The stationary and non-stationary character of the silver fir, black pine and Scots pine tree-growth-climate relationships

Tree-growth-climate relationships are usually assumed to have a stationary character, i.e., continuous and/or time-independent, along the lifetime of trees. The fact that non-stationarity, discontinuous time-variable, is more likely actually be their general rule, has been often neglected in dendrochronology. Nine silver fir, black pine and Scots residual ring-width index chronologies (RWIresidual) five precipitation- temperature-derived seasonal climatic variables, covering 20th century beginning 21st one, were used this study. Heat map analyses based on rolling window correlations, using corrected p-values order deal with type I errors (i.e., multiple testing or comparison problem) reduce them, conducted evaluate evolution stability tree-growth-climate trees, non-stationary character. obtained results showed well conserved within trees belonging given genus: positive effects, both at young mature stages, Twinter (winter temperature) Abies Psprsum(t) (spring-summer precipitation current-to-growth year) Pinus Non-stationary instead species- site-dependent stopped 1970s/1980s/1990s. Growth decoupling from variables was linked many cases anomalies but did not yield rule regard. correlations proved powerful statistical tool disentangling between character relationships. Summarizing, study puts into perspective critical aspect looking if we want better predict impact climate change future forest tree growth dynamics past