Radial Growth Response Research Articles

Growth phenological variations in the narrow-leaved ash (Fraxinus angustifolia) over the Mediterranean region: A simulation study

Tree species inhabiting riparian forests under Mediterranean climate have evolved to face summer water shortage but may fail to cope with future increases in drought severity. Thus, understanding tree growth phenological variations in response to environmental conditions is necessary to assess the impact of seasonal drought in riparian forests. In this study, we investigated the response of stem radial growth to climate in the narrow-leaved ash (Fraxinus angustifolia) over its distribution in southern Europe. We simulated intra- and inter-annual growth patterns using the Vaganov-Shashkin (VS) model considering five sites subjected to summer drought but showing different climate conditions. The growth pattern in this species varied from unimodal in cool-wet sites to facultative bimodal in warm-dry sites. Bimodal patterns were characterized by two growth peaks coinciding with favorable climate conditions in spring and autumn. The spring growth peak occurs earlier (May) in warm-dry sites than in wet-cool sites (June–July). The variation in the season growth length and growth timing suggests different strategies adopted by this species to cope with summer drought. The VS model revealed different growth patterns across which would be relevant in predicting the response of this and other riparian tree species to climate warming and aridification. Differences in the length of the growing season, timings of growth peaks and the shift from unimodal to bimodal growth patterns should be considered when assessing growth adjustments to future climate scenarios.

Warming-induced drought leads to tree growth decline in subtropics: Evidence from tree rings in central China.

Subtropical forests provide diverse ecosystem services to human society. However, how subtropical tree species respond to climate change is still unclear. Using a dendrochronological method, we studied the radial growth patterns and species-specific responses of four main tree species in subtropical China to recent warming and drought. Results showed that the long-term drought caused by global warming and reduced precipitation since 1997 had resulted in the growth decline of Pinus massoniana, Castanea henryi and Castanopsis eyrei but not for Liquidambar formosana. Four species had similar sensitivities to the previous year and the current year, which is probably due to the carryover effect and temporal autocorrelation of climate data. Tree growth was positively correlated with growing season precipitation and relative humidity while negatively correlated with vapor pressure deficit. The negative relationship of tree radial growth with temperatures in the previous and current summer and the positive correlation with precipitation gradually strengthened after 1997. Therefore, we highlighted that drought-induced tree decline in subtropical forests is probably a common phenomenon, and it needed to verify by more tree-ring studies on a large scale. The species-specific responses of tree radial growth to climate change are not obvious, but they still should be considered in regional carbon balance and forest dynamics. Considering future climate change, species that are more drought tolerant should be considered as potential plantation species.

Radial growth response of Pinus sylvestris L. and Fagus sylvatica L. to technological solutions applied in rope climbing parks

Vitality is a genetic preservation factor that keeps a tree in the right condition. Changes in tree vitality are a measure of the impact exerted on trees by environmental factors, such as injuries to trunks and branches, and are among the basic parameters of the state of their preservation. The dynamics of changes in the width of annual increments of trees is one of several parameters characterizing the level of their vitality. The aim of the study is to determine changes in radial increment and linking them to the level of the vitality of Scots pines (Pinus sylvestris L.) and European beeches (Fagus sylvatica L.), on which the standard (old system) and specially designed (new system) systems of fastening of wooden platforms were installed as part of adventure park infrastructure. In the old system, the platforms were installed on square wooden beams placed in milled tree trunks, while in the new system on semi-circular metal brackets matching the curvature of the trunks. The present research is aimed to determine the dynamics of incremental trends in trees with different platform systems in relation to the reference group, and to determine the impact of the tested support systems on trees with different levels of vitality. Most of the studied trees were in the optimum stage of increment. The initial tree vitality level recorded at the beginning of the experiment was clearly better for the beech stands. In the case of Scots pine, the average vitality was close to stable. Pines that were initially in better condition responded much worse to the installation of old system platforms compared to those with the specially new platform system. A similar trend was also visible in the case of beeches, but the differences were not that clear and the annual increments of the trees with platforms installed were slightly higher compared to the reference trees. The trees that were initially in worse condition, both pines and beeches on which the old system of platforms had been installed, responded by increasing the width of annual increments during the measurement period. The described response of trees most probably does not result from the lower harmfulness of the old support system, but from the defensive responses of trees subjected to stronger stress.

