Linkage between spruce forest decline and cloud cover increase in the Qilian Mountains of the northeastern Tibetan Plateau

• Published in: Trees (Berlin, West) Vol. 37; no. 4; pp. 1097 - 1106
• Main Authors: Yang, Jing, Zhao, Baowei, Zheng, Jiacheng, Zhang, Qi, Li, Yan, Ma, Fuhai, Fang, Ouya
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.08.2023; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Agriculture; Biomedical and Life Sciences; China; climate; Climate change; Cloud cover; Coniferous forests; Cores; Decline; Evergreen trees; forest decline; Forest protection; Forestry; Forests; Global warming; Growing season; growth rings; Life Sciences; Mountains; Original Article; Picea crassifolia; Plant Anatomy/Development; Plant Pathology; Plant Physiology; Plant Sciences; risk; Risk assessment; Tree Rings; Trees; Tibetan Plateau; China; Tree rings; Cloud cover; Dendroecology; Forest decline event

Key message The decline in Qinghai spruce forests was not aggravated by increasing temperatures; rather, excess cloud cover was the main trigger of forest decline. Forest declines accompanied by global warming have been increasingly reported worldwide. However, such declines are less frequently obse...