Plateau

  2021cites this paper