Direct effects of tephra fallout from the Puyehue–Cordón Caulle Volcanic Complex on Nothofagus pumilio ring widths in northern Patagonia

We evaluated the radial growth response of adult Nothofagus pumilio (Poepp. et Endl) Krasser trees affected by tephra deposition following historical volcanic eruptions of the Puyehue–Cordón Caulle Volcanic Complex (PCCVC) in northern Patagonia. Standard tree–ring width chronologies were developed for trees from two sites that were affected by up to 55 cm of tephra during the 2011 eruption, which allowed us to detect the general tree–growth response to eruptions VEI ≥ 3 and VEI ≤ 2. The tree growth trend satisfactorily followed the mean temperature record (r = 0.42); however, the analysis of studentized residuals identified outliers (≥ ± 2 SD) directly related to the volcanic eruptions of the years 1921–1922 and 2011 and the respective post–eruption years, while for the 1960 eruption and following year, they largely exceeded the mean value of the residuals. The large amount of tephra deposited during the 1921–22 and 2011 eruptions caused physical damage to the tree canopy leading to the appearance of white rings and to locally absent rings. The rate of change in radial growth of trees during these eruptions presented significant declines in relation to the growth of five years before the eruption and to the following year. The low amount of tephra deposited during the 1960 eruption did not cause damage to the stands and trees increased their radial growth. In general, trees that had reduced radial growth experienced a remarkable recovery starting in the second or third post–eruption year. The amount of tephra deposited and the time of year of the volcanic eruptions had an important influence on tree rings. Some ecophysiological causes that could explain the growth responses of N. pumilio to tephra fall are discussed herein. Our study may provide useful insights to clarify the uncertain characteristics of some eruptions in the past or to detect the occurrence of large, undocumented volcanic eruptions throughout the Andes.

Warming effects on tree-ring variables in P. hartwegii Lindl. at the extremes of its natural elevational distribution in central Mexico

In alpine forests, the impact of warming differs at the upper and lower extremes of the elevation gradient causing trees to compensate through different adaptive mechanisms. The objective was to retrospectively evaluate the radial growth response to recent interannual climate variation in Pinus hartwegii trees growing at the extremes of their elevational gradient on two volcanic mountains in central Mexico (La Malinche and Nevado de Toluca). Increment cores collected from 174 P. hartwegii trees were used to estimate time-series of growth ring including ring width and density variables, as well as basal area increment (BAI) and ring biomass (BIO) for 1964–2016. Differences in average radial growth and time-trends of ring variables in response to climate variables were estimated based on correlations of ring variables, BAI, and BIO with inter-annual variation in temperature, rainfall, and length of the frost-free period (FFP). Results showed higher average values of ring width and density variables, as well as BAI and BIO (i.e., higher productivity) at low elevation on both mountains. Time-trends for BAI and BIO were positive at both ends of the elevation gradient, but ring width and density variables followed opposite trends. Inter-annual variation of ring variables was explained more by temperature than by rainfall or FFP; however, temperature was negatively correlated with RW and positively with RD, even though BAI and BIO were positively correlated with temperature (All them with P < 0.001) at both elevational end on both mountains. For most of the ring variables, the total variation explained by the ANOVA model was more related to the linear warming trend (greater than 67%). Warming is affecting radial growth of P. hartwegii trees differently at high versus low elevation on both mountains, showing warning signs from the perspective of functional traits, but not in terms of productivity.

Response of Larix chinensis Radial Growth to Climatic Factors Using the Process-Based Vaganov–Shashkin-Lite Model at Mt. Taibai, China

The Qinling Mountains are located on the dividing line between the north and the south of China. Mt. Taibai, the study site, is the highest peak in the Qinling Mountains and also the highest peak in eastern mainland China. At Mt. Taibai, several dendroecological studies have been conducted on the relationship between tree-ring indices and climatic factors using traditional statistical methods. In this study, the response of Larix chinensis Beissn radial growth to climatic factors was explored in the treeline area of Mt. Taibai using the process-based Vaganov–Shashkin-Lite (VSL) model for the first time. The conclusions were obtained according to the analysis of the L. chinensis tree-ring samples collected from both the northern and southern slopes of Mt. Taibai. The VSL model showed that temperature limits L. chinensis growth during the entire growing season, while the model did not indicate precipitation as a limiting factor. The model showed significant positive correlations between the simulated and observed tree-ring chronologies for 1959–2013, excluding the uppermost sample site on the northern slope. However, the model performance deteriorated with increasing altitude, which may be due to the decreased sensitivity of radial growth to climatic factors above the treeline.

