Compensation effect of winter snow on larch growth in Northeast China

Yuanqiao Li, Xiuchen Wu (), Yongmei Huang, Xiaoyan Li, Fangzhong Shi, Shoudong Zhao, Yuting Yang, Yuhong Tian, Pei Wang, Shulei Zhang, Cicheng Zhang, Yang Wang, Chongyang Xu and Pengwu Zhao
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Yuanqiao Li: Beijing Normal University
Xiuchen Wu: Beijing Normal University
Yongmei Huang: Beijing Normal University
Xiaoyan Li: Beijing Normal University
Fangzhong Shi: Beijing Normal University
Shoudong Zhao: Beijing Normal University
Yuting Yang: Tsinghua University
Yuhong Tian: Beijing Normal University
Pei Wang: Beijing Normal University
Shulei Zhang: Beijing Normal University
Cicheng Zhang: Beijing Normal University
Yang Wang: Beijing Normal University
Chongyang Xu: Peking University
Pengwu Zhao: Inner Mongolia Agricultural University

Climatic Change, 2021, vol. 164, issue 3, No 30, 17 pages

Abstract: Abstract Winter snow plays a crucial role in regulating tree growth during the subsequent growing season in regions suffering seasonal or even annual drought stress, but the mechanisms of the potential compensation effect of winter snow on subsequent growing-season tree growth are not well understood. In this study, we establish tree-ring chronologies of six larch forest stands along a marked drought gradient across Northeast China. We identify the spatial pattern in the compensation effects of winter snow on subsequent growing-season tree radial growth and uncover a potentially enhanced compensation effect in drier climates. Our results indicate that in snow-rich sites, winter snow tends to exert a significantly positive effect on tree growth during the growing season, whereas this growth compensation effect is reduced in drier sites. More importantly, our findings identify a much higher compensation effect of winter snow on growing-season larch growth in drier years (24.4–48.0%) than in wetter years (6.1–8.1%) at snow-rich sites. Given the projected increase in both severity and duration of droughts in temperate regions, the potential compensation effect of winter snow could play a crucial role in mediating the adaptation ability of boreal/hemi-boreal forest ecosystems in response to a warmer and drier future climate in these regions.

Keywords: Winter snow; Drought; Tree growth; Tree ring chronology; Compensation effect (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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DOI: 10.1007/s10584-021-02998-1

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