TREE – RING GROWTH RESPONSE OF SCOTS PINE (PINUS SYLVESTRIS L.) TO CLIMATE CHANGE
Keywords:
Dendrochronology, Scots Pine (Pinus sylvestris), Tree–rings, Climate changeAbstract
Dendrochronology is the scientific discipline of determining the relationship between tree growth
and climate, and is determined using the annual growth rings. This provides a potential method for
monitoring climate change. Climate usually acts as a major factor influencing the tree growth.
Here, the effects of climate of a conifer species was assessed in relation to measured climatic variables.
Tree cores of Scots Pine (Pinus sylvestris) were sampled from a forestry plantation at Hordron Edge,
Derbyshire to determine the relationship between annual growth increment and four climate
variables (maximum temperature, minimum temperature, grass minimum temperature and
rainfall). Standard dendrochronological techniques were used to collect, prepare and measure
tree–ring w i d t h i n c r e m e n t s. Climate d a t a w e r e derived from the British Atmospheric Data
Centre (BADC) from 1921–2013. Tree-ring widths were as cross referenced to the climate data to
enable growth dynamics of (Pinus sylvestris) to be investigated. In this study there was no significant
correlation between growth and climatic variables; overall average mean sensitivity (ms) was 0.28
mm, only five of the 20 trees were sensitive to climate (ms>0.3) with the other 15 trees being
complacent (ms<0.3). The growth increment index portrayed a cyclic pattern of tree growth
through time with peaks (fast growth) and troughs (slow growth) throughout the period. There were
no significant first-order relationships found between tree growth indices and any of the four climatic
variables tested. This result suggests that climatic variables were not significant in controlling tree
growth at this site.
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