RT Journal Article
T1 Global fading of the temperature-growth coupling at alpine and polar treelines
A1 Camarero. Jesús Julio, 
A1 Gazol, Antonio
A1 Sánchez-Salguero, Raúl
A1 Fajardo, Alex
A1 McIntire, Eliot J. B.
A1 Gutiérrez, Emilia
A1 Batllori, Enric
A1 Boudreau, Stéphane
A1 Carrer, Marco
A1 Diez, Jeff
A1 Dufour-Tremblay, Geneviève
A1 Gaire, Narayan P.
A1 Hofgaard, Annika
A1 Jomelli, Vincent
A1 Kirdyanov, Alexander V.
A1 Lévesque, Esther
A1 Liang, Eryuan
A1 Linares Calderón, Juan Carlos
A1 Mathisen, Ingrid E.
A1 Moiseev, Pavel A.
A1 Sangüesa-Barreda, Gabriel
A1 Shrestha, Krishna B.
A1 Toivonen, Johanna M.
A1 Tutubalina, Olga V.
A1 Wilmking, Martin
K1 Climate warming
K1 Forest limit
K1 Growth model
K1 Mountain ecosystems
K1 Tree rings
AB Climate warming is expected to positively alter upward and poleward treelines which are controlled by low temperature and a short growing season. Despite the importance of treelines as a bioassay of climate change, a global field assessment and posterior forecasting of tree growth at annual scales is lacking. Using annually resolved tree-ring data located across Eurasia and the Americas, we quantified and modeled the relationship between temperature and radial growth at treeline during the 20th century. We then tested whether this temperature–growth association will remain stable during the 21st century using a forward model under two climate scenarios (RCP 4.5 and 8.5). During the 20th century, growth enhancements were common in most sites, and temperature and growth showed positive trends. Interestingly, the relationship between temperature and growth trends was contingent on tree age suggesting biogeographic patterns in treeline growth are contingent on local factors besides climate warming. Simulations forecast temperature–growth decoupling during the 21st century. The growing season at treeline is projected to lengthen and growth rates would increase and become less dependent on temperature rise. These forecasts illustrate how growth may decouple from climate warming in cold regions and near the margins of tree existence. Such projected temperature–growth decoupling could impact ecosystem processes in mountain and polar biomes, with feedbacks on climate warming.
PB John Wiley & Sons Ltd
YR 2021
FD 2021
LK https://hdl.handle.net/10433/25888
UL https://hdl.handle.net/10433/25888
LA en
NO Glob Change Biol. 2021;27:1879–1889
NO Universidad Pablo de Olavide. Departamento de Sistemas Físicos, Químicos y Naturales
DS RIO
RD May 9, 2026