Climate change evidence in tree growth and stand productivity at the upper treeline ecotone in the Polar Ural Mountains

Background Recent warming is affecting species composition and species areal distribution of many regions. However, although most treeline studies have estimated the rates of forest expansion into tundra, still little is known about the long-term dynamic of stand productivity at the forest-tundra intersection. Here, we make use of tree-ring data from 350 larch (Larix sibirica Ledeb.) and spruce (Picea obovata Ledeb.) sampled along the singular altitudinal treeline ecotone at the Polar Urals to assess the dynamic of stand establishment and productivity, and link the results with meteorological observations to identify the main environmental drivers. Results The analysis of stand instalment indicated that more than 90% of the living trees appeared after 1900. During this period, the stand became denser and moved 50 m upward, while in recent decades the trees of both species grew faster. The maximum afforestation occurred in the last decades of the twentieth century, and the large number of encountered saplings indicates that the forest is still expanding. The upward shift coincided with a slight increase of May-August and nearly doubling of September-April precipitation while the increase in growth matched with an early growth season warming (June + 0.27 degrees C per decade since 1901). This increase in radial growth combined with the stand densification led to a 6-90 times increase of biomass since 1950. Conclusion Tree-ring based twentieth century reconstruction at the treeline ecotone shows an ongoing forest densification and expansion accompanied by an increased growth. These changes are driven by climate change mechanism, whereby the leading factors are the significant increase in May-June temperatures and precipitation during the dormant period. Exploring of phytomass accumulation mechanisms within treeline ecotone is valuable for improving our understanding of carbon dynamics and the overall climate balance in current treeline ecosystems and for predicting how these will be altered by global change.