Journal
ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH LETTERS
Volume 12, Issue 6, Pages -Publisher
IOP PUBLISHING LTD
DOI: 10.1088/1748-9326/aa6da8
Keywords
forest growth; sapflow; montane ecosystem; complex terrain; growing season length; topoclimate
Funding
- US Department of Energy's Terrestrial Ecosystem Science Program [DE-SC0006968]
- National Science Foundation [NSF EAR- 1331828]
- U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) [DE-SC0006968] Funding Source: U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Spatial variability in the topoclimate-driven linkage between forest phenology and tree growth in complex terrain is poorly understood, limiting our understanding of how ecosystems function as a whole. To characterize the influence of topoclimate on phenology and growth, we determined the start, end, and length of the growing season (GS(start), GS(end), and GSL, respectively) using the correlation between transpiration and evaporative demand, measured with sapflow. We then compared these metrics with stem relative basal area increment (relative BAI) at seven sites among elevation and aspects in a Colorado montane forest. As elevation increased, we found shorter GSL (-50 d km(-1)) due to later GS(start) (40 d km(-1)) and earlier GS(end) (-10 d km(-1)). North-facing sites had a 21 d shorter GSL than south-facing sites at similar elevations (i.e. equal to 200 m elevation difference on a given aspect). Growing season length was positively correlated with relative BAI, explaining 83% of the variance. This study shows that topography exerts strong environmental controls on GSL and thus forest growth. Given the climate-related dependencies of these controls, the results presented here have important implications for ecosystem responses to changes in climate and highlight the need for improved phenology representation in complex terrain.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available