Response of Subalpine Conifers in the Sierra Nevada, California, U.S.A., to 20th-Century Warming and Decadal Climate Variability
- 1 May 2004
- journal article
- Published by Taylor & Francis in Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research
- Vol. 36 (2) , 181-200
- https://doi.org/10.1657/1523-0430(2004)036[0181:roscit]2.0.co;2
Abstract
Four independent studies of conifer growth between 1880 and 2002 in upper elevation forests of the central Sierra Nevada, California, U.S.A., showed correlated multidecadal and century-long responses associated with climate. Using tree-ring and ecological plot analysis, we studied annual branch growth of krummholz Pinus albicaulis; invasion by P. albicaulis and Pinus monticola into formerly persistent snowfields; dates of vertical branch emergence in krummholz P. albicaulis; and invasion by Pinus contorta into subalpine meadows. Mean annual branch growth at six treeline sites increased significantly over the 20th century (range 130–400%), with significant accelerations in rate from 1920 to 1945 and after 1980. Growth stabilized from 1945 to 1980. Similarly, invasion of six snowfield slopes began in the early 1900s and continued into snowfield centers throughout the 20th century, with significantly accelerated mean invasion from 1925 to 1940 and after 1980. Rate of snowfield invasion decreased bet...Keywords
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