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Effect of climatic variability on δ13C and tree-ring growth in piñon pine (Pinus edulis)

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Abstract

Understanding the response of long-lived species to natural climatic variability at multiple scales is a prerequisite for forecasting ecosystem responses to global climate change. This study investigated the response of piñon pine (Pinus edulis) to natural climatic variability using information on physiology and growth as recorded in leaves and tree rings. δ13C of annual leaf cohorts (δ13Cleaf) and tree rings (δ13Cring) were measured at an ecotonal/xeric site and a mid-range/mesic site. Ring width indices (RWI) were used to estimate annual growth of individual trees. Relationships between seasonal and annual climate parameters and δ13C and growth were investigated. δ13C–climate relationships were stronger for δ13Cleaf than for δ13Cring especially at the xeric site. The mean monthly maximum summer temperatures over May through September (summer T max) had the strongest influence on δ13Cleaf. There was a strong negative relationship between RWI with summer T max and a strong positive relationship between RWI with October to October precipitation (water–year PPN) at both sites. This suggests that piñon pine populations could be vulnerable to decreased growth and, perhaps mortality, in response to warmer, drier conditions predicted by models of global climate change.

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Acknowledgments

The author thanks William Pockman, James Brown, Steve Leavitt, Julio Betancourt, and two anonymous reviewers for helpful reviews of this manuscript. The author acknowledges support from the Sevilleta Long Term Ecological Research site and the US Geological Survey for the use of equipment and field technicians. This work was partially supported by a grant from the US Forest Service and a graduate fellowship from the University of New Mexico.

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  1. Department of Biology, MSC03 2020, 1 University of New Mexico, 87131-001, Albuquerque, NM, USA

    Teresa Lynn Newberry

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  1. Teresa Lynn Newberry
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Correspondence to Teresa Lynn Newberry.

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Communicated by S. W. Leavitt.

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Newberry, T.L. Effect of climatic variability on δ13C and tree-ring growth in piñon pine (Pinus edulis). Trees 24, 551–559 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00468-010-0426-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00468-010-0426-9

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