Slow Growth Leads to Longevity in Temperate Hardwoods
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Authors
Piovesan, Gianluca
Biondi, Franco
Baliva, Michele
De Vivo, Giuseppe
Marchianò, Vittoria
Schettino, Aldo
Di Filippo, Alfredo
Issue Date
2019
Type
Article
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Abstract
Description
Discovering, studying, and preserving old trees is a top priority for conserva-tion biology. We used tree- ring data from a high- mountain old- growth beech for-est to reconstruct long- term growth patterns in trees of maximum longevity for temperate hardwoods. In these stands, individual growth history is highly variable; one tree can take from one to seven centuries to reach a large size (>60 cm dbh). Slow but overall increasing long- term growth was found to be a prerequisite for extreme tree longevity. Growth suppression in early stages of life, together with limiting climatic conditions, also contributed to reaching maximum stem ages in these Mediterranean mountain environments.
Citation
Piovesan, G., Biondi, F., Baliva, M., De Vivo, G., Marchianò, V., Schettino, A. and Di Filippo, A.. 2019. Slow Growth Leads to Longevity in Temperate Hardwoods. Bull Ecol Soc Am 100( 3):e01560. https://doi.org/10.1002/bes2.1560
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ISSN
0012-9623