Climate influence on radial growth of Fagus sylvatica growing near the edge of its distribution in Bukk Mts., Hungary

Future of beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) in a changing climate is one of the greatest debates in Europe among the studies dealing with the climate change generated xeric limit shifting. We investigated a submontane beech stand’s growth response to climate change in Northern Hungary during the past 60 years following dendrochronological methods. Tree-ring width data were processed using three alternatives of standardization. To recover the basic climate-growth relationships for beech we analyzed the correlation between the tree-ring width indices and monthly precipitation and temperature data, furthermore two drought indices were employed. Late spring-early summer precipitation was the primary climatic factor governing the beech growth at the study site since the early 1950s, while summer heat played a secondary obstructive role documented by the significant negative correlation. A 30-years running window correlation was used to identify whether the climate-growth connections changed due to the unfavorable climatic trends. The results indicated no evidence of a distinct decline in radial increment, however, a significant increase in climatic impact on growth has been detected including probable changes and shifts in the vegetation period.