Lithogenic Base of Landscapes as a Growth Factor of Pedunculate Oak Growth (Quercus robur L.) in a Changing Climate (on the Example of the Center of the Russian Plain)

This paper analyses the radial growth patterns of pedunculate oak (Quercus robur L.) in zonal and intrazonal broadleaf forests and subtaiga landscapes in the centre of the Russian Plain. Tree-ring chronologies were constructed for five habitats located in contrasting geological and geomorphological conditions. The average radial growth of oak trees within the study area varies by 1.9 times (1.45–2.74 mm/year), with the greatest increases typical of floodplain oak forests. A sliding-window correlation analysis revealed that the chronologies under consideration are characterized by a violation of the stationary relationships within the ‘climate–growth of stands’ system. It was revealed that a fundamental increase in the moisture content of regional landscapes since the 1970s (primarily due to increased precipitation from September to March) has had ambiguous consequences for oak stand functioning. In the Central Russian Upland, where a combination of landscape factors results in greater drainage, oak growth responded positively to increased moisture. Drought is usually the main growth-limiting factor. In less drained habitats, such as the Saltykovsky trough and the Meshchera lowland, increased moisture negatively impacted oak growth. The lowest bioproductivity (1.5 times lower than zonal values) was recorded in oak stands in the Luzhkov Depression (Saltykovsky Trough, light grey forest soils), rather than on the low-trophic sandy substrates of the Meschera: factors of relief and geological structure were found to be more important than the substrate factor. The factors responsible for the sharpest decrease in growth are characterised using the pointer years method. The results show that, since the 1970s, excess moisture has limited oak growth in most of the landscapes studied, but the climate signal has been significantly transformed by the lithogenic base of these landscapes and cannot be adequately interpreted without taking this into account.

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