Modeling the Differential Sensitivity of Loblolly Pine to Climatic Change Using Tree Rings

Abstract

The Southwide Pine Seed Source Study (SPSSS) was undertaken in 1951 to determine to what extent inherent geographic variation in four southern pine species (loblolly pine, Pinus taeda L.; slash pine, P. elliottii Engelm. var. elliottii; longleaf pine, P. palutris Mill.; and shortleaf pine, P. echinata Mill.) is related to observable geographic variation in climate and physiography. The study's design was based on the classic common garden test design wherein all geographic sources were planted together at multiple sites across the natural range; and the fundamental objective was to test the widely accepted hypothesis that local seed sources were uniformly better adapted and faster growing than nonlocal seed sources from the same species (complete study detaiIs appear in Wells and Wakeley, 1966).

Citation

Cook, Edward R.; Nance, Warren L.; Krusic, Paul J.; Grissom, James. 1998. Modeling the Differential Sensitivity of Loblolly Pine to Climatic Change Using Tree Rings. Chapter 39, pp. 717-739 In: Ecological Studies, Vol. 128, 1998, The Productivity and Sustainability of Southern Forest Ecosystems in a Changing Environment. Springer Verlag.