Post-drought Growth Response of Western Juniper (Juniperus occidentalis var. occidentalis) in Central Oregon
- 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: Increased atmospheric CO2 may affect the physiological response of natural trees to drought. We examined radial growth rates developed from five western juniper chronologies to determine if post-drought growth responses have changed. Using prior year October to current year June precipitation from 1896-1998, we identified drought recovery years as having standardized scores (z-scores) > 0 and preceded by a year with a z-score <-0.6. We defined our analysis by an early period, 1896-1930, when atmospheric CO2 concentrations were close to preindustrial levels, and a late period, 1964-1998, when concentrations were substantially higher. Mean growth index values of recovery years between early and late periods were significantly greater (p<0.05) for four of the five sites, and for all sites combined. These results are consistent with the drought-ameliorating effects of CO2 shown by controlled laboratory studies and suggest that rising levels of atmospheric CO2 may impact western juniper growth rates.
Post-drought Growth Response of Western Juniper (Juniperus occidentalis var. occidentalis) in Central Oregon
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Created on 7/1/2001
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Additional Information
- Publication
- P. A. Knapp, P. T. Soulé, and H. D. Grissino-Mayer. “Post-drought Growth Response of Western Juniper (Juniperus occidentalis var. occidentalis) in Central Oregon.” Geophysical Research Letters. V. 28 no. 13 (2001): 2657-2660. Published by American Geophysical Union. http://dx.doi.org10.1029/2000GL012365 [Archiving of publisher’s PDF permitted]
- Language: English
- Date: 2001