Time-dependent effects of climate and drought on tree growth in a Neotropical dry forest: Short-term tolerance vs. long-term sensitivity

• The sensitivity of growth to precipitation and temperature was species-specific.
• Tree growth responses to precipitation and temperature peaked at short-time scales.
• Tree growth responded differently to short- and long-term droughts.
• Tree species were particularly sensitive to multi-annual droughts.
• Long-term droughts drive growth dynamics of tropical dry forests.

We analyzed the effects of climate and drought on radial growth using dendrochronology in seven deciduous tree species coexisting in a Bolivian tropical dry forest subjected to seasonal drought. Precipitation, temperature and a multiscalar drought index were related to tree-ring width data at different time-scales (from one month to 42 years). Precipitation affected positively tree growth in all species, mainly during the wet season, while temperature affected it negatively in five species. Tree growth responses to precipitation and temperature were species-specific and peaked at short-time scales, specifically from one to nine months. At inter-annual scales tree growth always responded positively to less dry conditions at short-time scales, particularly from two to seven months, and also at long-time scales from six to 30 years. Tree growth was mainly sensitive to multi-annual droughts and such sensitivity differed among species. Our findings suggest that tree species of the studied tropical dry forest are predominantly sensitive in terms of growth reduction to long-lasting droughts. This time-dependency of growth responses to drought should be explicitly considered as an additional constraint of the community dynamics in evaluations of the future responses of tropical dry forests to climate warming.