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Complex climate constraints of upper treeline formation in the Pyrenees

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In the Pyrenees low temperature and scarce precipitation limit radial growth at treeline. The climatic drivers of treeline formation in mid-latitude mountains are temperature and also moisture variability.

Abstract

Alpine treelines are often induced by a threshold of minimum temperatures above which tree growth is generally not possible anymore. However, this worldwide pattern may not account for more drought-prone mountains, where changes in precipitation can also affect ecosystem functioning and productivity at higher elevations. Here, we aim to determine if tree-ring formation in ecotones along the Pyrenees indeed primarily depends on temperature means or also reflects hydroclimatic changes. The mean duration of the growing season at Pyrenean treelines was 177 days, lasting from mid-May to early November, which corresponds to a mean root-zone temperature of 8.2 °C. Temperatures during the early and late growing season were most critical for mountain pine growth at highest elevations, and above average spring temperatures also contributed to radial enlargement of tracheids. Sites showing more similar soil temperatures also presented more similar long-term growth trends indicating that local conditions trace regional influences on growth. Nevertheless, more wet conditions in summer enhanced growth at treelines subjected to more Mediterranean influence and therefore having a higher summer water deficit. A broader perspective reveals that soil moisture availability during spring and summer, however, also influence ring width formation at other treelines located in mid-latitude mountains separating temperate and semi-arid biomes. Our results suggest re-evaluating the idea of purely temperature-limited treelines, especially in mid-latitude mountains that experience moisture seasonality or where precipitation decreases with increasing elevation.

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Author contribution statement

U. Büntgen performed fiel sampling. E. González carried out all analyses under the supervision of the other authors. All authors contributed to the writing of the paper and the discussion of findings.

Acknowledgments

E. González de Andrés acknowledges the support of an FPI fellowship (Economy and Innovation Ministry, Spain). We sincerely thank Jeff Diez for revising a draft of the manuscript.

Conflict of interest

J. Julio Camarero was supported by projects 387/2011 (OAPN, Agriculture an Environment Ministry, Spain) and CGL2011-26654 (Economy and Innovation Ministry, Spain). U. Büntgen was further supported by the Operational Programme of Education for Competitiveness of the Ministry of Education, Youth, and Sports of the Czech Republic (No. CZ.1.07/2.3.00/20.0248). The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Ciencias del Medio Natural, Universidad Pública de Navarra, Campus Arrosadía S/N, 31006, Pamplona, Spain

    Ester González de Andrés

  2. Instituto Pirenaico de Ecología, CSIC (IPE-CSIC), Avenida Montañana 1005, Apdo. 202, 50192, Saragossa, Spain

    J. Julio Camarero

  3. Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL, Zuercherstrasse 111, 8903, Birmensdorf, Switzerland

    Ulf Büntgen

  4. Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research (OCCR), University of Bern, 3012, Bern, Switzerland

    Ulf Büntgen

  5. Global Change Research Centre AS CR, v.v.i., Bělidla 986/4a, 60300, Brno, Czech Republic

    Ulf Büntgen

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  1. Ester González de Andrés
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  2. J. Julio Camarero
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  3. Ulf Büntgen
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Correspondence to J. Julio Camarero.

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de Andrés, E.G., Camarero, J.J. & Büntgen, U. Complex climate constraints of upper treeline formation in the Pyrenees. Trees 29, 941–952 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00468-015-1176-5

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