Detecting snow-related signals in radial growth of Pinus uncinata mountain forests

Abstract

Climate warming is responsible for observed reduction in snowpack depth and an earlier and faster melt-out in many mountains of the Northern Hemisphere. Such changes in mountain hydroclimate could negatively affect productivity and tree growth in high-elevation forests, but few studies have investigated how and where recent warming trends and changes in snow cover influence forest growth. A network comprising 36 high-elevation Pinus uncinata forests was sampled in the NE Iberian Peninsula, mainly across the Spanish Pyrenees, using dendrochronology to relate tree radial growth to a detailed air temperature and snow depth data. Radial growth was negatively influenced by a longer winter snow season and a higher late-spring snowpack depth. Notably, the effect of snow on tree growth was found regardless the widely reported positive effect of growing-season air temperatures on P. uncinata growth. No positive influence of moisture from spring snowmelt on annual growth of P. uncinata was detected in sampled forests. Tall trees showed a lower growth responsiveness to snow than small trees. Decreasing trends in winter and spring snow depths were detected at most Pyrenean forests, suggesting that the growth of high-elevation P. uncinata forests can beneficiate for a shallower and of shorter duration snowpack associated with warmer conditions. However, water-limited sites located on steep slopes or on rocky substrates, with poor soil-water holding capacity, could experience drought stress because of early depleted snow-related soil moisture.