%0 Articles
%T Effects of climate change and management on growth of Norway spruce in boreal conditions – an approach based on ecosystem model
%A Ge, Zhen-Ming
%D 2011
%J Dissertationes Forestales
%V 2011
%N 122
%R doi:10.14214/df.122
%U http://dissertationesforestales.fi/article/1905
%X The aim of this work was to study the effects of climate change and management on the growth of Norway spruce (Picea abies Karst.  L.) in the boreal conditions based on a process-based ecosystem model (FinnFor) simulations.

With the changing climate scenario, in southern Finland, the elevated temperature increased evaporation from the canopy and ground surfaces, resulting in a higher ratio of evapotranspiration to precipitation in southern Finland. As a result, less water infiltrated into the soil profile, leading to increasing water deficit and decreasing nitrogen availability for trees. The water deficit occurred earlier and was higher on the site with low soil water availability, resulting in lower carbon uptake and stem wood growth in Norway spruce. On average, the total stem wood growth decreased by 5–20% over most of the areas studied in southern Finland due to lower water availability under the changing climate. On the contrary, the total stem wood growth increased by 5–38% in northern Finland under the changing climate.

When thinning was applied in Norway spruce, the soil water deficit was mitigated due to the lower stocking and reduced water depletion, compared to no thinning. The thinning scenarios with frequent thinnings could simultaneously increase the carbon uptake and growth rate of trees on the sites with low soil water availability. On the sites with high soil water availability, the less frequent thinnings or delayed first thinning gave the highest carbon uptake and stem wood growth, but not the highest timber yield. In general, the moderate thinning gave the highest carbon uptake, stem wood growth and timber yield in the southern regions under the changing climate, whereas in the north despite of thinning scenarios applied the carbon uptake and total stem wood production decreased compared to no thinning as a result of lower stocking.