Functional traits and stand factors as strong drivers of radial growth response to hotter drought in a temperate forest of North China

Functional traits and stand factors as strong drivers of radial growth response to hotter drought in a temperate forest of North China

Intimate mixtures of Scots pine and Sitka spruce do not increase resilience to spring drought

Understanding how we can increase the resilience of forest systems to future extreme drought events is increasingly important as these events become more frequent and intense. Diversifying production forests using intimate mixtures of trees with complementary functional traits is considered as one promising silvicultural approach that may increase drought resilience. However, the direction and magnitude of the drought response of mixed-species stands relative to monospecific stands of the same species can vary with species identity, relative abundance and levels of competition in a focal tree's immediate neighbourhood. Using a long-term experiment where tree-level mortality and the neighbourhood composition of each tree was known, we assessed the radial growth response of 24-year-old Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) and Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis) trees in intimately mixed and monospecific stands to a short-duration, high-intensity spring drought in Scotland. Mixing proportions included 25:75, 50:50 and 75:25 of P. sylvestris and P. sitchensis. At the species level, Scots pine was more drought resistant and resilient than Sitka spruce, while Sitka spruce showed higher recovery. Surprisingly, neither pre-drought tree size nor neighbourhood competition were significantly associated with resistance or resilience to drought, and trees of both species within monospecific stands showed higher recovery and resilience than trees growing in mixed stands. Our study suggests intimate mixtures of these two species may not be an effective way to mitigate the negative impacts of future extreme spring drought events. Given that these two species comprise almost 70% of coniferous forests in the UK, our results highlight the pressing need to better understand their vulnerability to drought and the conditions under which intimate mixtures of these species could be beneficial or detrimental. Such knowledge is essential if we are to enable forest managers to effectively plan how to adapt these forests to the challenges of a changing climate.

Responses of radial growth of Pinus tabuliformis to climate change at the northern slopes of Qinling Mountains, China

A standard chronology (STD) was established with Pinus tabuliformis samples collected from Nanwutai at the northern slopes of the Qinling Mountains. The correlations between radial growth of P. tabuliformis and climatic factors were explored. The results showed that radial growth was positively correlated with moisture factors in previous September and current May. The radial growth was positively correlated with temperature factors in pre-vious November and negatively with that in previous October and current May. There was significant lag effect of climatic factors on the radial growth. The radial growth of P. tabuliformis was well correlated with the PDSI drought severity index, with positive correlations being identified from September to December of the previous year and in May of the current year. The regression model was able to simulate the relationship between STD and PDSI. The formations of extremely wide and narrow tree-ring were mainly a result of drought condition. Combined with climatic factors, PDSI could better reflect the radial growth characteristics of P. tabuliformis.

Responses of radial growth of Juniperus przewalskii to different droughts over the northeastern Tibetan Plateau, China

To study the responses of radial growth of Juniperus przewalskii to climate factors of the different periods (pre-growing season (February-April), growing season (May-July)), and the vulnerability (resistance, RT; recovery, RC) of J. przewalskii to different drought events (precipitation, temperature and the both caused), we used tree ring width data of J. przewalskii from 17 sampling sites across the northeastern Tibetan Plateau to analyze the correlation between radial growth and climate factors of different periods, and the vulnerability in different drought events. The results showed that radial growth of J. przewalskii had significant positive correlation with drought index and negative correlation with temperature in the growing season (P<0.1). The vulnerability of J. przewalskii to drought events of different periods had significant difference. In the pre-growing season drought events, the RT of J. przewalskii at low altitude was 2.3% higher than that at high altitude, the RC of J. przewalskii at low altitude was 25.1% lower than that at high altitude. For drought events in the growing season, the RT of J. przewalskii at low altitude was 23.7% lower than that at high altitude, the RC of J. przewalskii at low altitude was 107.1% higher than that at high altitude. The mean RC(1.68) of J. przewalskii in precipitation-caused drought events was strong, while the mean RT(1.43) of J. przewalskii in temperature-caused drought events was strong. The growth of J. przewalskii, especially for that at low altitude, would be largely limited by drought caused by global warming in the future.

