Effect of weather conditions on annual and intra-annual basal area increments of a beech stand in the Sopron Mountains in Hungary

Führer, Ernő; Edelényi, Márton; Horváth, László; Jagodics, Anikó; Jereb, László; Kern, Zoltán; Moring, Andrea; Szabados, Ildikó; Pödör, Zoltán. 2016 Effect of weather conditions on annual and intra-annual basal area increments of a beech stand in the Sopron Mountains in Hungary. Idojaras - Quarterly Journal of the Hungarian Meteorological Service, 120 (2). 127-161.

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Abstract/Summary

We studied the effect of meteorological parameters such as average monthly temperature and sum of precipitation on basal area increment (BAI) of a beech stand in the Sopron Mountains in subalpine climate in Hungary between 1985 and 2007. The applied multivariate regression analysis takes into account the influence of the weather conditions on increments also in the previous two years. Results indicated that precipitation generally stimulated the BAI in the studied stand, while above average temperature during the growing season depressed it. One of the dominant periods for growing of basal area is the autumn of the penultimate year when precipitation and temperature has positive and negative effect on increment, respectively. In the main growing period (spring-early summer) the previous year’s precipitation has positive, while autumn temperature has negative effect. Current spring to early summer precipitation enhances the beech growth, and in contrary, the mean temperature in June-July has negative effect on the BAI. There is a breakpoint in the trend of meteorological variables at about 1999. A significant decrease was observed in the growth of beech in the summer months in the period of 2000–2007 compared to growth between 1985 and 1999 probably caused by the changed meteorological conditions. The maximum growth shifted from June to May, and the relative share of spring months in the BAI has increased since 2000. Drastic loss in increments can be observed in July and August, which was partly compensated in autumn. The long-term trend of annual BAI is continuously decreasing; comparing the two periods, the average yearly increments decreased from 21 cm2 to 12 cm2. According to forecasted climate change, not only further loss in growth but also drastic decay in vitality and tolerance can be expected for beech at this site over the 21st century.

Item Type:	Publication - Article
UKCEH and CEH Sections/Science Areas:	Dise
ISSN:	0324-6329
Additional Information. Not used in RCUK Gateway to Research.:	Freely available from journal website - Official URL link provides full text.
Additional Keywords:	beech, growth, basal area increment, climate change, production
NORA Subject Terms:	Ecology and Environment
Date made live:	25 Jul 2016 09:33 +0 (UTC)
URI:	https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/514019

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