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‘Fading of the temperature‐growth coupling’ in treeline trees reflects a conceptual bias
Author(s) -
Körner Christian
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
global change biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 4.146
H-Index - 255
eISSN - 1365-2486
pISSN - 1354-1013
DOI - 10.1111/gcb.15730
Subject(s) - climate change , environmental science , global warming , climatology , ecology , global change , general circulation model , atmospheric sciences , physical geography , geology , geography , biology
The global treeline phenomenon follows a common seasonal mean temperature (isotherm) of about 6°C. When the isotherm moves upslope because of rapid climatic warming, trees are left behind and are absent from the climatic tree limit. This commentary recalls the discrepancy between the actual uppermost position of trees and the potential (climatic) treeline. Temperature‐based models can predict the potential treeline only (comment to Camarero et al., Global Change Biology , 27, 1879–1889, 2021). The photograph shows a treeline situation in SW New Zealand.