<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p> Unraveling climatic effects on growth of oak - Europe’s most ecologically and economically important forest species - has been the subject of many recent studies; however, more insight based on field data is necessary to better understand the relationship between climate and tree growth and to adapt forest management strategies to future climate change. In this report, we explore the influence of temperature, precipitation and drought variability on the productivity and vitality of oak stands in the Czech Highlands. We collected 180 cores from mature oaks (Quercus petraea) at four forest stands in the Czech Drahany Highlands. Standard dendromethods were used for sample preparation, ring width measurements, cross-dating, chronology development, and the assessment of growth-climate response patterns. Crown vitality was also evaluated, using the modified ICP Forests methodology. Late spring precipitation totals between May and June as well as the mean July temperature for the year of ring formation were found to be the most important factors for oak growth, whereas crown condition was significantly affected by spring and summer drought. This study is rep-resentative for similar bio-ecological habitats across Central Europe and can serve as a dendroclima-tological blueprint for earlier periods for which detailed meteorological information is missing </p></abstract>

Unraveling climatic effects on growth of oak - Europe’s most ecologically and economically important forest species - has been the subject of many recent studies; however, more insight based on field data is necessary to better understand the relationship between climate and tree growth and to adapt forest management strategies to future climate change. In this report, we explore the influence of temperature, precipitation and drought variability on the productivity and vitality of oak stands in the Czech Highlands. We collected 180 cores from mature oaks (Quercus petraea) at four forest stands in the Czech Drahany Highlands. Standard dendromethods were used for sample preparation, ring width measurements, cross-dating, chronology development, and the assessment of growth-climate response patterns. Crown vitality was also evaluated, using the modified ICP Forests methodology. Late spring precipitation totals between May and June as well as the mean July temperature for the year of ring formation were found to be the most important factors for oak growth, whereas crown condition was significantly affected by spring and summer drought. This study is rep-resentative for similar bio-ecological habitats across Central Europe and can serve as a dendroclima-tological blueprint for earlier periods for which detailed meteorological information is missing

Exploring Growth Variability and Crown Vitality of Sessile Oak (Quercus Petraea) in the Czech Republic

Department of Wood Science, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology, Mendel University in Brno, Zemědělská 3, 613 00 Brno, Czech Republic / Global Change Research Centre, Academy of Science of the Czech Republic v.v.i, Bělidla 986/4a, 603 00 Brno, Czech Republic

Department of Forest Protection and Wildlife Management, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology, Mendel University in Brno, Zemědělská 3, 613 00 Brno, Czech Republic

Global Change Research Centre, Academy of Science of the Czech Republic v.v.i, Bělidla 986/4a, 603 00 Brno, Czech Republic

Global Change Research Centre, Academy of Science of the Czech Republic v.v.i, Bělidla 986/4a, 603 00 Brno, Czech Republic / Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL, Zuercherstrasse 111, 8903 Birmensdorf, Switzerland / Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, 3012 Bern, Switzerland

Geochronometria

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Unraveling climatic effects on growth of oak - Europe’s most ecologically and economically important forest species - has been the subject of many recent...

Exploring Growth Variability and Crown Vitality of Sessile Oak (Quercus Petraea) in the Czech Republic

Published Online: Mar 11, 2015

Page range: -

Received: Feb 19, 2014

Accepted: Sep 17, 2014

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/geochr-2015-0003

Keywords
Central Europe, crown condition, precipitation, sessile oak, temperature, tree rings

© 2015

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Exploring Growth Variability and Crown Vitality of Sessile Oak (Quercus Petraea) in the Czech Republic

Published Online: Mar 11, 2015

Page range: -

Received: Feb 19, 2014

Accepted: Sep 17, 2014

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/geochr-2015-0003

KeywordsCentral Europe, crown condition, precipitation, sessile oak, temperature, tree rings

© 2015

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Keywords
Central Europe, crown condition, precipitation, sessile oak, temperature, tree rings