Climate Sensitivity of Radial Growth in Major Tree Species of the Romanian Carpathians

Ioras, Florin (2026) Climate Sensitivity of Radial Growth in Major Tree Species of the Romanian Carpathians. Notulae Botanicae Horti Agrobotanici Cluj-Napoca, 54 (3). ISSN 1842-4309

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Access this via: https://doi.org/10.15835/nbha54315341

Abstract

Recent warming is reshaping radial growth in montane forests, yet comparative evidence from operationally managed forests in the Romanian Carpathians remains limited. We combined two linked dendrochronological case studies to assess species-specific responses of silver fir (Abies alba Mill.), Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) H. Karst.), Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) and sessile oak (Quercus petraea (Matt.) Liebl.). The principal dataset included 90 trees sampled across Vulcan, Zărnești and Șimon, while a complementary Bucegi study compared 22 declining silver fir with 22 apparently unaffected sessile oak. Ring-width series for 1981–2025 were cross-dated, standardised and related to annual mean temperature and annual precipitation derived from NASA POWER/MERRA-2. Temperature increased significantly at all principal sites (0.022–0.026 °C yr−1), whereas precipitation declined after 2010. Norway spruce showed the strongest negative temperature–growth relationships (r = −0.628 to −0.650), while silver fir and Scots pine displayed moderate responses. At Bucegi, silver fir was more temperature-sensitive (r = −0.600) than sessile oak (r = −0.543), although radial growth in both species declined after 2010. These results reveal clear species- and site-specific climatic sensitivity, but they do not support the general replacement of vulnerable conifers with a single broadleaved species. Diversified regeneration, continued monitoring and cautious, site-specific provenance selection are therefore recommended.

Item Type:	Article
Divisions:	Directorates > Research and Knowledge Exchange
Depositing User:	Research and Knowledge Exchange Office Admin 1
Date Deposited:	03 Sep 2026 11:47
Last Modified:	03 Sep 2026 11:47
URI:	https://bnu.repository.guildhe.ac.uk/id/eprint/21507

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