Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Connecting potential frost damage events identified from meteorological records to radial growth variation in Norway spruce and Scots pine

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Trees Aims and scope Submit manuscript

An Erratum to this article was published on 21 September 2017

This article has been updated

Abstract

Key message

Conifer radial growth reductions may be related to unusual snow conditions or a mismatch between frost hardiness level and minimum temperature, but not typically to low winter temperature extremes.

Abstract

The aim of this study was to examine if temperature conditions potentially causing frost damage have an effect on radial growth in Norway spruce and Scots pine in Finland. We hypothesized that frost damage occurs and reduces radial growth after (1) extreme cold winter temperatures, (2) frost hardiness levels insufficient to minimum temperatures, and (3) the lack of insulating snow cover during freezing temperatures, resulting in increased frost and decreased temperatures in soil. Meteorological records were used to define variables describing the conditions of each hypothesis and a dynamic frost hardiness model was used to find events of insufficient frost hardiness levels. As frost damage is likely to occur only under exceptional conditions, we used generalized extreme value distributions to describe the frost variables. Our results did not show strong connections between radial growth and the frost damage events. However, significant growth reductions were found at some Norway spruce sites after events insufficient frost hardiness levels, and alternatively, after winters with high frost sum of snowless days. Scots pine did not show significant growth reductions associated with any of the studied variables. Thus, radial growth in Norway spruce may be more sensitive to future changes in winter conditions. Our results demonstrate that considering only temperature is unlikely to be sufficient in studying winter temperature effects on tree growth. Instead, understanding the effects of changing temperature and snow conditions in relation to tree physiology and phenology is needed.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8

Similar content being viewed by others

Change history

  • 21 September 2017

    In the original publication the captions of Figs. 7 and 8 had unfortunately been swapped. The correct figure captions are given below:

References

  • Aalto J, Pirinen P, Jylhä K (2016) New gridded daily climatology of Finland—permutation-based uncertainty estimates and temporal trends in climate. J Geophys Res Atmos 121:3807–3823

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Akaike H (1974) A new look at the statistical model identification. IEEE Trans Autom Control 19:716–723

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Augspurger CK (2013) Reconstructing patterns of temperature, phenology, and frost damage over 124 years: spring damage risk is increasing. Ecology 94:41–50

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Babst F, Carrer M, Poulter B, Urbinati C, Neuwirth B, Frank D (2012) 500 years of regional forest growth variability and links to climatic extreme events in Europe. Environ Res Lett 7:045705

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Beuker E (1994) Adaptation to climatic changes of the timing of bud burst in populations of Pinus sylvestris L. and Picea abies (L.) Karst. Tree Physiol 14:961–970

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Beuker E, Valtonen E, Repo T (1998) Seasonal variation in the frost hardiness of Scots pine and Norway spruce in old provenance experiments in Finland. For Ecol Manag 107:87–98

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Briffa KR, Osborn TJ, Schweingruber FH, Jones PD, Shiyatov SG, Vaganov EA (2002) Tree-ring width and density data around the Northern Hemisphere: part 1, local and regional climate signals. Holocene 12:737–757

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bunn AG (2010) Statistical and visual crossdating in R using the dplR library. Dendrochronologia 28:251–258

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bunn A, Korpela M, Biondi F, Campelo F, Mérian P, Qeadan F, Zang C (2015) dplR: dendrochronology program library in R. http://CRAN.R-project.org/package=dplR, version 1.6.3

  • Cannell MGR, Smith RI (1986) Climatic warming, spring budburst and forest damage on trees. J Appl Ecol 23:177–191

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Coles S (2001) An introduction to statistical modeling of extreme values. Springer, London

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Cook ER, Peters K (1981) The smoothing spline: a new approach to standardizing forest interior tree-ring width series for dendroclimatic studies. Tree Ring Bull 41:45–53

