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Climate response of cell characteristics in tree rings of Picea crassifolia

  • Jinmei Xu , Jianxiong Lu EMAIL logo , Fucheng Bao , Robert Evans and Geoffrey M. Downes
Published/Copyright: September 4, 2012

Abstract

Dimensions of dated tree rings are an important tool of dendroclimatology. However, the relationships between climatic variables and cell diameter and cell wall thickness are not yet clearly elaborated. In the present article, year-to-year cell characteristics, ring width, and wood density of Picea crassifolia trees growing in northwestern China have been measured with high resolution by means of the instrument SilviScan-3. The response function analysis showed that climate explained 51% of the variation of cell radial diameter chronology, 48% of wood density, 40% of cell wall thickness, and 37% of ring width. Cell wall thickness and wood density responded significantly and positively to temperature, and the response to precipitation was negative, while the opposite was true for cell radial diameter and ring width. Cell wall thickness and wood density were pronounced (statistically significant) to temperature in September and precipitation in May and August. Cell radial diameter responded significantly to temperature in June and July, and precipitation, in August. For ring width, the temperature in July was important. Accordingly, cell characteristics are sensitive to climate, and the findings could be useful in the field of dendroclimatology.


Corresponding author: Jianxiong Lu, State Key Laboratory of Tree Genetics and Breeding, Research Institute of Wood Industry, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing 100091, China, Phone: +86 10 62889482, Fax: +86 10 62881937

Received: 2011-7-21
Accepted: 2012-8-9
Published Online: 2012-09-04
Published in Print: 2013-02-01

©2013 by Walter de Gruyter Berlin Boston

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