Recent spruce (Picea abies) treeline ecotonal progression since the late1980s in the Swedish Scandes-a repeat photographic narration and analysis

This study reports a case of climate-mediated transformation and physiognomic progression the Norway spruce (Picea abies) treeline ecotone since mid-1990s in Swedish Scandes. The methods include repeat photography foliation estimates old-established clonal spruces. An air soil temperature nadir by 1980s had caused extensive needle shoot mortality, evident at landscape-scale. Subsequent winter summer rises induced striking canopy recovery, including densification vertical growth. Release from low stress appears as instrumental for shift stunted growth to erect tree forms. Seed-based regeneration new individuals has been virtually nil be spatially stable. Ongoing ecotonal shifts character form transformations accordance with climatic conjunctures.