Climate Variability and Associated Response of Larix griffithii in Kanchenjunga Conservation Area of Nepal

Sijar Bhatta¹, Man Kumar Dhamala^{1, 2}, Prakash Chandra Aryal¹, Raju Chauhan³ and Binod Dawadi^{4, 5,}

¹Department of Environmental Science, Goldengate International College, Kathmandu, Nepal

²Central Department of Environmental Sciences, Tribhuvan University

³Department of Environmental Science, Amrit Campus, Kathmandu, Nepal

⁴Central Department of Hydrology and Meteorology, Tribhuvan University, Kirtipur, Nepal

⁵Kathmandu Center for Research and Education Chinese Academy of Sciences - Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu Nepal

Cite this paper:
Sijar Bhatta, Man Kumar Dhamala, Prakash Chandra Aryal, Raju Chauhan and Binod Dawadi. Climate Variability and Associated Response of Larix griffithii in Kanchenjunga Conservation Area of Nepal. Applied Ecology and Environmental Sciences. 2018; 6(1):23-30. doi: 10.12691/aees-6-1-4

Abstract

Mountains are most sensitive to climate change and the impacts are already evident in different sphere and sector of mountain regions, especially in the vulnerable countries like Nepal. This research was designed to integrate hydro-climatic data analysis and climate sensitivity through dendrochronology to generate an understanding on how Larix griffithii, one of the least studied conifers in Nepal, is responding to climate variability and change. A significant warming trend of 0.021°C year^-1 was observed in the region. Precipitation was more erratic without any significant increasing, decreasing or cyclic trend. Between 1962 and 2012, the warmest year on record was 2010 while 1997 was the coolest year on record. After 1997 a clear shift in temperature regime was observed with the recent decade experiencing a sharp increase in temperature. A site chronology extending 1745- 2015 AD was prepared. Very strong significant correlation was observed between the standard chronology and monthly temperature especially in summer months indicating a potential for summer months’ temperature reconstruction. The reconstructed summer month’s temperature data for the period 1770-2015 captured 34% variability. The short cold episodes were observed around the 1810s, 1910s, and 1970s while warm periods were observed around 1890s, 1920s and 2000s. Radial growth of Larix griffithii in the site shows a highly significant negative relationship with the monthly temperature of the previous year and current year summer months especially for June, July, August, September of previous year and July, August and September of the current year. Significant positive correlation was observed for both previous year and current year July precipitation. The summer temperature coupled with precipitation is seen to limit the tree growth through moisture limitations. With the temperature in increasing trend, it is likely that the growth of Larix will face more heat stress in future, making them more dynamic to the changing climate.

Keywords:
climate variability Nepal Himalaya growth-climate response climate reconstruction dendrochronology

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