Document Type
Article
Publication Date
11-4-2014
Keywords
Paleoclimate, Treeline, Tree rings
Abstract
In the White Mountains of California, eight bristlecone pine (Pinus longaeva) tree-ring width chronologies were developed from trees at upper treeline and just below upper treeline along North- and South-facing elevational transects from treeline to ~90 m below. There is evidence for a climate-response threshold between approximately 60–80 vertical m below treeline, above which trees have shown a positive growth-response to temperature and below which they do not. Chronologies from 80 m or more below treeline show a change in climate response and do not correlate strongly with temperature-sensitive chronologies developed from trees growing at upper treeline. Rather, they more closely resemble lower elevation precipitation-sensitive chronologies. At the highest sites, trees on South-facing slopes grow faster than trees on North-facing slopes. High growth rates in the treeline South-facing trees have declined since the mid- 1990s. This suggests the possibility that the climate-response of the highest South-facing trees may have changed and that temperature may no longer be the main limiting factor for growth on the South aspect. These results indicate that increasing warmth may lead to a divergence between tree growth and temperature at previously temperature-limited sites.
Publication Title
Environmental Research Letters
Volume
9
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/9/11/114007
Required Publisher's Statement
© IOP Publishing Ltd
Environ. Res. Lett. 9 (2014) 114007 (8pp)
DOI: 10.1088/1748-9326/9/11/114007
Recommended Citation
Salzer, Matthew W.; Larson, Evan R.; Bunn, Andrew Godard; and Hughes, Malcolm Kenneth, "Climate Response in Near-Treeline Bristlecone Pine" (2014). Environmental Sciences Faculty and Staff Publications. 23.
https://cedar.wwu.edu/esci_facpubs/23
Subjects - Topical (LCSH)
Great Basin bristlecone pine--Climatic factors--White Mountains (Calif. and Nev.); Dendrochronology--White Mountains (Calif. and Nev.); Timberline--White Mountains (Calif. and Nev.); Paleoclimatology--White Mountains (Calif. and Nev.)
Geographic Coverage
White Mountains (Calif. and Nev.)
Genre/Form
articles
Type
Text
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
Language
English
Format
application/pdf
