Ring width and element concentrations in beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) from a periurban forest in central Belgium |
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| Institution: | 1. Institute of Botany and Landscape Ecology, University of Greifswald, Soldmannstr. 15, 17487 Greifswald, Germany;2. Forests and Wood Technology Research Centre – CETEMAS, Finca Experimental La Mata s/n, 33825 Grado, Asturias, Spain |
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| Abstract: | The Forêt de Soignes is a beech high forest located near Brussels (Belgium), established on a strongly acidic soil and subjected to atmospheric pollution and recreational pressure. We investigated variations in ring width and mineral element concentrations (N, P, K, Ca, Mg, Mn, Al) over the last 95 years in five 135-year-old trees, variations in ring width in four 40-year-old trees and tested associations with climatic parameters. Growth curves showed a striking increase in mean sensitivity in the last 20 years in the old trees but not in the young ones, starting with the 1976 summer drought. Mean sensitivity is a statistical measure of the mean relative variability between adjacent ring widths within a tree, which is correlated to susceptibility to climatic stress (Fritts, H.C., 1976. Tree Rings and Climate, Academic Press, London, 567pp). May rainfall and, to a lesser extent, soil water recharge (i.e. pooled rainfall from October to May) correlated significantly with ring width. However, two of the five growth depressions in the last 20 years could not readily be accounted for by adverse climatic conditions. Element concentration profiles were suggestive of a decrease in the availability of Mn, Mg and Ca, but no trend of increasing N was obvious. The possible causes of the recent increase in sensitivity of old beech trees are discussed in terms of interactions between ageing and extreme climatic events, aggravated by soil compaction due to logging traffic. |
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