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Growth response of Great Basin limber pine populations to climate variability over the past 4002 years

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 March 2021

Constance I. Millar Open the ORCID record for Constance I. Millar [Opens in a new window] ,
Diane L. Delany ,
John C. King  and
Robert D. Westfall
Constance I. Millar*
Affiliation:
Pacific Southwest Research Station, USDA Forest Service, 800 Buchanan St., Albany, CA 94710, USA
Diane L. Delany
Affiliation:
Pacific Southwest Research Station, USDA Forest Service, 800 Buchanan St., Albany, CA 94710, USA
John C. King
Affiliation:
Lone Pine Research, 2604 Westridge Drive, Bozeman, MT 59715, USA
Robert D. Westfall
Affiliation:
Pacific Southwest Research Station, USDA Forest Service, 800 Buchanan St., Albany, CA 94710, USA
*
*Corresponding author: Constance I. Millar Email: connie.millar@usda.gov
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Abstract

Tree-rings representing annual dates from live and deadwood Pinus flexilis at ten sites across the central Great Basin (~38°N) yielded a cumulative record across 4002 years (1983 BC–AD 2019). Individual site chronologies ranged in length from 861–4002 years; all were continuous over their sample depths. Correlations of growth with climate were positive for water relations and mostly negative for summer temperatures. Growth was generally correlated across sites, with the central Nevada stands most distinct. Although growth was low during the Late Holocene Dry Period, variability marked this interval, suggesting that it was not pervasively dry. All sites had low growth during the first half of the Medieval Climate Anomaly, high growth during the mid-interval pluvial, and low growth subsequently. Little synchrony occurred across sites for the early Little Ice Age. After AD 1650, growth was depressed until the early twentieth century. Growth at all sites declined markedly ca. AD 1985, was similar to the lowest growth period of the full records, and indicative of recent severe droughts. A small rebound in growth occurred after ca. AD 2010. A strong signal for Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO) occurred in growth response at most sites. The persistence of all stands despite climate variability indicates high resilience of this species.

Keywords

Great Basinlimber pinePinus flexilisLate Holocenepaleoclimate variabilitytree ringsdendroecologypine demographics

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Type
Research Article
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Quaternary Research , Volume 102 , July 2021 , pp. 153 - 174
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Copyright © University of Washington. Published by Cambridge University Press, 2021

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