Paleoclimate reconstructions for the western US show spatial variability in the timing, duration, and magnitude of climate changes within the Medieval Climate Anomaly (MCA, ca. 900-1350 CE) and Little Ice Age (LIA, ca. 1350-1850 CE), indicating that additional data are needed to more completely...

Future droughts are expected to become more severe and frequent under future climate change scenarios, likely causing widespread tree mortality in the western USA. Coping with an uncertain future requires an understanding of long-term ecosystem responses in areas where prolonged drought is...

The relationship between monthly climate predictors and radial growth of Engelmann spruce (Picea engelmanni Parry) and subalpine fir (Abies lasiocarpa (Hook.) Nutt) were explored using both a standard dendroclimatological approach and a multiple adaptive regressions splines (MARS) framework....

Interannual variability of wood density - an important plant functional trait and environmental proxy - in conifers is poorly understood. We therefore explored the anatomical basis of density. We hypothesized that earlywood density is determined by tracheid size and latewood density by wall...

Maximum latewood density (MXD) is a strong proxy of summer temperatures. Despite this, there is a paucity of long MXD chronologies in the Northern Hemisphere, which limits large-scale tree-ring-based reconstructions of past temperature which are dominated by ring-width (RW) data - a weaker...

In the United States' (US) Northern Rockies, synoptic pressure systems and atmospheric circulation drive interannual variation in seasonal temperature and precipitation. The radial growth of high-elevation trees in this semi-arid region captures this temperature and precipitation variability and...

The spruce beetle (Dendroctonus rufipennis) is known for extensive outbreaks resulting in high spruce mortality, but several recent outbreaks in the western United States have been among the largest and most severe in the documentary record. In the Pinaleño Mountains of southeast Arizona, U.S.A.,...

Drought is a major constraint of forest productivity and tree growth across diverse habitat types. In this study, we investigated the drought responses of four conifer species growing within two locations of differing elevation and climatic conditions in northern Mexico. Two species were selected...

The formation of traumatic resin ducts (TRDs) represents an important induced defense in woody plants that enhances oleoresin production and flow in response to environmental perturbations. In some genera (Pinus), resin ducts are copious and conspicuous; however, in others (Picea), resin ducts are...

Aim: Whereas many treelines are advancing coincident with climate warming, many other treelines are stationary. Differential sensitivity to warming trends may be partially accounted for by differences in the climatic limits associated with distinct treeline forms such as diffuse, abrupt and...