EGU24-5939, updated on 08 Mar 2024
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu24-5939
EGU General Assembly 2024
© Author(s) 2024. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Growth and drought resilience of planted conifers and broadleaves in the semi-arid Northern China.

Jitang Li1,2, Yuyang Xie1, Jesús Julio Camarero2, Antonio Gazol2, Ester González de Andrés2, Lingxiao Ying3, and Zehao Shen1
Jitang Li et al.
  • 1Peking University, Institute of Ecology, College of Urban and Environmental Science, China (jitangli@stu.pku.edu.cn)
  • 2Instituto Pirenaico de Ecología (IPE-CSIC), 50059 Zaragoza, Spain
  • 3State Key Laboratory of Urban and Regional Ecology, Research Centre for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China

Under warmer and drier climate scenarios, the growth and resilience of forests will be critically affected by more frequent and severe droughts. Since the 1970s, China has launched several afforestation programs aimed at regional ecological protection, playing an important role for reaching carbon neutrality by 2060.

This study provided a detailed analysis of the growth suitability of the main planted conifers (Pinus sylvestris var. mongolica, Pinus tabulaeformis) and broadleaves (Populus spp., Robina pseudoacacia) in the semi-arid northern China. We compared the radial growth trends of plantations and their responses to extreme droughts from 1980 to 2018.

Growth of most plantations has significantly increased, but broadleaves showed recent growth reductions in the past decade, which may be related to tree age and reduced soil water content. Nevertheless, under warmer climate scenarios, growth of plantations is forecasted to continue increasing. Broadleaves showed a better post-drought recovery, probably linked to their anisohydric behavior, than conifers, which presented a better resistance to drought. Growth of conifers depended more on warmer temperature and better precipitation conditions during the growing season, whereas broadleaves mainly reacted to warm temperature. Additionally, pre-drought growth levels weakened resilience components, while post-drought precipitation compensated drought-induced growth deficit. Growth and resilience were negatively related to tree age, whilst higher stand density reduced growth. This assessment and projections of growth and drought resilience indicate the sustainability of most plantations in semi-arid regions, but future warmer and drier conditions may lead to an uncertain future regarding forest health and reduce their carbon sink potential.

Keywords: Growth trends; Drought resilience; Tree-ring analysis; Plantations; Three-North Shelter Forests Program.

How to cite: Li, J., Xie, Y., Julio Camarero, J., Gazol, A., González de Andrés, E., Ying, L., and Shen, Z.: Growth and drought resilience of planted conifers and broadleaves in the semi-arid Northern China., EGU General Assembly 2024, Vienna, Austria, 14–19 Apr 2024, EGU24-5939, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu24-5939, 2024.