Abstract
Width reduction in growth rings in shortleaf pine (
Pinus echinata Mill.) following glaze ice conditions produces a characteristic pattern dependent on live-crown ratio and extent of crown loss. Ring widths of 133 trees for 3 years preceding and 7 years following the December 2000 ice storm (Bragg and others 2002) in western Arkansas and eastern Oklahoma were cross-dated to detect missing rings, then measured under a 32X microscope. Data from undamaged trees was detrended using a logarithmic decay function to identify the climate signal, which was then incorporated into the model. Ring width was affected by live-crown ratio, proportion of crown lost, presence of branch damage, and tree basal area (Aubrey and others 2007, Smolnik and others 2006). Stand basal area, tree height, and diameter were not significant. Three trees produced no growth ring in 2001; no tree survived loss of more than 83 percent of its crown. Ring widths of undamaged trees declined slightly from an average of 0.064 inch in 2001 to an average of 0.058 inch in 2007. Branch-damaged trees had ring widths inversely proportional to live-crown ratio and averaged 0.055 inch throughout the 7 years following the storm. After 7 years, radial growth rates in trees with <55 percent crown loss are increasing, while those with >55 percent crown loss are decreasing. Diameter growth initially accelerated following ice damage; after 2 to 4 years diameter growth began to decline on trees with >55 percent crown loss.
Parent Publication
Citation
Stevenson, Douglas J.; Lynch, Thomas B.; Guldin, James M. 2013. Growth ring response in shortleaf pine following glaze icing conditions in western Arkansas and eastern Oklahoma. In: Guldin, James M., ed. Proceedings of the 15th biennial southern silvicultural research conference. e-Gen. Tech. Rep. SRS-GTR-175. Asheville, NC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southern Research Station: 575-576.
