Influence of weather and day length on intra-seasonal growth of Norway spruce (Picea abies) and European beech (Fagus sylvatica) in a natural montane forest

Abstract

Intra-seasonal growth responses of co-occurring European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) and Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.) to weather variability in montane forests can provide useful information on their future growth trends. To improve growth predictions, we aimed to identify (i) the main seasonal windows during which weather variability influences tree-ring growth, (ii) species-specific differences in the response to weather fluctuations, and (iii) teleconnections to remote sites in the Western Carpathians. We monitored intra-seasonal growth dynamics based on proxies extracted growth signals detected by high-resolution dendrometers in the transition zone between the beech and spruce altitudinal belt. Over 12 consecutive seasons in the natural montane forest (1350 m a.s.l.), the main part of spruce (68% to 10 July) and beech (95% to 26 August) annual increment was under the prevailing influence of temperature. After this, precipitation pattern (regarding spruce) and day length became the most influential variables during deceleration and cessation of growth. In addition, synchronous patterns with remote sites in the Western Carpathians were found. The results emphasize the importance of studying the influence of shorter-term weather fluctuations during the season. Our findings suggest that montane spruce tends to be less temperature-demanding and more drought-sensitive than beech, which may favor beech over the spruce under the future climate.