    Google Scholar 

  • Delpierre N, Vitasse Y, Chuine I, Guillemot J, Bazot S, Rutishauser T, Rathgeber CBK (2016) Temperate and boreal forest tree phenology: from organ-scale processes to terrestrial ecosystem models. Ann For Sci 73:5–25

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dittmar C, Fricke W, Elling W (2006) Impact of late frost events on radial growth of common beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) in Southern Germany. Eur J For Res 125:249–259

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • FMI (2016) Säähavaintojen vuorokausi-ja kuukausiarvot (in Finnish). http://ilmatieteenlaitos.fi/avoin-data-saahavaintojen-vrk-ja-kk-arvot. Accessed 17 Nov 2016

  • Frank DA, Reichstein M, Bahn M, Thonicke K, Frank D, Mahecha MD, Smith P, Van der Velde M, Vicca S, Babst F, Beer C, Buchmann N, Canadell JG, Ciais P, Cramer W, Ibrom A, Miglietta F, Poulter B, Rammig A, Seneviratne SI, Walz A, Wattenbach M, Zavala MA, Zscheischler J (2015) Effects of climate extremes on the terrestrial carbon cycle: concepts, processes and potential future impacts. Glob Change Biol 21:2861–2880

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gaines SD, Denny MW (1993) The largest, smallest, highest, lowest, longest, and shortest: extremes in ecology. Ecology 74:1677–1692

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gaul D, Hertel D, Leuschner C (2008) Effects of experimental soil frost on the fine-root system of mature Norway spruce. J Plant Nutr Soil Sci 171:690–698

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gilleland E, Katz RW (2011) New software to analyze how extremes change over time. Eos Trans Am Geophys Union 92:13–14

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Groffman PM, Driscoll CT, Fahey TJ, Hardy JP, Fitzhugh RD, Tierney GL (2001) Colder soils in a warmer world: a snow manipulation experiment in a northern hardwood forest ecosystem. Biogeochemistry 56:135–150

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gutschick VP, BassiriRad H (2003) Extreme events as shaping physiology, ecology, and evolution of plants: toward a unified definition and evaluation of their consequences. New Phytol 160:21–42

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hänninen H (1991) Does climatic warming increase the risk of frost damage in northern trees. Plant Cell Environ 14:449–454

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hänninen H (2016) Boreal and temperate trees in changing climate: modelling the ecophysiology of seasonality. Springer, Dortrecht

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Hänninen H, Beuker E, Johnsen Ø, Leinonen I, Murray M, Sheppard L, Skrøppa T (2001) Impacts of climate change on cold hardiness of conifers. In: Bigras FJ, Colombo SJ (eds) Conifer cold hardiness. Kluwer, Dordrecht, pp 305–333

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Hardy JP, Groffman PM, Fitzhugh RD, Henry KS, Welman AT, Demers JD, Fahey TJ, Driscoll CT, Tierney GL, Nolan S (2001) Snow depth manipulation and its influence on soil frost and water dynamics in a northern hardwood forest. Biogeochemistry 56:151–174

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Helama S, Sutinen R (2016) Inter- and intra-seasonal effects of temperature variation on radial growth of alpine treeline Norway spruce. J Mt Sci 13:1–12

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Helama S, Tuomenvirta H, Venäläinen A (2011) Boreal and subarctic soils under climatic change. Glob Planet Change 79:37–47

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Helama S, Mielikäinen K, Timonen M, Herva H, Tuomenvirta H, Venäläinen A (2013) Regional climatic signals in Scots pine growth with insights into snow and soil associations. Dendrobiology 70:27–34

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Holmes RL (1983) Computer-assisted quality control in tree-ring data and measurement. Tree Ring Bull 43:69–78

    Google Scholar 

  • IPCC (2014) Climate change 2014: impacts, adaptation, and vulnerability. Part B: regional aspects. Contribution of Working Group II to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel of Climate Change. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • Jalkanen R (1993) Defoliation of pines caused by injury to roots resulting from low temperatures. Finn For Res Inst Res Pap 451:77–88

