Original articleClimatic responses of Pinus brutia along the Black Sea coast of Crimea and the Caucasus
Introduction
P. brutia is a drought-tolerant, fast-growing, and widely distributed coniferous species native to the eastern coast of the Mediterranean region, extending from Greece to Syria (Boydak, 2004). Several pine species growing along the northern and northeastern coasts of the Black Sea, including Pinus pithyusa Stev., Pinus stankewiczii Sukac., and Pinus eldarica Medwed., were categorised as subspecies of P. brutia by Nahal (1983) and as varieties of P. brutia by Critchfield and Little (1966) and Vidaković (1991). However, these species are now classified as being among the same species and populations despite their phenotypic differences (Semerikova and Semerikov, 2020).
Trees growing on steep sea-facing slopes usually have wide crowns, curved stems, and long and coarse branches, whereas those growing on flat slopes usually have narrow and dense crowns and long, straight stems with small branches (Alemdag, 1962; Arbez, 1974; Isik and Isik, 1999). P. brutia forests provide important environmental benefits and services, including soil protection, biodiversity conservation and climate change mitigation and adaptation. Small refugia of this species have been preserved on the eastern and northern shores of the Black Sea (Conkle et al., 1988; Yena et al., 2005), where this species grows at the limit of its resistance to low winter temperatures. P. brutia is a thermophilous species that prefers lowland semihumid and humid sites with mean annual temperatures of 12–20 °C (Boydak, 2004; Quézel and Barbero, 1992). In addition, it is highly drought resistant, has a deep rooting zone, and can grow in areas with mean annual rainfall as low as 400 mm (Nahal, 1983). The unique growth characteristics of P. brutia make it one of the most promising pine species in arid regions.
In Crimea, P. brutia grows under the drought-prone conditions of the Mediterranean climate and can be found on steep slopes with poor soil horizons and low water-holding capacities. The habitats along the Caucasian coast are less stressful (Bebia, 1987). Tree-ring data of P. brutia can provide accurate information about the relationship between tree growth and climate. Most dendroclimatic studies of P. brutia have focused on the centre of this species’ distribution (Griggs et al., 2014; Sarris et al., 2007; Touchan et al., 2005). The present study was the first to measure the climatic response of P. brutia based on discrete populations in its northernmost refugia along the northern and eastern Black Sea coasts. The specific objectives of this study were to (1) identify the climatic variables that most strongly correlate with the tree-ring width of P. brutia growing under Mediterranean and subtropical conditions, (2) determine whether climatic signals in tree-ring chronologies change with longitudinal shifts, and (3) examine the dynamics of radial growth response under climatic changes.
Section snippets
Methods
We analysed the effect of climate on the radial growth of P. brutia from five site chronologies. The sampling sites were located along a longitudinal gradient on the Black Sea coast and presented different environmental conditions (Fig. 1 and Table 1). All five areas are botanical reserves for the conservation of P. brutia populations. Two sites, namely, Mys Ayia (AYIA) and Novy Svet (NSVT), were located along the southern coast of the Crimean Peninsula; the other three sites, namely, Dzhanhot
Tree-ring chronologies
The oldest trees were in the NSVT site and the youngest were in the GAGR site. The chronological ranges were as follows: 153–275 years in the AYIA site, 122–297 years in the NSVT site, 89–145 years in the DZHA site, 45–115 years in the GAGR site, and 116–172 years in the PITS site. The SSS value for each site was above the minimum threshold of 0.85 as far back as the years 1752, 1805, 1857, 1878, and 1956 for the AYIA, NSVT, PITS, DZHA, and GAGR sites, respectively (Fig. 3 and Table 3). The
Discussion
The tree growth–climate correlations of P. brutia demonstrated considerable variation among the different sites. Regarding the difference in responses between the two population groups growing in different climates, the Crimean populations are more sensitive to climate; growing in more arid conditions, these populations are more heavily influenced by the conditions of the growth period. In contrast, the Caucasian coastal populations are most responsive to the pre-growth period conditions.
The
Conclusion
This study of the climatic factors that control the growth of P. brutia trees in coastal populations in Crimea and the Caucasus revealed that within a longitudinal transect that encompasses a specific range of climatic conditions, correlations between climate and the growth of P. brutia under analogous orographic conditions are fairly consistent. However, under more arid conditions (Crimea), the association between radial growth and summer precipitation is more clearly expressed. During the
Declaration of Competing Interest
None declared.
Acknowledgements
We extend our thanks to Svetlana Semerikova, PhD, Roman Dbar, PhD, and Mr Ivan Surkov for their assistance in accessing dendrochronological data.
This research was funded by RFBR project numbers 18-05-01110 and 11-04-90301.
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