Longer growing seasons will not offset growth loss in drought-prone temperate forests of Central-Southeast Europe.

ABSTRACT: The radial growth of temperate forests responds to climate change with remarkable variation across space and between species. However, there is limited understanding of how growing season extension and increasing drought stress contribute to long-term growth trends. Here, we calibrate the VS-Lite growth model using 2013 tree-ring chronologies from ten broadleaved and five coniferous genera in Central-Southeast Europe to predict intra-annual wood formation under four SSP climate scenarios through the 21^st century. Results show that forecasted summer drought stress will be temporarily offset by an extended growing season, leading to stable or positive trends in tree-ring widths until a tipping point in the 2040s-2050s. During the second half of the 21^st century, high-em

SUBMITTER: Tumajer J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12572185 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature