Zwartsenberg et al. (2026) Climate sensitivity of tree growth decreases with site humidity for a tropical tree species

⚠️ Warning: This summary was generated from the abstract only, as the full text was not available.

Identification

• Journal: Agricultural and Forest Meteorology
• Year: 2026
• Date: 2026-07-20
• Authors: Sophie A. Zwartsenberg, Frank J. Sterck, Iftakharul Alam, Niels P. R. Anten, Lucas A. Cernusak, Xenia Davide, Ingo Heinrich, Roosje Kemmink, José A. Medina‐Vega, Sebastián Ramírez, Pieter A. Zuidema
• DOI: 10.1016/j.agrformet.2026.111336

Research Groups

• Australian National University (ANU) Climate Science Institute
• Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) Land and Water Division

Short Summary

This study investigates how water availability affects tree-ring growth in Toona ciliata across a hydroclimatic gradient in Australia, finding that maximum annual cumulative water deficit is the primary driver of ring width variation.

Objective

• Investigate the relationship between interannual climatic variation and woody productivity in tropical forests

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: Continental-scale analysis of Toona ciliata tree-ring chronologies across a hydroclimatic gradient in Australia.
• Temporal Scale: Interannual (annual) timescale, with a focus on long-term trends and relationships.

Methodology and Data

• Models used: None specified; tree-ring analysis using existing and new chronologies of Toona ciliata.
• Data sources: Tree-ring data from five sites across Australia, including four newly created chronologies and one existing dataset.

Main Results

• Maximum annual cumulative water deficit (CWD max ) is the primary driver of ring width variation in Toona ciliata, explaining more variance than vapour pressure deficit (VPD) and precipitation combined.
• Associations between CWD max and ring width are positive across all sites, with strongest associations at least humid sites.
• Model including VPD and precipitation suggests that negative associations with VPD are the primary limitation of woody growth.

Contributions

• This study provides new insights into the climate sensitivity of lowland tropical woody productivity, highlighting the importance of water availability in driving tree-ring growth.
• The findings suggest that future warming and rising vapour pressure deficit may reduce woody growth during dry years across a large part of the species' range.

Funding

• Australian Research Council (ARC) Discovery Project DP180100956
• CSIRO OCE Postdoctoral Fellowship

Citation

@article{Zwartsenberg2026Climate,
  author = {Zwartsenberg, Sophie A. and Sterck, Frank J. and Alam, Iftakharul and Anten, Niels P. R. and Cernusak, Lucas A. and Davide, Xenia and Heinrich, Ingo and Kemmink, Roosje and Medina‐Vega, José A. and Ramírez, Sebastián and Zuidema, Pieter A.},
  title = {Climate sensitivity of tree growth decreases with site humidity for a tropical tree species},
  journal = {Agricultural and Forest Meteorology},
  year = {2026},
  doi = {10.1016/j.agrformet.2026.111336},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agrformet.2026.111336}
}