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- Title
Dendroecological reconstruction and interpretation of larch budmoth ( Zeiraphera diniana) outbreaks in two central alpine valleys of Switzerland from 1470 – 1990.
- Authors
Weber, Urs M.
- Abstract
Outbreaks of the larch budmoth (LBM) ( Zeiraphera diniana) recur cyclically approximately every 7 to 10 years in subalpine larch-cembran pine and montane to subalpine larch-Norway spruce forests of the relatively dry valleys of the European Alps. By dendroecologically analyzing increment cores from 570 host (European larch – Larix decidua) and non-host trees (cembran pine – Pinus cembra, Norway spruce – Picea abies) through the use of skeleton plots, at least 57 (59) outbreaks could be reconstructed in the optimum Upper Engadine Valley (suboptimum Goms Valley), Switzerland, during the time period 1503 (1472) to 1990. The average interval between initial years of successive outbreaks was 8.58 (8.95) years, SD 1.66 (2.13) years. Over the centuries spatial shifts of LBM activity between the two study areas occurred, probably due to climatic changes. Clear, site-specific differences in LBM attack could only be found in the suboptimum area where high-lying (>1800 m) and/or south-facing stands were infested most. LBM-afflicted trees proved to be unsuitable for climate reconstructions because the impact of the persistently recurring outbreaks on tree growth is dominant. In order to provide sufficient information for a detailed ecological interpretation of the course of an outbreak, latewood widths and/or densities have to be analyzed in addition to the ring-widths.
- Publication
Trees: Structure & Function, 1997, Vol 11, Issue 5, p277
- ISSN
0931-1890
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1007/PL00009674