    Google Scholar 

  • Jarvis CH, Stuart N (2001) A comparison among strategies for interpolating maximum and minimum daily air temperatures. Part I: the selection of “guiding” topographic and land cover variables. J Appl Meteorol 40:1060–1074

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jonsson B (1969) Studier över den av väderleken orsakade variationen i årsringsbredderna hos tall och gran i Sverige. Summary: studies of variations in the widths of annual rings in Scots pine and Norway spruce due to weather conditions in Sweden. Rapporter och Uppsatser. Institutionen för Skogsproduktion, Skogshögskolan 16:1–297

    Google Scholar 

  • Jyske T, Manner M, Mäkinen H, Nöjd P, Peltola H, Repo T (2012) The effects of artificial soil frost on cambial activity and xylem formation in Norway spruce. Trees Struct Funct 26:405–419

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Katz R, Brush G, Parlange M (2005) Statistics of extremes: modeling ecological disturbances. Ecology 86:1124–1134

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kullman L (1991) Ground frost restriction of subarctic Picea abies forest in northern Sweden, a dendroecological analysis. Geogr Ann Ser A Phys Geogr 73:167–178

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Leinonen I (1996) A simulation model for the annual frost hardiness and freeze damage of Scots pine. Ann Bot 78:687–693

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Linkosalo T, Heikkinen J, Pulkkinen P, Mäkipää R (2014) Fluorescence measurements show stronger cold inhibition of photosynthetic light reactions in Scots pine compared to Norway spruce as well as during spring compared to autumn. Front Plant Sci 5:264

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Liston GE, Hiemstra CA (2011) The changing cryosphere: pan-arctic snow trends (1979–2009). J Clim 24:5691–5712

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mäkinen H, Nöjd P, Mielikäinen K (2000) Climatic signal in annual growth variation of Norway spruce (Picea abies) along a transect from central Finland to the Arctic timberline. Can J For Res 30:769–777

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mäkinen H, Nöjd P, Mielikäinen K (2001) Climatic signal in annual growth variation in damaged and healthy stands of Norway spruce [Picea abies (L.) Karst.] in southern Finland. Trees Struct Funct 15:177–185

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Martz F, Vuosku J, Ovaskainen A, Stark S, Rautio P (2016) The snow must go on: ground ice encasement, snow compaction and absence of snow differently cause soil hypoxia, CO2 accumulation and tree seedling damage in boreal forest. PLoS One 11:e0156620

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Miina J (2000) Dependence of tree-ring, earlywood and latewood indices of Scots pine and Norway spruce on climatic factors in eastern Finland. Ecol Model 132:259–273

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mikkonen S, Laine M, Mäkelä HM, Gregow H, Tuomenvirta H, Lahtinen M, Laaksonen A (2015) Trends in the average temperature in Finland, 1847–2013. Stoch Environ Res Risk Assess 29:1521–1529

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mikola P (1952) Havumetsien viimeaikaisesta kehityksestä metsänrajaseudulla (Summary: on the recent development of coniferous forests in the timberline-region of Northern Finland). Communicationes Instituti Forestalis Fenniae 40(2):1–35

    Google Scholar 

  • Morin X, Chuine I (2014) Will tree species experience increased frost damage due to climate change because of changes in leaf phenology? Can J For Res 44:1555–1565

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Príncipe A, van der Maaten E, van der Maaten-Theunissen M, Struwe T, Wilmking M, Kreyling J (2017) Low resistance but high resilience in growth of a major deciduous forest tree (Fagus sylvatica L.) in response to late spring frost in southern Germany. Trees 31:743–751

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • R Core Team (2016) R: a language and environment for statistical computing. https://www.R-project.org/, version 3.3.1

  • Repo T, Kalliokoski T, Domisch T, Lehto T, Mannerkoski H, Sutinen S, Finer L (2005) Effects of timing of soil frost thawing on Scots pine. Tree Physiol 25:1053–1062

