Age-Dependent Climate Sensitivity of Korean Pine (Pinus koraiensis) in the Southern Sikhote-Alin Mountains

Korean pine (Pinus koraiensis) exhibits significant age-dependent climate sensitivity, with radial growth strongly influenced by previous-year August temperatures and drought conditions. Researchers analyzed 191 increment cores from trees at various ontogenetic stages, revealing that climate-growth relationships vary markedly across life stages—with stage-specific chronologies explaining up to 98% of variance, while cambial-age-based models showed minimal predictive power (R² = 0.03–0.14). These findings underscore the critical need to incorporate ontogenetic structure in dendroclimatic studies and climate reconstructions for Korean pine-dominated ecosystems in the Southern Sikhote-Alin Mountains.

Omelko, A. M., Ukhvatkina, O. N., & Zhmerenetsky, A. A. (2025). Age-Dependent Climate Sensitivity of Korean Pine (Pinus koraiensis) in the Southern Sikhote-Alin Mountains. Forests, 16(9), 1458. https://doi.org/10.3390/f16091458