Radial growth response of Quercus liaotungensis to climate change–a case study on the central Loess Plateau, China

Radial growth response of Quercus liaotungensis to climate change–a case study on the central Loess Plateau, China

Responses of radial growth of Picea crassifolia to climate change over three periods at different elevations in the Qilian Mountains, northwest China

Responses of radial growth of Picea crassifolia to climate change over three periods at different elevations in the Qilian Mountains, northwest China

Mixed Pine Forests in a Hotter and Drier World: The Great Resilience to Drought of Aleppo Pine Benefits It Over Other Coexisting Pine Species

Drought is an important driver of forest dynamics in the Mediterranean region. The forecasted increase in drought frequency and severity can notably influence tree growth, forest structure, composition and productivity. Understanding how coexisting tree species respond to drought is thus crucial to understand which are less vulnerable and will perform better in a warmer and drier world. To assess drought vulnerability, we used dendrochronology to study the radial growth trends and responses to a drought index of four pine species (Pinus halepensis, Pinus pinea, Pinus nigra, and Pinus sylvestris) coexisting in North-eastern Spain. We reconstructed the growth of each species and evaluated their short- and long-term growth response to drought for the common period 1980–2017. The growth of the four pine species depended on water availability and high early spring temperatures impacted the growth of P. nigra and P. sylvestris negatively. The occurrence of a severe drought between 2005 and 2007 lead to marked growth reductions in the four species, but it was greater in magnitude in P. pinea and P. halepensis in 2005, and in P. nigra in 2007. The results of basal area increment models at the individual tree level suggested that P. halepensis trees grow more than the rest of species. After accounting for age and drought effects, P. nigra and P. sylvestris displayed negative growth trends in the 2008–2017 period while P. pinea and P. halepensis displayed positive growth trends. P. sylvestris was the most resistant species and P. pinea the less resistant. Conversely, P. halepensis and P. pinea were slightly more resilient than P. sylvestris. Moreover, P. sylvestris was the species displaying the highest autocorrelation and the lowest coefficient of variation in ring-width indices. A marked drop in the autocorrelation of P. pinea ring-width index was observed in response to the 2005 drought. These results indicate that all study species are vulnerable to drought but in different degrees. The strong resilience capacity of P. halepensis suggests that it will better thrive in a drier future, but mixed pine forests, such as the one here studied, may contract or become rare due to the strong sensitivity of P. pinea to drought and the lower post-drought performance of P. nigra and P. sylvestris.

Effects of Climate on Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco) Growth Southeast of the European Alps.

Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco) is a non-native tree species in Slovenia with the potential to partially replace Norway spruce in our native forests. Compared to spruce, it has several advantages in terms of volume growth, wood quality and tolerance to drought. This is important given the changing climate in which spruce is confronted with serious problems caused by increasing temperatures and drought stress. At three sites (one on non-carbonate bedrock and deep soils, and two on limestone with soil layers of varying depths), 20 Douglas-fir and 20 spruce per site were sampled in order to compare their radial growth response to climate and drought events. The radial growth of Douglas-fir exceeds that of spruce by about 20% on comparable sites. It is more responsive to climate than spruce. Above-average temperatures in February and March have a significant positive effect on the radial growth of Douglas-fir. In recent decades, above-average summer precipitation has also had a positive influence on the radial growth of Douglas-fir. Compared to spruce, Douglas-fir is less sensitive to extreme drought events. Our results indicate that Douglas-fir may be a good substitute for spruce in semi-natural managed forest stands in Slovenia. The planting of Douglas-fir should be allowed in Slovenian forests, but the proportion of it in forest stands should be kept lower than is the case with spruce today.

Climate sensitivity of seasonal radial growth in young stands of Mexican conifers

