Climate–growth relationships of relict Picea jezoensis at Mt. Gyebang, South Korea

Woongsoon Jang, Christopher R. Keyes, Steven W. Running, Jong Hwan Lim, Pil Sun Park

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

8 Scopus citations

Abstract

A study was conducted to evaluate climatic variation at Mt. Gyebang, South Korea, and its influence on the modelled and observed growth of its relict Picea jezoensis population. Using the MT-CLIM and Biome-BGC models, year-to-year meteorological variation and subsequent changes in growing season, primary productivity and water balance were simulated. These were compared with the observed growth of sample P. jezoensis trees at the site. According to weather data and model calculations, the P. jezoensis stand at Mt. Gyebang was exposed to significant climate variations affecting growing season, carbon balance, and water balance. Although the length of growing season showed an increasing trend over time, the observed growth of P. jezoensis was unaffected by the length of growing season. Probably due to the site's shallow soil depths and species’ shallow rooting depth, the modelled increase in productivity caused by climate variation was not manifested in an increase in growth of P. jezoensis. These findings imply that the competitiveness of P. jezoensis at this site has declined over time and that an active approach to conservation planning for this species and site is warranted.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)19-26
Number of pages8
JournalForest Science and Technology
Volume11
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 2 2015

Keywords

  • Yezo spruce
  • carbon cycle
  • primary production
  • radial growth

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