PJB-2019-534
Rise in temperature of twentieth century enhanced growth of Pinus wallichiana trees in Karakoram region, northern Pakistan
Muhammad Luqman, Fayaz Asad, Farooq Jan, Haifeng Zhu, Fida Hussain and Tabassum Yaseen
Abstract
The effect of global warming on trees growth have got great attention in last few decades. Most regions of the world reported the considerable growth changes in diverse forest types over the 20th century. Here, we explored the older trees of Pinus wallichiana from the Karakoram region, northern Pakistan. The results showed that the mean growth pattern in the high altitude in Karakoram region are strongly associated with warming pattern over the region. The tree growth enhanced due to high temperature in late 19th to 1st decade of the 21st century, while during the cold period of Little Ice Age (1500-1850 AD) the tree growth was suppressed. The log-suppressed growth of the trees still alive and give the important information about the tolerance of Pinus wallichiana. This indicates that increase of temperature was encouraging tree growth at upper treeline ecotone in the study area. However, if any effort in the future regarding tree growth-climate association is perceived, there should be the incorporation of more forest (tree-ring) sites along different altitudinal levels to acquire clear insights.
To Cite this article:
Luqman, M., F. Asad, F. Jan, H. Zhu, F. Hussain and T. Yaseen. 2021. Rise in temperature of twentieth century enhanced growth of Pinus wallichiana trees in Karakoram region, northern Pakistan. Pak. J. Bot., 53(4): DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.30848/PJB2021-4(12)
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