Radial growth-based assessment of sites effects on pedunculate and greyish oak in southern Romania

• Published in: The Science of the total environment Vol. 694; p. 133709
• Main Authors: Nechita, Constantin, Macovei, Irina, Popa, Ionel, Badea, Ovidiu Nicolae, Apostol, Ecaterina Nicoleta, Eggertsson, Ólafur
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier B.V 01.12.2019
• Subjects: Climate; Environmental Monitoring - methods; Greyish oak; Growth/daily climate dependence; Pedunculate oak; Pointer years; Quercus - growth & development; Resilience components; Romania; Romania; Growth/daily climate dependence; Pedunculate oak; Resilience components; Pointer years; Greyish oak
• ISSN: 0048-9697; 1879-1026
• DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.133709

This study focuses on the climate growth drivers of Quercus robur L. (pedunculate oak) and Q. robur subsp. pedunculiflora K. Koch. (greyish oak), occurring in the biodiversity of three sites in southern Romania. We determined the degree of tolerance of the greyish oak, between the tardive and praecox varieties, to environmental stress, between 1951 and 2016. Total tree ring-width (RW), and earlywood (EW) and latewood (LW) measurements were subject of periodical and monthly climate-growth analysis. Our results revealed a moderate relationship between climate and tree-growth. A significant and positive relationship was observed between RW and previous growing season precipitation. Mean and minimum temperatures affected both positive and negative tree-rings during the growing season. We also observed that winter and spring represent key seasons for differentiating tardive from praecox varieties, affecting the intra-annual variability of ring-width, and EW and LW parameters. The correlation between the tree-ring measurements and daily climate data shows a clear offset of the starting growth between greyish oak varieties. A weak influence of stressors on tree-growth at the sites was observed through pointer year and resilience components analysis. [Display omitted] •The dendroclimatology of Quercus robur and Q. pedunculiflora was studied.•Different growth patterns among sites and within species were observed.•There is a relationship between offset earlywood and climatic drivers between varieties.•Winter and spring represent key seasons in separating tardive from praecox varieties.