Journal
FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
Volume 256, Issue 5, Pages 1055-1063Publisher
ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV
DOI: 10.1016/j.foreco.2008.06.022
Keywords
boreal forest; summer drought; tree growth; upland; floodplain; Picea glauca; Betula neoalaskana; Populus tremuloides; P. balsomifera
Categories
Funding
- Long-Term Ecological Research
- NSF [DEB-0423442]
- USDA Forest Service
- Pacific Northwest Research Station [PNW01-JV11261952-231]
- Natural Resources and Agricultural Sciences
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The objective of this study was to examine the impact of summer throughfall on the growth of trees, at upland and floodplain locations, in the vicinity of Fairbanks, Alaska. Corrugated clear plastic covers were installed under the canopy of floodplain balsam poplar/white spruce stands and upland hardwood/white spruce stands to control soil moisture recharge as a result of summer precipitation. The covers were installed in 1989 and tree growth measurements were conducted through 2005. Soil moisture dynamics were measured using TDR techniques. Tree basal area growth at dbh in the control plots was approximately twice as high on the floodplain compared to the upland. Summer throughfall exclusion significantly decreased white spruce growth on the floodplain sites but not in the upland sites. In upland sites the melting snow pack is a major moisture resource for tree growth although it is not clear if moisture limitation occurs during the summer in the control plots. However in the floodplain stands white spruce growth was highly dependent on seasonal throughfall even though the ground water table was within the rooting zone and the soils were supplied with a spring recharge due to snowmelt. A number of factors were suggested as a foundation for this strong relationship. These include rooting distribution, soil texture, and the electrical conductivity of the ground water. (c) 2008 Published by Elsevier B.V.
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