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. 2025 Apr 18;14(8):1234.
doi: 10.3390/plants14081234.

Impact of Climate on the Growth and Yield of the Main Tree Species from Romania Using Dendrochronological Data

Marin Gheorghe  1   2 , Bogdan M Strimbu  3   4
Affiliations

Impact of Climate on the Growth and Yield of the Main Tree Species from Romania Using Dendrochronological Data

Marin Gheorghe et al. Plants (Basel). .

Abstract

National Forest Inventories (NFIs) offer a comprehensive and consistent dataset for forest analysis, enabling the refinement of growth and yield models by integrating regional environmental factors. This study investigates the influence of climate on the growth of three dominant tree species in Romania: Norway spruce (Picea abies L. Karst), European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.), and Sessile oak (Quercus petraea (Matt.) Liebl). Increment core analysis revealed a general increase in diameter growth since 1960, partially correlated with temperature trends. Repeated measures analysis confirmed significant variations in radial growth across ecoregions. The analysis further explored the impact of climatic variables on diameter at breast height (DBH) and basal area (BA) growth and yield. Among nine climatic attributes and their combinations, total precipitation and average growing season temperature significantly affected DBH and BA growth. However, yield was largely insensitive to precipitation, with only Sessile oak yield showing a temperature dependence. Beyond ecoregion and climate, the growth and yield of DBH and BA exhibited positive correlations with the calendar year, age, and previous growth/yield values. Notably, DBH and BA growth demonstrated a dependence on the preceding four to five years, whereas yield was significantly influenced only by the previous year. The observed influence of both the calendar year and previous years suggests a prolonged environmental memory in tree growth and yield responses.

Keywords: Fagus sylvatica; Picea abies; Quercus petraea; ecoregions; increment cores; repeated measurements models.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript; or in the decision to publish the results.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Layout of the Romanian National Forest Inventory. The shading represents elevation, darker being higher, and the background color delineates the ecoregion listed on Table 1. The density of the PSC is for visualization only. The numbers represent the ecoregion codes of Romania. The natural range of the tree species considered in our study covers 15 ecoregions.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Number of rings for each species from 1960 to 2010.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Temperatures of the warmer and wetter months (i.e., May–September -> (a,b)) or only warmer months (i.e., May–July -> (c,d)) according to the geomorphology of the ecoregions (i.e., hills (a,c) and mountains (b,d)).
Figure 4
Figure 4
Precipitation for the warmer and wetter months (i.e., May–September -> (a,b)) or only warmer months (i.e., May–July -> (c,d)) according to the geomorphology of the ecoregions (i.e., hills (a,c) and mountains (b,d)).
Figure 5
Figure 5
Consolidation according to Table 2 of ecoregions into ecogroups for each species. The shade shows elevation, with darker color being higher.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Temporal radial growth for Norway spruce at selected ages: (a) 10 years (b) 30 years (c) 50 years (d) 70 years.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Temporal radial growth for European beech at selected ages.
Figure 8
Figure 8
Temporal radial growth for Sessile oak at selected ages: (a) 10 years (b) 30 years (c) 50 years (d) 70 years.
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