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Cited by 171Tree-ring climate responsesForest ecology and managementPlant Water Relations and Carbon Dynamics

Age class, longevity and growth rate relationships: Protracted growth increases in old trees in the eastern United States

Johnson, S. E., Abrams, M. D.·2009·Tree Physiology
DOI 10.1093/treephys/tpp068
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Abstract

This study uses data from the International Tree-Ring Data Bank website and tree cores collected in the field to explore growth rate (basal area increment, BAI) relationships across age classes (from young to old) for eight tree species in the eastern US. These species represent a variety of ecological traits and include those in the genera Populus, Quercus, Pinus, Tsuga and Nyssa. We found that most trees in all age classes and species exhibit an increasing BAI throughout their lives. This is particularly unusual for trees in the older age classes that we expected to have declining growth in the later years, as predicted by physiological growth models. There exists an inverse relationship between growth rate and increasing age class. The oldest trees within each species have consistently slow growth throughout their lives, implying an inverse relationship between growth rate and longevity. Younger trees (< 60 years of age) within each species are consistently growing faster than the older trees when they are of the same age resulting from a higher proportion of fast-growing trees in these young age classes. Slow, but increasing, BAI in the oldest trees in recent decades is a continuation of their growth pattern established in previous centuries. The fact that they have not shown a decreasing growth rate in their old age contradicts physiological growth models and may be related to the stimulatory effects of global change phenomenon (climate and land-use history).

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Crossref · 10.1093/treephys/tpp068

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51 of 51 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

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  • Growth rates of trees are not constant, especially during the early years, and height growth is often characterized by four growth phases over the life-cycle of trees, with the early growth phase often being more rapid than later years.

    “Growth rates of trees are not constant, especially during the early years, and height growth is often characterized by four growth phases over the life-cycle of trees [45-47], with the early growth phase often being more rapid than later years.”

    From Early Tree Growth in Reclaimed Mine Soils in Appalachia USA (2019) · cites this paper as [46]

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Authors
Johnson, S. E., & Abrams, M. D.
Affiliations
Pennsylvania State University (US)
ORCID
Venue
Tree Physiology
Publisher
Oxford University Press (OUP)
Published
2009-09-04
Volume
29
Issue
11
Pages
1317-1328
ISSN
  • 0829-318X (ISSN-L)
  • 1758-4469
DOI
10.1093/treephys/tpp068
OpenAlex
W2101002853
Cited by
171
References
51
Citations by year
2026: 10 · 2025: 11 · 2024: 16 · 2023: 12 · 2022: 11 · 2021: 19 · 2020: 14 · 2019: 8 · 2018: 13 · 2017: 8 · 2016: 7 · 2015: 8 · 2014: 10 · 2013: 9 · 2012: 8
FWCI
2.88
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
  • Tree Physiology (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
U.S. Department of Defense
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Atmospheric Science › Tree-ring climate responses
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Nature and Landscape Conservation › Forest ecology and management
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Global and Planetary Change › Plant Water Relations and Carbon Dynamics
Keywords
tree growth rate, age classes, tree longevity, basal area increment, old trees, poplar, oak, Pinus, hemlock, Nyssa, climate change impacts on trees, land use history, eastern United States forests
MeSH terms
Time Factors, Trees, United States

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