Radial growth dominates climatic sensitivity in Quercus mongolica from the eastern Qinling Mountains, China

Abstract

Recent warming has increased drought stress in many mid-latitude forests, with potential impacts on both radial growth and xylem anatomy of ring-porous oaks. However, it remains controversial whether responses to interannual climatic variability are expressed mainly through changes in xylem production or through plasticity in earlywood vessel traits. In this study, we developed multi-parameter chronologies of Quercus mongolica Fisch. ex Ledeb. from the eastern Qinling Mountains, China, including ring width, earlywood width, latewood width (RW, EWW and LWW), and earlywood vessel traits. Climate sensitivity was quantified using daily moving-window correlations with temperature and precipitation (1953–2019), and responses to moisture extremes were tested by contrasting dry versus wet years across three distinct seasonal windows. Both ring width and latewood width showed the clearest hydroclimatic signals. Specifically, precipitation in late May–late June showed a strong and temporally consistent positive association with LWW and RW. In contrast, earlywood vessel size and vessel number exhibited weak, seasonally restricted climate sensitivity and did not differ significantly between these moisture extremes. These results indicate a growth strategy characterized by growth sensitivity but conservative earlywood vessel structure in Quercus mongolica, in which hydroclimatic stress is manifested primarily as reduced annual radial growth, particularly in latewood, rather than systematic reconfiguration of earlywood vessels.

Keywords

Quercus mongolica / Tree ring width / Earlywood vessel traits / Xylem growth strategy / Qinling Mountains

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Funding

State Key Laboratory of Loess Science(SKLLQG2434)

National Natural Science Foundation of China(42371073)

Fund of Shandong Province(LSKJ202203300)

Strategic Priority Research Program of Chinese Academy of Sciences(XDB1660102)

Natural Science Basic Research Program of Shaanxi(2024JC-ZDXM-17)

RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS

Northeast Forestry University