Influence of Slope Aspect and Position on Xylem Formation Dynamics in Subtropical Chinese Fir Plantations

Recent studies on the intra-annual dynamics of trees were mainly focused on mature trees in natural forests; however, less is known about how topography (e.g., slope’s position and aspect) shape the intra-annual xylem formation dynamics of young trees in plantation forests. We monitored intra-annual xylem formation dynamics of 6-year-old Chinese fir (Cunninghamia lanceolata (Lamb.)) trees across two different aspects (northeast and southwest) and three different positions (upper, middle, and lower) of the slope in a planted forest in subtropical China. We found that the intra-annual xylem formation of trees on the northeast slope aspect (176.98 ± 34.52 cells) was significantly higher than that on the southwest slope aspect (140.19 ± 36.07 cells) due to the higher growth rate (0.67 ± 0.11 cells/day vs. 0.53 ± 0.10 cells/day). In the middle slope position, xylem formation (187.89 ± 19.81 cells) was also significantly higher than that of the upper (147.35 ± 29.08 cells) and lower slope positions (140.51 ± 48.36 cells), resulting from higher growth rate rather than longer growing season length. Our study demonstrated that intra-annual xylem formation dynamics of Chinese fir were altered by different topographic features and therefore encourage the implementation of management strategies that consider different slope aspects and positions to maximize forest productivity.