Age-related tree-ring sensitivity at the dry forest-steppe boundary in northwestern Patagonia

• Published in: Trees (Berlin, West) West), 2022-10, Vol.36 (5), p.1607-1620
• Main Authors: Gallardo, Verónica B., Hadad, Martín A., Ribas-Fernández, Yanina A., Roig, Fidel A., Tardif, Jacques C.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Age; Agriculture; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Climate change; Climate variability; Cores; Correlation analysis; Dry forests; Ecological effects; Evapotranspiration; Forestry; Forests; Growing season; Growth rings; Life Sciences; Ontogeny; Original Article; Plant Anatomy/Development; Plant Pathology; Plant Physiology; Plant Sciences; Precipitation; Seedlings; Sensitivity; Steppes; Tree Rings; Trees; Variability
• ISSN: 0931-1890; 1432-2285
• DOI: 10.1007/s00468-022-02312-1

Key message The association between growth and climate in the forests of Austrocedrus chilensis placed at the forest-steppe ecotone was found to be age dependent, with ring widths from the oldest trees providing a better expression of climate variability. Over the course of their lives, trees may undergo changes in sensitivity to climate during their ontogenetic development, i.e., from seedling to maturity. Identifying these age-dependent responses is relevant to minimize under or over estimations of the climatic signal in dendroclimatic reconstructions. It also provides important clues in predicting the reactions of different age-class trees to ongoing climate changes. In this context, the main goal of this study was to determine the sensitivity of radial growth of Austrocedrus chilensis (Ciprés de la Cordillera) to climate variability as a function of tree age. Wood cores from 90 trees growing in the forest-steppe ecotone of northwestern Patagonia in Argentina, were sampled. By analyzing their growth rings, trees were classified in two age classes: young (