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Mediterranean climate effects. II. Conifer growth phenology across a Sierra Nevada ecotone¹

Graduate Group in Botany and Department of Environmental Horticulture, University of California, Davis, California 95616 USA

Growth and xylem water potential of the lower elevation conifers Pinus jeffreyi and Abies concolor and the higher elevation Pinus monticola and Abies magnifica were monitored in their montane Mediterranean habitat of the southernmost Sierra Nevada mountains of California. Measurements were made across the ecotone between the midmontane and upper montane forests and through light and heavy snowfall years.

Radial stem growth, averaging 1.5 mm/yr, started 2 wk after snow melt, providing that maximum air temperatures had reached 21°C, and ended when predawn water potentials fell rapidly at the onset of the summer drought. Leader growth started on or after a fixed date, providing that minimum air temperatures were above -4°C for Pinus species or +2.5°C for Abies species. The cue for leader growth was inferred to be photoperiodic. Leader growth ended when either a determinate internode length of 1 mm was reached or predawn water potentials fell rapidly. Abies magnifica grew more rapidly than the low-elevation species, but had a shorter growth period; its annual leader growth, as a consequence, was only 35 mm/yr vs. 50 mm/yr for the low-elevation species. Needle growth was similarly determinate in the absence of early drought. This growth phenology contributes to determining species distribution across the ecotone.

Key Words: Abies • conifer • ecotone • growth phenology • Mediterranean climate • Pinus • Sierra Nevada • snowpack

This article has been cited by other articles:

				L. LLORENS, J. PENUELAS, M. ESTIARTE, and P. BRUNA Contrasting Growth Changes in Two Dominant Species of a Mediterranean Shrubland Submitted to Experimental Drought and Warming Ann. Bot., December 1, 2004; 94(6): 843 - 853. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				E. B. Royce and M. G. Barbour Mediterranean climate effects. I. Conifer water use across a Sierra Nevada ecotone Am. J. Botany, May 1, 2001; 88(5): 911 - 918. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]