Species-Specific Response to Climate Change: Evident through Retrospective Analysis Using Tree Ring Data

Abstract

It is likely that changing monsoon patterns and changes in other climatic parameters will have an impact on forests. Tree growth and biomass may respond differently across the different forest recovery contexts after the disturbance regimes. It is essential to understand the response of different tree species in order to comprehend their ability to adapt to climate change. An enhanced understanding of how tree species dynamics change with a substantial shift in climate attributes is crucial to develop adaptive forest management strategies. Advances in the statistical application of tree ring data results in more reliable dating with the high accuracy and precision of any of the paleo-records and robust and long-term reconstructions of key indices such as temperature and precipitation. In this study, we analyzed how different species inhabiting together respond to changes in climatic variables using dendroclimatic analysis. We assessed the growth performance of Abies pindrow, Pinus wallichiana, and Tsuga dumosa in the temperate region of Nepal. The climate sensitivity of the species was analyzed using bootstrap correlation analysis and the climate-growth relationship over time was assessed using the moving correlation function. Tree ring growth of Abies pindrow is stimulated by higher June temperatures and higher March precipitation. This positive relationship is consistent and stationary over time. However, in the other two species, both response function and moving correlation analysis showed that the relationship between climate and growth is inconsistent and changes over time.