Evidences from long-term monitoring of Italian forests. Tree radial growth as response index to disturbances and its relations with the stand structure

The paper deals with the work undertaken since 1995 within the national level II network framed into the ICP-Forests ICP-IM programme. A synthesis of results from tree growth monitoring and relationships with stand structure and related parameters, are reported. Current changes in the growth medium, i.e. physics and chemistry of atmosphere and soil, (increase of average air temperature, rainfall shortage and drought, CO2 enrichment, ozone level, nitrogen fertilization, sulphate deposition) drive today the soil-tree-atmosphere relationships. The overall result of these concurrent and counteracting factors is recorded along each growing seasons by radial stem growth, it providing a sensitive response. A few occurrences of disturbances to growth at regional and at case-study level, likely due to climate deviations, are discussed. Seasonal fluctuations and anomalous or extreme events are, as a matter of fact, the major evidences over the last decade. The heat wave 2003 is the main case occurred over a large part of Europe. Growth rate 2000-04 compared with 1997-2000, showed reductions up to 50% on plots located within the Southern continental border of the heat wave. These occurred more specifically at low elevations and for pre-determined early growth species (beech and oaks). Over the following time-window 2005-09, a significant growth decrease was vice versa detected within the coniferous spruce forests located at medium-high elevation in the Alps, where repeated seasonal anomalies both in air temperature and rainfall were recorded over the same time-span. The heavy effect of climate disturbance at a local scale is finally examined where two oak species with different auto-ecology grow together at the same site. Reasons why and awaited goals from protocols’ updating and the more intensive surveys applied to core-areas in 2009-10 under LIFE+FutMon, are reported. Perspectives at short to medium term of monitoring programme at national and European level are finally debated