Impacts of Human Disturbance on the Temporal Stability of Climate–Growth Relationships in a Red Spruce Forest, Southern Appalachian Mountains, USA
- ASU Author/Contributor (non-ASU co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
- Peter T. Soule' Ph.D., Professor (Creator)
- Institution
- Appalachian State University (ASU )
- Web Site: https://library.appstate.edu/
Abstract: We used dendrochronological techniques to develop a tree-ring chronology (AD 1874–2009) from live trees and investigated the temporal stability of regional climate signals in the heavily disturbed red spruce (Picea rubens Sarg.) and Fraser fir [Abies fraseri (Pursh) Poir.] forest of Roan Mountain, Tennessee and North Carolina, USA. We performed bootstrapped correlation analyses in split data sets and moving intervals analyses to detect shifts in climatic sensitivity during periods of changing forest structure following disturbances. Most notably, a significant shift in red spruce temperature sensitivity occurred post-1930s, where positive growth responses to warm temperatures shifted to negative responses, and this shift coincided with a period of clear cut harvesting. As exogenous disturbances (i.e. ice storms, wind throw, and acidic deposition) are expected to continue altering the structure of this forest throughout the region, the climatic sensitivity of these species may become increasingly unstable.
Impacts of Human Disturbance on the Temporal Stability of Climate–Growth Relationships in a Red Spruce Forest, Southern Appalachian Mountains, USA
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Additional Information
- Publication
- Peter Soulé, Philip B. White, & Saskia van de Gevel (2014) "Impacts of Human Disturbance on the Temporal Stability of Climate–Growth Relationships in a Red Spruce Forest, Southern Appalachian Mountains, USA" Dendrochronologia Volume 32 pp.71-77 Version of Record Available From (www.sciencedirect.com)
- Language: English
- Date: 2014
- Keywords
- Picea rubens Sarg, Climate sensitivity, Tree-rings, Clearcut harvesting, Roan Mountain