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Climatic drivers of oak growth over the past one hundred years in mixed and monoculture stands in southern England and northern France

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Abstract

In southern England and northern France, pedunculate oak (Quercus robur L.) and sessile oak (Quercus petraea (Matt.) Liebl.) are keystone native species, supporting a substantial diversity of associated species, as well as being a valuable hardwood timber. Future environmental change may require modifications to the ways in which oaks are managed if they are to retain these important roles in forests. Such future management may be informed by past growth patterns using dendrochronological techniques. Oak radial growth between 1900 and 2010 was investigated in five regions in southern England and northern France, together with the impacts of past temperature and precipitation. Additionally, oak growth in monoculture stands and in stands where oak is mixed with Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) was assessed in two forested regions (the New Forest and Thetford Forest) in southern England. This study suggests that oaks in these areas of England and France have shown substantial resilience to past climatic and other environmental factors, with oak growth rates increasing significantly over the twentieth century. Oaks grown in monocultures appeared to grow better than those in mixed stands in the New Forest in southern England; there was no difference in Thetford Forest. Pointer years of unusually good or poor radial growth very rarely coincided between regions in the study area, suggesting that drivers of extreme growth are localised to the region and site-specific drivers, rather than climatic trends in common across the wider area.

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank Richard Baden, Colin Edwards and Ewan Mackie of Forest Research for their help and advice; the Forest Research Technical Support Units at Exeter, Thetford and Alice Holt; Mike Abraham of Forestry Commission England’s South England District; numerous forest managers of private estates in England and France who allowed us to sample trees in their woodlands; the dendrology team at the Slovenian Forestry Institute; and two anonymous reviewers, Duncan Ray, Andy Peace and Tom Connolly of Forest Research for reviewing the manuscript. This work has been jointly sponsored by the Forestry Commission and the European Union (European Regional Development Fund) within the framework of the European INTERREG IV A 2 Mers Seas Zeeën Cross-border Cooperation Programme 2007–2013 ‘Investing in your future’ (Project 090316016-FR MULTIFOR: Management of Multi-Functional Forests).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Ecosystems, Society and Biosecurity, Forest Research, Alice Holt Lodge, Farnham, Surrey, GU10 4LH, UK

    N. Barsoum

  2. Centre for Sustainable Forestry and Climate Change, Forest Research, Alice Holt Lodge, Farnham, Surrey, GU10 4LH, UK

    E. L. Eaton & J. I. L. Morison

  3. Slovenian Forestry Institute, Večna pot 2, 1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia

    T. Levanič

  4. CRPF Nord-Pas de Calais-Picardie, 96 rue Jean Moulin, 8000, Amiens, France

    J. Pargade & X. Bonnart

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  1. N. Barsoum
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  2. E. L. Eaton
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  3. T. Levanič
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  4. J. Pargade
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  5. X. Bonnart
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Correspondence to N. Barsoum.

Additional information

Communicated by Rainer Matyssek.

N. Barsoum and E. L. Eaton are contributed equally in this study.

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Barsoum, N., Eaton, E.L., Levanič, T. et al. Climatic drivers of oak growth over the past one hundred years in mixed and monoculture stands in southern England and northern France. Eur J Forest Res 134, 33–51 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10342-014-0831-5

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