Iranian Journal of Forest

Iranian Journal of Forest

Radial Growth Variation of Declined and Healthy Brantˊs Oak (Quercus brantii Lindl.) trees in the Zagros Forests (Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari Province)

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors
F Hatami 1
V Etemad 2
K Pourtahmasi 3
Y Iranmanesh 4
F Najafi Harsini 5
1 Ph.D. Student Dept. of Forestry and Forest Economics, Faculty of Natural Resources, University of Tehran, Karaj, Iran
2 Associate Prof., Dept. of Forestry and Forest Economics, Faculty of Natural Resources, University of Tehran, Karaj, Iran
3 Prof., Dept. of Wood and Paper Science and Technology, Faculty of Natural Resources, University of Tehran, Karaj, Iran
4 Associate Prof., Forests and Rangelands Research Dept. Isfahan Agricultural and Natural Resources Research and Education Center (AREEO), Isfahan, I. R. Iran
5 Postdoctoral Researcher, Dept. of Wood and Paper Science and Technology, Faculty of Natural Resources, University of Tehran, Karaj, Iran
10.22034/ijf.2025.502754.2036
Abstract
Introduction: Oak decline as a global phenomenon has significantly impacted forest ecosystems in many parts of the world. In this regard, the Zagros forests in western Iran have not been spared from this crisis, and their drying and decline have increased, especially in the Brantˊs oak (Quercus brantii Lindl.). Given the importance of the dieback phenomenon on the growth of oak forests, the present study aimed to investigate changes of Q. brantii growth, including the average growth and pointer years of declining growth using dendrochronology in Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari Province.
Materials and Methods: This research was conducted in two declined habitats (Tangezendan & Abzalo) in the Monj area of Lordegan city of Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province, in a way that in each site, three groups of healthy, intermediate, and declined trees coexisted. In each site 30 trees were selected (10 trees from each group). Various quantitative and qualitative characteristics, including diameter at breast height, height, trunk shape, and the health status of crown and trunk, were recorded. Two cores were extracted from the breast height of each tree using an increment borer. After transporting the samples to the laboratory, the surface of each core was prepared with different sandpapers (200-2000). Then high-quality panoramic images of each sample were captured individually using the Skippy program, tree-ring widths (TRWs) were measured with CooRecorder software from bark to pith. After aligning the obtained time series for each group of sites, separate average growth curves were derived and the average growth of the trees in the region was calculated.
Results: Comparing radial growth of healthy, intermediate, and declined trees of Q. brantii in the two sites of Tangezendan and Abzalo, it was shown that all trees in the region displayed a very similar trend of growth and had periods of decline as well as peaks in their growth years. In Tangezendan, the average growth periods for healthy, intermediate, and declined trees were 314, 209, and 236 years, respectively. For the Abzalo trees, the periods were 147, 209, and 187 years. In general, all groups of trees initially had an increasing growth trend, reached a peak at some point, and then declined again. Maximum growth of healthy and intermediate trees at both sites was in the years 1968-1993, while for decline it occurred over a much shorter period from 1968-1983. The average radial growth of Q. brantii was observed at 0.82 mm. Considering the presence of healthy, intermediate, and declined tree groups, a study of the change in radial growth in 30-year periods demonstrated that wherever intermediate and declined tree radial growth began to change in both habitats during the period from 1962 to 1992, there was a significant decline in the last 30 years over the diametrically opposed class. Diameter and age curves showed that trees in Abzalo were younger, having an average of 36.83 cm diameter and 110 years of age, in contrast with those in Tangezendan, with diameters of 40.45 cm and 136 years.
Conclusion: The growth trend is the same between the average growth’s curves obtained, and hence it states that trees that face dieback, although during some periods growth is reduced, resist the deterioration factors and manage to keep up with growth. In all the average growth curves studied, there is a significant decreasing phase in tree growth trends for the period 1993-2000, indicating that the trees at this stage have lost their growth capacity. Despite the favorable growth conditions during 2002-2007, trees entered another decreasing phase for the period 2008-2018, while the lowest increment rate was determined in 2018. The radial growth obtained in this area with Brant's oak, amounting to 0.82 mm, also proved the decrease in tree growth in recent years. The chronological change in growth over the past 30 years of those tree groups showed a decline in the growth of trees studied during this study was 18.75, 34.7, and 35.8% for healthy, intermediate, and declined trees of Tangezeandan, respectively, and 34.96, 38.46, and 32.98% for Abzalo, respectively. While looking at the trend in the recent change in growth reduction for various groups of trees in Abzalo, higher risk in this habitat related to desiccation in comparison with other habitats can be marked. These are possibly due to some kind of climatic factor or human or livestock resource utilization within the region and need further study.
Keywords
Decline
Dendrochronology
Lordegan
Tree ring width

Subjects

 
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Iranian Journal of Forest
Volume 17, Issue 3 - Serial Number 3
Autumn 2025
Pages 327-346

  • Receive Date 29 January 2025
  • Revise Date 18 March 2025
  • Accept Date 06 April 2025