Alteration of forest by climate change and human activities modify the growth response of trees to temperature and moisture. Growth trends of young forests with even-aged stands recruited recently when the climate became warmer and drier are not well known. We analyze the radial growth response of young conifer trees (37–63 years old) to climatic parameters and drought stress employing Pearson correlations and the Vaganov-Shashkin Lite (VS-Lite) model. This study uses tree rings of six species of conifer trees (Pinus teocote, Pinus pseudostrobus, Pinus pinceana, Pinus montezumae, Pinus ayacahuite, and Taxodium mucronatum) collected from young forests with diverse growth conditions in northern and central Mexico. Seasonal ring growth and earlywood width (EW) were modeled as a function of temperature and soil moisture using the VS-Lite model. Wet and cool conditions in the previous winter and current spring enhance ring growth and EW production, mainly in sensitive species from dry sites (P. teocote, P. pseudostrobus, P. pinceana, and P. montezumae), whereas the growth of species from mesic sites (P. ayacahuite and T. mucronatum) shows little responsiveness to soil moisture. In P. ayacahuite and T. mucronatum, latewood growth is enhanced by warm summer conditions. The VS-Lite model shows that low soil moisture during April and May constrains growth in the four sensitive species, particularly in P. pinceana, the species dominant in the most xeric sites. Assessing seasonal ring growth and combining its response to climate with process-based growth models could complement xylogenesis data. Such framework should be widely applied, given the predicted warming and its impact on young forests.

Research advances in shrub dendroecology

The ecological value of shrub-ring data has received more and more attention. The tree-ring data of shrub species have been increasingly used to reveal growth dynamics of regional shrub vegetation and its sensitivity to climate change. Up to now, nearly 70 species of shrubs have been used in the studies of shrub dendrochronology, which considerably broadened the traditional tree-ring research network, enriched the research scope and object of dendrochronology, and certainly with great significance in revealing the characteristics of regional climate fluctuation and annual dynamics of structure, function and service for shrubland ecosystems. In this study, we systematically collected dendrochronological studies based on shrub species during the 1996-2021, and reviewed research progress in four main subfields (physiology, climatology, ecology and hydrology) in dendrochronology for shrub species. The characteristics of shrub growth and xylem anatomy under different environmental stresses were expounded. The main limiting factors for shrub growth in different climatic conditions and the history of regional climate fluctuations based on shrub-ring data were revealed. The individual growth and population dynamics of shrub species driven by climate and the changes in ecosystems caused by non-climatic factors were assessed, and the reconstructions of regional hydrological histories were compiled using tree-ring data of shrub species. Under the context of global warming, dendrochronological studies of shrub species in China should pay more attention to the responses of shrub species radial growth to drought stress under different moisture conditions in the semi-arid and arid regions and the transforming feature of distribution pattern and climate response sensitivity for shrub species under the background of climate change.

Response stability of radial growth of Chinese pine to climate change at different altitudes on the southern edge of the Tengger Desert

In recent decades, the climate in northwest China has warmed significantly, especially since the 1980 s, and there has been a period of rapid temperature increase and abundant precipitation since 2010. This has a profound impact on the species structure, distribution and productivity of forest ecosystems. The results of many studies indicate that the response of radial tree growth to global climate change is nonlinear at high altitudes and high latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere. However, altitudinal trends of tree radial growth response to climate change need to be investigated at different locations because of existing local variability in site-specific climatic conditions. Therefore, tree ring chronologies at high (2562 m), middle (2446 m) and low (2328 m) altitudes of Changling Mountain on the southern edge of the Tengger Desert were established to investigate the response to climate change. The results indicated that the interannual variation trends of the basal area increment (BAI) of Chinese pine (Pinus tabulaeformis) at the three altitudes showed first increases, then decreases, and then showed increases again. Trees at the high altitude showed a significant decline in 1997, and those at the middle and low altitudes significantly declined after 1982, while all trees showed growth after 2010. The radial growth of Chinese pine at the three altitudes was mainly restricted by drought stress, but the radial growth at the middle and low altitudes was more restricted by mean temperature and mean maximum temperature. Chinese pine showed unstable responses to climatic factors at the three altitudes, with the middle and high altitudes showing a more stable response to precipitation in the previous year. The drought resistance of Chinese pine first increased and then decreased under drought events, while the resilience first decreased and then increased with climate change. The relationship between trees and climatic factors, as well as the growth pattern and resistance of trees, change with climate change, resulting in differences in survival strategies and adaptability to future climate conditions among trees at the three altitudes.

