A collection of subfossil wood of Pinus sylvestris (Scots pine) was exposed to X-ray densitometry. The collection of 64 samples from the southern boreal forest zone was dendrochronologically cross-dated to A.D. 673-1788. Growth characteristics were determined by performing density profiles including the following parameters: minimum density, earlywood and latewood boundary density, maximum dens...

To understand the factors influencing life history traits and population dynamics, attention is increasingly being given to the importance of environmental stochasticity. In this paper, we review and discuss aspects of current knowledge concerning the effect of climatic variation (local and global) on population parameters of northern ungulates, with special emphasis on reindeer/caribou (Rangif...

The early Cenozoic was characterized by a very warm climate especially during the Early Eocene. To understand climatic changes in eastern Asia, we reconstructed the Early Eocene vegetation and climate based on palynological data of a borehole from Wutu coal mine, East China and evaluated the climatic differences between eastern Asia and Central Europe. The Wutu palynological assemblages indicat...

Interannual variability (IAV) in net ecosystem exchange of carbon (NEE) is a critical factor in projections of future ecosystem changes. However, our understanding of IAV is limited because of the difficulty in isolating its numerous causes. We proposed that IAV in NEE is primarily caused by climatic variability, through its direct effects on photosynthesis and respiration and through its indir...

The autoecology of the oak Quercus petraea in the northwest Iberian Peninsula was investigated in the present study by applying the methodology developed in previous studies of other species of the genus Quercus. For this, the distribution of the species was firstly determined so that a minimum number of representative species could be selected. A total of 52 plots were chosen and in each one, ...

This study was aimed at modelling seasonal variation of stem circumference increments in a mixed stand composed of Norway spruce (Picea abies [L.] Karst.) and European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.). Moreover, we focused on the quantification of the main climatic factors governing the increments. The measurements were performed at a site established at about 970 m a.s.l. from the locality of Vrchsl...