Abstract
Changes in climate are predicted to significantly affect the productivity of trees in the Great Lakes region over the next century. Forest management decisions, such as initial stand density, can promote climatic resiliency and moderate decreased productivity through the reduction of tree competition. The influences of climate (temperature and precipitation) and forest management (initial stand density) on the productivity of red pine (Pinus resinosa) across multiple sites within Huron National Forest, Michigan, were examined using dendrochronological methods. Two common planting regimes were compared in this analysis; low initial density (<988 trees per hectare) and high initial density (>1977 trees per hectare). Low initial density stands were found to have a higher climatic resilience by combining equal or greater measures of productivity, while having a reduced sensitivity to monthly and seasonal climate, particularly to summer drought.
Highlights
Future climate change is expected to cause a significant impact to tree growth through changes in temperature and precipitation [1,2]
The general objective of this study is to examine the influence of initial stand density on the climatic responses of red pine across multiple sites within the Huron National Forest
There was no significant difference in tree age, diameter at breast height (DBH), tree height, crown ratio and slenderness of trees between low initial stand density and high initial stand density plots (Table 1)
Summary
Future climate change is expected to cause a significant impact to tree growth through changes in temperature and precipitation [1,2]. Current forest management techniques must adapt in order to maintain productivity of forest resources under future conditions [3]. Management adaptation will allow for proactive forest management to generate climatic resiliency and maintain productivity as opposed to relying on reactive forest management to salvage lost productivity. Manipulation of initial stand density is a possible proactive management technique to cope with changing climate. Planting 1977 trees per hectare promotes growth with less taper, smaller branches and a larger stand volume per hectare. It provides a greater selection of crop trees and more options for early stand development [4,5,6]
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