Relationship between radial growth of Abies georgei and climate factors at different altitudes on the eastern slope of Yulong Snow Mountain, China.

Abstract

Based on dendrochronological methods, we established residual chronologies (RES) of Abies georgei at low, middle and high altitudes with ring width data on the eastern slope of Yulong Snow Mountain. We examined the relationship between the radial growth and climate factors (temperature and precipitation) by response function analysis and redundancy analysis (RDA) to identify the key climatic factors driving the radial growth of A. georgei. The results showed that the responses of radial growth of A. georgei to climates were consistent at three altitudes, which was jointly controlled by temperature and precipitation. This consistency was related to the steep terrain of Yulong Snow Mountain, the high-altitude distribution, and shallow root characteristics of A. georgei. At all three altitudes, tree growth showed significantly positive correlation with mean temperature of the current July, mean temperature of the previous November, and precipitation of the current January, but negative correlation with precipitation of the current June. The comprehensive application of response function analysis and redundancy analysis could accurately reveal the relationship between tree growth and climatic factors along environmental gradients. Our results provided a scientific basis for climatic reconstruction and forest management in the area.