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Differences in climate–growth relationship indicate diverse drought tolerances among five pine species coexisting in Northwestern Mexico

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Winter and spring wet and cool conditions often linked to El Niño enhance growth in five Mexican pine species which showed different responses to drought.

Abstract

Climate warming could intensify drought stress in NW México mountains as the Sierra Madre Occidental which are not only centers of pine diversification but also subject to a high hydroclimatic variability. In this region, rainfall and thus forest growth depend on changes in sea-surface temperatures (SST) across the equatorial Pacific related to the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO). Winter moist-cool conditions usually correspond to El Niño episodes characterized by warm SSTs in the equatorial Pacific, whilst dry winters correspond to cold SSTs (La Niña). Consequently, growth responsiveness to dry spells could be used as a proxy of forest vulnerability to increased drought stress. Here, we characterize the growth responsiveness of five coexisting Mexican pine species to hydroclimate, drought, and the ENSO using dendrochronology. Pinus lumholtzii and P. durangensis showed a low responsiveness to maximum temperatures and drought, whereas others as P. arizonica, P. engelmannii, and P. leiophylla were very responsive. Among these drought-sensitive pine species, we found responses to ca. half- (e.g. P. engelmannii) and 1-year long (e.g. P. arizonica) droughts. The most responsive species to drought, P. arizonica and P. leiophylla, were also those showing a higher association between ENSO-related indices and growth. Wet and cool winter and spring conditions, linked to warm SSTs over the equatorial Pacific, were the main hydroclimate factors enhancing growth. Pine species presented different growth responsiveness to drought which suggests that they present diverse tolerances to water shortage. This implies that coexisting pine species will differently face the more arid conditions forecasted for many drought-prone areas.

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Acknowledgements

We acknowledge the financial support given by Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (CONACYT) through project 222522. We thank local forestry landowners for facilitating gathering field data. We also thank R. Sánchez-Salguero for his help with data analyses and the editors and two anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Facultad de Ciencias Forestales de la Universidad Juárez del Estado de Durango, Río Papaloapan y Blvd. Durango S/N Col. Valle del Sur, CP 34120, Durango, Mexico

    Marcos González-Cásares & Marín Pompa-García

  2. Instituto Pirenaico de Ecología (IPE-CSIC), Avda. Montañana 1005, 50059, Saragossa, Spain

    J. Julio Camarero

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  1. Marcos González-Cásares
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  2. Marín Pompa-García
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  3. J. Julio Camarero
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Correspondence to Marín Pompa-García.

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Communicated by E. Liang.

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González-Cásares, M., Pompa-García, M. & Camarero, J.J. Differences in climate–growth relationship indicate diverse drought tolerances among five pine species coexisting in Northwestern Mexico. Trees 31, 531–544 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00468-016-1488-0

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