Climate–Growth Relationships in <i>Laurus azorica</i>—A Dominant Tree in the Azorean Laurel Forest
Forests on oceanic islands, such as the Azores archipelago, enable interesting dendroclimatic research, given their pronounced climatic gradients over short geographical distances, despite the less pronounced seasonality. The Lauraceae play an essential ecological role in Macaronesian natural forest...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-01-01
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| Series: | Forests |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/14/2/166 |
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| author | Diogo C. Pavão Jernej Jevšenak Lurdes Borges Silva Rui Bento Elias Luís Silva |
| author_facet | Diogo C. Pavão Jernej Jevšenak Lurdes Borges Silva Rui Bento Elias Luís Silva |
| author_sort | Diogo C. Pavão |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Forests on oceanic islands, such as the Azores archipelago, enable interesting dendroclimatic research, given their pronounced climatic gradients over short geographical distances, despite the less pronounced seasonality. The Lauraceae play an essential ecological role in Macaronesian natural forests. An example is <i>Laurus azorica</i> (Seub.) Franco, a relevant species given its high frequency and physiognomic dominance in Azorean laurel forests. This study aims to quantify climate–growth relationships in <i>L. azorica</i> using a dendroecological approach. We sampled four stands at São Miguel and two stands at Terceira islands, for a total of 206 trees. Following standard dendrochronological methods and rigorous sample selection procedures, we obtained relatively low rbar values and high temporal autocorrelation. Using a stepwise Random Forest analysis followed by Generalized Linear Models calculation, we found prominent effects of present and previous year temperature, but a low precipitation signal on growth rings, with some model variation between stands. Our results agreed with previous observations for broad-leaved species with diffuse porous wood, contributing to increase the baseline dendroecological knowledge about Azorean forests. Due to the high levels of within- and between-stand variation, and to refine the climatic signal analysis, complementary approaches should be explored in the future. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T08:50:11Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-c4a785bc44a84f49a82f9fdf794ea4bf |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1999-4907 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T08:50:11Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Forests |
| spelling | doaj.art-c4a785bc44a84f49a82f9fdf794ea4bf2023-11-16T20:32:13ZengMDPI AGForests1999-49072023-01-0114216610.3390/f14020166Climate–Growth Relationships in <i>Laurus azorica</i>—A Dominant Tree in the Azorean Laurel ForestDiogo C. Pavão0Jernej Jevšenak1Lurdes Borges Silva2Rui Bento Elias3Luís Silva4CIBIO, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, InBIO Laboratório Associado, Pólo dos Açores, Universidade dos Açores, Campus de Ponta Delgada, Rua da Mãe de Deus, 9500-321 Ponta Delgada, PortugalTUM School of Life Sciences, Technical University of Munich, D-85354 Freising, GermanyCIBIO, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, InBIO Laboratório Associado, Pólo dos Açores, Universidade dos Açores, Campus de Ponta Delgada, Rua da Mãe de Deus, 9500-321 Ponta Delgada, PortugalcE3c-Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes, Azorean Biodiversity Group, CHANGE—Global Change and Sustainability Institute, Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, University of the Azores, Rua Capitão João d’Ávila, Pico da Urze, 9700-042 Angra do Heroísmo, PortugalCIBIO, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, InBIO Laboratório Associado, Pólo dos Açores, Universidade dos Açores, Campus de Ponta Delgada, Rua da Mãe de Deus, 9500-321 Ponta Delgada, PortugalForests on oceanic islands, such as the Azores archipelago, enable interesting dendroclimatic research, given their pronounced climatic gradients over short geographical distances, despite the less pronounced seasonality. The Lauraceae play an essential ecological role in Macaronesian natural forests. An example is <i>Laurus azorica</i> (Seub.) Franco, a relevant species given its high frequency and physiognomic dominance in Azorean laurel forests. This study aims to quantify climate–growth relationships in <i>L. azorica</i> using a dendroecological approach. We sampled four stands at São Miguel and two stands at Terceira islands, for a total of 206 trees. Following standard dendrochronological methods and rigorous sample selection procedures, we obtained relatively low rbar values and high temporal autocorrelation. Using a stepwise Random Forest analysis followed by Generalized Linear Models calculation, we found prominent effects of present and previous year temperature, but a low precipitation signal on growth rings, with some model variation between stands. Our results agreed with previous observations for broad-leaved species with diffuse porous wood, contributing to increase the baseline dendroecological knowledge about Azorean forests. Due to the high levels of within- and between-stand variation, and to refine the climatic signal analysis, complementary approaches should be explored in the future.https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/14/2/166Azoresdendroclimatologygeneralized linear modelslaurel forestMacaronesiarandom forest |
| spellingShingle | Diogo C. Pavão Jernej Jevšenak Lurdes Borges Silva Rui Bento Elias Luís Silva Climate–Growth Relationships in <i>Laurus azorica</i>—A Dominant Tree in the Azorean Laurel Forest Forests Azores dendroclimatology generalized linear models laurel forest Macaronesia random forest |
| title | Climate–Growth Relationships in <i>Laurus azorica</i>—A Dominant Tree in the Azorean Laurel Forest |
| title_full | Climate–Growth Relationships in <i>Laurus azorica</i>—A Dominant Tree in the Azorean Laurel Forest |
| title_fullStr | Climate–Growth Relationships in <i>Laurus azorica</i>—A Dominant Tree in the Azorean Laurel Forest |
| title_full_unstemmed | Climate–Growth Relationships in <i>Laurus azorica</i>—A Dominant Tree in the Azorean Laurel Forest |
| title_short | Climate–Growth Relationships in <i>Laurus azorica</i>—A Dominant Tree in the Azorean Laurel Forest |
| title_sort | climate growth relationships in i laurus azorica i a dominant tree in the azorean laurel forest |
| topic | Azores dendroclimatology generalized linear models laurel forest Macaronesia random forest |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/14/2/166 |
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