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Response of daily stem radial growth of Platycladus orientalis to environmental factors in a semi-arid area of North China

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The daily stem radial growth of P. orientalis during the main growing period in semi-arid areas of North China is mainly limited by moisture availability.

Abstract

Finer resolution studies of tree stem radial growth on short temporal scales can be useful for exploring the main environmental variables that trigger radial growth. The objective of this study was to determine the most important environmental factors that impact the intra-annual radial growth of Platycladus orientalis (Linn.) Franco in a semi-arid area of North China. The stem radial growth of P. orientalis was studied daily during the growing season (May to October 2013) using high-resolution automatic point dendrometers. Our results showed that the daily stem radial increment (SRI) of P. orientalis during the main growing period was primarily impacted by relative air humidity, precipitation, vapor pressure deficit and daily maximum air temperature. Those environmental factors mainly influenced the moisture availability to the trees, thereby affecting their daily stem radial growth. The rapid release of stem radial growth was observed when heavy precipitation events occurred after a drought period. The maximum stem growth rate of P. orientalis was observed in early August and was regulated by soil water content in the summer; this was regarded as an adaptation to the local climate conditions. Our results have further implications for sensitivity analyses of tree growth to climate changes in semi-arid areas.

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Author contribution statement

Study conception and design: J.Y. and D.M.Y. Acquisition of data: W.B.Q., W.M.C., H.Y.M. and W.B. Analysis and interpretation of data: W.B.Q. and D.M.Y. Drafting of manuscript: J.Y., W.B.Q. and D.M.Y.

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 41401061, 41171067, 41271059), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (No. 2013NT63), and the Special Basic Research Program of Science and Technology, Ministry of Science and Technology of China (No. 2011FY110300). The authors would like to thank the reviewers for their invaluable suggestions.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Process and Resource Ecology, Beijing Normal University, No.19, Xinjiekouwai Street, Beijing, 100875, China

    Yuan Jiang, Bing-Qin Wang, Man-Yu Dong & Yong-Mei Huang

  2. College of Resources Science and Technology, Beijing Normal University, No.19, Xinjiekouwai Street, Beijing, 100875, China

    Yuan Jiang, Bing-Qin Wang, Man-Yu Dong, Yong-Mei Huang, Ming-Chang Wang & Biao Wang

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  1. Yuan Jiang
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  2. Bing-Qin Wang
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  4. Yong-Mei Huang
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Correspondence to Bing-Qin Wang or Man-Yu Dong.

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Communicated by U. Luettge.

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Jiang, Y., Wang, BQ., Dong, MY. et al. Response of daily stem radial growth of Platycladus orientalis to environmental factors in a semi-arid area of North China. Trees 29, 87–96 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00468-014-1089-8

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