Response of tree growth to climatic variation and stand dynamics: Implications for modeling stand dynamics under varying climatic conditions

We used tree-ring data to assess the relative importance of regional climate vs. stand-level processes in controlling tree growth for seven forest dominants of the mixed conifer forest of the Sierra Nevada. For each species, increment cores were collected from at least 20 canopy dominants at several sites arrayed along elevational gradients extending from lower to upper elevational limits. Species sampled include ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa), Jeffrey pine (P. jeffreyi), sugar pine (P. lambertina), white fir (Abies concolor), red fir (A. magnifica), incense cedar (Calocedrus decurrens), and black oak (Quercus keloggii). Stand-level processes generate low to medium frequency variation in growth that is not held in common among trees within a site or between sites. Stand-level processes are most important for white and red fir and least important for ponderosa pine. Regional climatic variation generates medium to high frequency variation that is coherent among trees of the same species (and often same genera). Results such as these have utility for parameterizing and validating stand simulation models, especially for use in climatic change scenarios.