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Age and radial growth pattern of four tree species in a subtropical forest of China

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Abstract

Subtropical forests are usually composed of many tree species. Knowledge of the age and radial growth variation of the dominant tree species is useful for understanding forest dynamics and community structure and function. The aims of this study are to explore whether there are identifiable annual growth rings in the main tree species and to examine the growth characteristics within and among the species in Mount Gutian subtropical forest of China. The results showed that four out of eight tree species from which samples were collected had visible and cross-datable rings. There were no stable relationships between the age and diameter for these subtropical trees. Significant differences existed in radial growth rate within and among the four species, suggesting a high spatial heterogeneity in the mixed-species subtropical forest. The common pattern in age distribution of multiple species suggests a stand-wide disturbance occurring around the 1960s. It is interesting to note that the growth rate at the same age intervals was different for trees younger than 40 years of age and older than 40 years of age, suggesting a change in climate or forest structure in the two time periods. The results obtained from this study help understand the growth dynamics in other subtropical forests having these tree species.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by the Chinese Academy of Sciences Projects No. KSCX-YW-Z-1022 and KZCX2-YW-430, the National Natural Sciences Foundation of China Project No. 40631002, and a grant from the Office for International Engagement, Monash University, Australia.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 20 Nanxincun, Xiangshan, Beijing, 100093, China

    Pei Xing & Qi-Bin Zhang

  2. Graduate University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, 19A Yuquanlu, Beijing, 100049, China

    Pei Xing

  3. School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Bld 18, Melbourne, VIC, 3800, Australia

    Patrick J. Baker

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  1. Pei Xing
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  2. Qi-Bin Zhang
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  3. Patrick J. Baker
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Correspondence to Qi-Bin Zhang.

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Communicated by A. Braeuning.

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Xing, P., Zhang, QB. & Baker, P.J. Age and radial growth pattern of four tree species in a subtropical forest of China. Trees 26, 283–290 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00468-011-0590-6

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