Assessment of Climate Sensitivity of Himalayan Fir (Abies pindrow) Grown in Ayubia National Park, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan
Assessment of Climate Sensitivity of Himalayan Fir (Abies pindrow) Grown in Ayubia National Park, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan
Khalid Hussain*, Tanvir Hussain, Zahid Rauf and Nowsherwan Zarif
ABSTRACT
In this research study time series of 270-year (1750 -2020CE) was used to assess climatic sensitivity of the Blue Pine (Abies pindrow) one of the dominant species in the moist temperate forest of Ayubia National Park (ANP), Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The study revealed that the species is climate and drought sensitive with dendrochronological potential. It was hypothesized that A. pindrow is sensitive to climate change and records the variations in climatic factors. The past studies revealed the reliable dendrochronological potential and climate vulnerability of the species but the results were based on short samples. This study was aimed at exploring the climatic sensitivity of A. pindrow grown in ANP with sufficient sample strength. We assessed dendrochronological potential, climatic sensitivity by establishing climate-growth relationship and mean annual diameter-age relationship. Forty-four trees were sampled out of which only twenty-five cores were used in the final chronology whereas nineteen samples were found problematic thus omitted from the final master chronology CDend ro & CooRecorder 9, Cofecha, ARSTAN and SPSS were used for data analysis, quality confirmation of time series, chronology construction and climate-growth relationship. Species is climate sensitive and showed dendrochronological potential; however, species is somehow responsive to the endogenous and biological factors as well. Strong and significant relationship was found between diameter and age. Time series revealed a drought period spanned between 1760-1950 CE; however, beyond 1950 CE uptrend in growth which remain constant upto the years 2000 CE. Species may be used to study climatic variations and reconstruction of the past climate and predictions of future changes.
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