Winter injury to subalpine red spruce: influence of prior vigor and effects on subsequent growth

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Abstract
We assessed the relationship between prior vigor and severity of winter injury to trees and saplings of red spruce (Picearubens Sarg.) at Mount Moosilauke, New Hampshire. Severity of injury was quantified as percent foliar damage on current-year needles after severe injury in the winter of 1988–1989. There was no relationship between severity of injury and prior crown condition. There was only a weak tendency for trees with high live crown ratios to be less damaged than trees with proportionally smaller crowns. Severity of winter injury was not correlated with prior growth rates in the 1-, 2-, or 5-year periods preceding injury, for either trees (radial growth) or saplings (extension growth). However, crown condition of trees and saplings deteriorated significantly following injury. For both trees and saplings, prior growth and subsequent growth were positively correlated for the 1- and 2-year periods before and after the winter injury event. Effects of winter injury on growth in 1989 and 1990 were analyzed using growth ratios (subsequent growth relative to prior growth) to avoid ambiguity resulting from individual differences in growth rates. Severity of winter injury had no effect on growth ratios in the 1- or 2-year periods following winter injury. Although no effects on growth were detected following a single winter injury event, it remains plausible that successive, severe episodes of winter injury could reduce growth and increase mortality risk in red spruce.

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