Spatial and Temporal Growth Variation of Pinus heldreichii Christ. Growing along a Latitudinal Gradient in Kosovo and Albania

Faruk Bojaxhi,Elvin Toromani

doi:10.15177/seefor.17-10

Faruk Bojaxhi, Elvin Toromani

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.15177/seefor.17-10

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Abstract

Spatial and Temporal Growth Variation of Pinus heldreichii Christ. Growing along a Latitudinal Gradient in Kosovo and Albania

Highlights

Tree-ring records provide valuable information for understanding the spatial and temporal patterns of treegrowth variability induced by environmental factors
Körner [27] stated that high elevation sites in Mediterranean region do not show a clear temperature control in radial growth pattern as compared to the Alpine sites, but our study found that temperature was the main climate driver of P. heldreichii growth
P. heldreichii chronologies developed in our study possess a good local and regional climatic signal

Summary

Introduction

Tree-ring records provide valuable information for understanding the spatial and temporal patterns of treegrowth variability induced by environmental factors. In Albania, a 1391year tree-ring width (TRW) chronology (617–2008) was developed and maximum density measurements were acquired on living and dead P. heldreichii trees [9] Such dendroclimatological studies on P. heldreichii growth at high elevation sites are based on the fundamental axiom that tree growth represents a reaction to climate conditions [10]. The aim of this paper is: (i) to identify the dominant spatial and temporal patterns of P. heldreichii radial growth over a 350 km latitudinal gradient in Kosovo and Albania; (ii) to compare the newly developed chronologies with other P. heldreichii chronologies from neighbouring countries; (iii) to analyse the spatial and temporal patterns of temperature and precipitation variability in all sampled sites, as well as to study the spatial and temporal climate-growth relationship. The reduction of P. heldreichii growth during the second half of the 20th century due to temperature rise and rainfall decrease imposes the necessity to continue investigationson potential impacts of climate warming on species growing near the tree-line

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