Refining the standardized growth change method for pointer year detection: Accounting for statistical bias and estimating the deflection period

Detecting pointer years in tree-ring data is a central aspect of dendroecology. Pointer years are usually represented by extraordinary secondary tree growth, which is often interpreted as a response to abnormal environmental conditions such as late-frosts or droughts. Objectively identifying pointer years in larger tree-ring networks and relating those to specific climatic conditions will allow for refining our understanding of how trees perform under extreme climate and consequently, under anticipated climate change. Recently, Buras et al. (2020) demonstrated that frequently used pointer-year detection methods were either too sensitive or insensitive for such large scale analyses. In their study, Buras et al. (2020) proposed a novel approach for detecting pointer years – the standardized growth change (SGC) method which outperformed other pointer-year detection methods in pseudopopulation trials. Yet, the authors concluded that SGC could be improved further to account for the inability to detect pointer years following successive growth decline. Under this framework, we here present a refined version of the SGC-method – the bias-adjusted standardized growth change method (BSGC). The methodological adjustment to the SGC approach comprises conflated probabilities derived from standardized growth changes with probabilities derived from a time-step specific global standardization of growth changes. In addition, BSGC allows for estimating the length of the deflection period, i.e. the period before extraordinary growth values have reached normal levels. Application of BSGC to simulated and measured tree-ring data indicated an improved performance in comparison to SGC which allows for the identification of pointer years following years of successive growth decline. Also, deflection period lengths were estimated well and revealed plausible results for an existing tree-ring data set. Based on these validations, BSGC can be considered a further refinement of pointer-year detection, allowing for a more accurate identification and consequently better understanding of the radial growth response of trees to extreme events.

Cold-season freeze frequency is a pervasive driver of subcontinental forest growth

As northern latitudes experience rapid winter warming, there is an urgent need to assess the effect of varying winter conditions on tree growth and forest carbon sequestration potential. We examined tree growth responses to variability in cold-season (November–April) frequency of freeze days (FFD) over 1951 to 2018 using tree-ring data from 35,217 trees and 57 species at 4,375 sites distributed across Canada. We found that annual radial growth responses to FFD varied by species, with some commonalities across genera and clades. The growth of gymnosperms with late spring leaf-out strategies was negatively related to FFD; years with high FFD were most detrimental to the annual growth of Pinus banksiana, Pinus contorta, Larix lyalli, Abies amabilis, and Abies lasiocarpa. In contrast, the growth of angiosperms with early leaf-out strategies, namely, Populus tremuloides and Betula papyrifera, was better in the coldest years, and gymnosperms with intermediate leaf-out timing, such as widespread Picea mariana and Picea glauca, had no consistent relationship to FFD. Tree growth responses to FFD were further modulated by tree size, tree age, regional climate (i.e., mean cold-season temperature), and local site conditions. Overall, our results suggest that moderately warming winters may temporarily improve the growth of widespread pines and some high-elevation conifers in western Canada, whereas warming winters may be detrimental to the growth of widespread boreal angiosperms. Our findings also highlight the value of using species-specific climate-growth relationships to refine predictions of forest carbon dynamics.

The Characteristics of Radial Growth and Ecological Response of Caragana korshinskii Kom. Under Different Precipitation Gradient in the Western Loess Plateau, China.

Understanding the temporal-spatial variability of tree radial growth and ecological response is the basis for assessing forest vulnerability in sight of climate change. We studied stands of the shrub Caragana korshinskii Kom. at four sampling sites (natural forest CL and plantation forests XZJ, CK and TPX) that spanned the different precipitation gradient (180–415 mm) across China’s western Loess Plateau, and demonstrated its radial growth dynamics and ecological response. We found that the growth of natural C. korshinskii in arid regions have adapted and cope with regional environmental changes and radial growth was less affected by drought stress. However, the growth of planted C. korshinskii was significantly affected by drought stress in arid and semi-arid regions, especially during the growing season (from June to September). Variations in radial growth rates and growth indicators such as shrub height, canopy area are consistent with the climate-growth relationship. With increase of precipitation, the limiting of drought on the growth of planted C. korshinskii gradually decreased and the amount of radial growth variation explained by drought decreased from 53.8 to 34.2% and 22.3% from 270 to 399 and 415 mm of precipitation, respectively. The age-related radial growth trend shows that radial growth increased until 4 years of age, then decreased rapidly until 12–14 years of age, and then eventually tend to stabilized. In the context of climate warming and humidification, increased precipitation and regular branch coppicing management at around 12 years old will help to mitigate the limitation of drought on the growth of C. korshinskii. Moreover, the initial planting density should be tailored to local precipitation conditions (below 5,000 shrubs per hectare). The above results have important practical significance for the maintenance of the stability and sustainable management of plantation forests in the western Loess Plateau.