RUSSIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCES

Komin G. E. Dendrochronological Analysis of Durmast Oak in the Northwestern Caucasus // Forest Science (Lesovedenie). 2010. No 4. P. 19-26 (in Russian).

A dendroscale was elaborated on the basis of measuring the annual radial increment in 39 trees for 155 years. An original methodology combining two principles was used. The increment norm was calculated as the mean value of tree ring width in all trees according to age - a taxation principle; increment indices were referred to calendar time of the tree ring formation - a chronological principle. Upon constructing the scale, the data on the increment of 1-to 65-year-old trees that grew in different calendar but not overlapped times were used. This method for the calculation of the dendroscale allowed reflecting both annual and cyclic fluctuations and to reveal an increasing temporal trend that is described by the general straight-line equation: Y = Q.221X- 336.8. The mean annual increase in the rate of radial increment amounted to 0.23%. This dynamics of radial increment in oak trees is explained by some reasons: global warming of climate; increasing of soil fertility due to the more intense biological cycle; adaptation of forest vegeta¬tion to environmental conditions; increase in the carbon content in the atmosphere stimulating photosynthesis, and, consequently, rise of the ecosystems productivity.

Northwestern Caucasus, durmast oak, radial increment, linear trend, dynamics of productivity