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Repo T, Sutinen S, Nojd P, Makinen H (2007) Implications of delayed soil thawing on trees: a case study of a Picea abies stand. Scand J For Res 22:118–127

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Repo T, Lehto T, Finer L (2008) Delayed soil thawing affects root and shoot functioning and growth in Scots pine. Tree Physiol 28:1583–1591

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Repo T, Roitto M, Sutinen S (2011) Does the removal of snowpack and the consequent changes in soil frost affect the physiology of Norway spruce needles? Environ Exp Bot 72:387–396

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Repo T, Sirkia S, Heinonen J, Lavigne A, Roitto M, Koljonen E, Sutinen S, Finer L (2014) Effects of frozen soil on growth and longevity of fine roots of Norway spruce. For Ecol Manag 313:112–122

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sakai A, Larcher W (1987) Frost survival of plants, responses and adaptation to freezing stress. Ecological Studies, vol 62. Springer, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Solantie R (2003) On definition of ecoclimatic zones in Finland. Finn Meteorol Inst Rep 2:1–44

    Google Scholar 

  • Speer JH (2010) Fundamentals of tree-ring research. The University of Arizona Press, Tucson

    Google Scholar 

  • Sutinen M-L, Arora R, Wisniewski M, Ashworth E, Strimbeck R, Palta J (2001) Mechanisms of frost survival and freeze-damage in nature. In: Bigras FJ, Colombo SJ (eds) Conifer cold hardiness. Kluwer, Dordrecht, pp 305–333

    Google Scholar 

  • Tikkanen E, Raitio H (1990) Nutrient stress in young Scots pines suffering from needle loss in a dry heath forest. Water Air Soil Pollut 54:281–293

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tuovinen M, Jalkanen R, McCarroll D (2005) The effect of severe ground frost on Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) trees in northern Finland and implications for palaeoclimate reconstruction. Fennia 183:109–117

    Google Scholar 

  • Vanoni M, Bugmann H, Nötzli M, Bigler C (2016) Drought and frost contribute to abrupt growth decreases before tree mortality in nine temperate tree species. For Ecol Manag 382:51–63

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Venäläinen A, Tuomenvirta H, Heikinheimo M, Kellomäki S, Peltola H, Strandman H, Väisänen H (2001) Impact of climate change on soil frost under snow cover in a forested landscape. Clim Res 17:63–72

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The study was conducted in the Natural Resources Institute Finland. The work was supported by grants from the Academy of Finland (Nos. 257641, 265504 and 288267). We thank Achim Drebs from the Finnish Meteorological Institute for providing us with pre-1960s weather data.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Bio-based Business and Industry, Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), Tietotie 2, 02150, Espoo, Finland

    Susanne Suvanto, Pekka Nöjd & Harri Mäkinen

  2. Economics and Society, Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), Latokartanonkaari 9, 00790, Helsinki, Finland

    Helena M. Henttonen

  3. Bio-based Business and Industry, Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), Eteläranta 55, 96300, Rovaniemi, Finland

    Samuli Helama

  4. Management and Production of Renewable Resources, Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), Yliopistokatu 6, 80100, Joensuu, Finland

    Tapani Repo

  5. Management and Production of Renewable Resources, Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), Eteläranta 55, 96300, Rovaniemi, Finland

    Mauri Timonen

Authors
  1. Susanne Suvanto
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Helena M. Henttonen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Pekka Nöjd
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Samuli Helama
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Tapani Repo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Mauri Timonen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Harri Mäkinen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Susanne Suvanto.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Communicated by T. Kajimoto.

An erratum to this article is available at https://doi.org/10.1007/s00468-017-1617-4.

Electronic supplementary material

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Suvanto, S., Henttonen, H.M., Nöjd, P. et al. Connecting potential frost damage events identified from meteorological records to radial growth variation in Norway spruce and Scots pine. Trees 31, 2023–2034 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00468-017-1590-y

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00468-017-1590-y

Keywords

Search

Navigation