ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Plant Sci.
Sec. Functional Plant Ecology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpls.2025.1568882
This article is part of the Research TopicExploring Wood Structure and Tree-Ring Dynamics in Ecological ResearchView all 6 articles
Linking growth dynamics and intra-annual density fluctuations to late-summer precipitation in humid subtropical China
Provisionally accepted
- 1Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou, China
- 2Zhaoqing University, Zhaoqing, Guangdong Province, China
- 3Université du Québec à Chicoutimi, Chicoutimi, Quebec, Canada
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Global warming has intensified extreme rainfall events and prolonged droughts, significantly impacting tree growth and wood formation. This study investigates the effects of late-summer precipitation variability on the intra-annual growth dynamics of Cunninghamia lanceolata and Cryptomeria fortunei in humid subtropical China. Microcores were collected from 12 trees at 7-10 days intervals between March and December from 2021 to 2023 in the Gushan Mountains. Typically, high temperatures and rainfall deficits in July induce cambial dormancy, while subsequent rainfall in August and September reactivates growth, resulting in a bimodal growth pattern. However, in 2022, an unprecedented drought (August-October rainfall 77% below average) shortened the growing season, causing an early cessation of growth and a rare unimodal growth pattern. In contrast, persistent rainfall in 2023 accelerated cell enlargement to 7 μm d⁻¹ and significantly increased latewood intraannual density fluctuations (L-IADFs). Notably, despite abundant late-summer rainfall in 2021, L-IADFs did not form, indicating a nonlinear and inconsistent relationship between rainfall and L-IADFs. These findings highlight the critical role of late-summer precipitation variability in shaping tree growth patterns and wood density in southeastern China. Given the expected increase in precipitation variability under climate change, regional forest ecosystems may become more vulnerable. This study provides valuable insights for forest management strategies to enhance resilience and mitigate climate-related risks.
Keywords: Xylogenesis, Wood anatomy, Autumn growth peak, L-IADFs, Extreme climate events, Southeastern China
Received: 30 Jan 2025; Accepted: 30 May 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Wang, Zheng, Gao, Zhou, Rossi and Fang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Feifei Zhou, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou, China
Keyan Fang, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou, China
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