Climate effects on growth of Ochetophila trinervis trees of the riparian area in highland ecosystems of the Andes mountains

Le résumé fourni par la source

High-altitude ecosystems are particularly vulnerable to the accelerated warming observed over recent decades. Consequently, increasing attention has been devoted to understanding climate sensitivity of growth associated with extreme drought events. Here, we investigated the growth-climate relationships of Ochetophila trinervis (Chacay) forests across three high-altitude sites in the Argentine Central Andes (31°–35°S). Tree-ring chronologies were developed and related to temperature and precipitation variability using both linear correlation and moving window analyses. All sites exhibited a pronounced decline in growth during recent decades. Bootstrapped correlation analysis revealed a strong negative effect of current spring temperatures (October–December) on radial growth across all sites. Moreover, the sensitivity of growth to spring temperature increased markedly over the last two decades. In contrast, a significant positive growth response to precipitation in May and August was detected at only one site. Superimposed Epoch Analysis (SEA) further confirmed that unusually warm spring conditions strongly suppress growth. These findings improve our understanding of the impacts of ongoing climate change on O. trinervis , a key high-elevation species with capacity of nitrogen fixing and with potential of colonized degraded environments.

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