Growth-mortality relationships in pinon pine (Pinus edulis) during severe droughts of the past century: shifting processes in space and time.

ABSTRACT: The processes leading to drought-associated tree mortality are poorly understood, particularly long-term predisposing factors, memory effects, and variability in mortality processes and thresholds in space and time. We use tree rings from four sites to investigate Pinus edulis mortality during two drought periods in the southwestern USA. We draw on recent sampling and archived collections to (1) analyze P. edulis growth patterns and mortality during the 1950s and 2000s droughts; (2) determine the influence of climate and competition on growth in trees that died and survived; and (3) derive regression models of growth-mortality risk and evaluate their performance across space and time. Recent growth was 53% higher in surviving vs. dying trees, with some sites exhibiting decades-long growth

SUBMITTER: Macalady AK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4008371 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature