[Responses of radial growth of Quercus mongolica to stand density and climatic factors in a mountainous area of eastern Liaoning Province, China]. / è¾½ä¸œå±±åŒºè’™å¤æ Žå¾„å‘ç”Ÿé•¿å¯¹æž—åˆ†å¯†åº¦å’Œæ°”å€™å› å­çš„å“åº”.

To explore the effects of stand density and climatic factors on radial growth of Quercus mongolica, we used tree ring chronology to examine the radial growth changes in a secondary Q. mongolica forest under different levels of stand density (thinning). The meteorological data combined with the driving factors of Q. mongolica growth were analyzed. The results showed that the radial growth of Q. mongolica was significantly affected by stand density. The mean annual radial growth of Q. mongolica was 3.12 mm in low-density virgin forest, 1.55 and 1.42 mm in the two medium-density secondary forests, respectively, and 0.96 mm in high-density secondary forest. The thinning intensity of 20% had a limited effect on promoting the radial growth recovery of high-density forest (1900 trees·hm-2), but had a significant effect on medium-density forest (1600 trees·hm-2). The radial growth of Q. mongolica was sensitive to the precipitation changes in January and February of the current year. Thinning reduced the sensitivity of Q. mongolica radial growth to climate. Under scenarios of climate warming and drying, density regulation could be beneficial in mitigating the adverse effects of climate change on the growth of Q. mongolica.