Climatic effects on birch (Betula pubescens Ehrh.) growth in Fnjoskadalur valley, northern Iceland

This paper presents the results of a dendrochronological and dendroclimatological study of birch growth in northern Iceland. Two cores from 36 trees were extracted at two locations and a 110-year-long chronology was built, which is near the maximum possible chronology length for living trees in the study area, considering the growing conditions in Iceland and the history of forest management. Birch has a very good dendroclimatological potential. Pointer year analysis indicates that above-average summer temperature and above-average snowpack result in a positive pointer year (wide ring), while below-average summer temperature and a dry winter result in a negative pointer year (narrow ring). Bootstrapped response functions confirm that June and July above-average temperature positively influences tree-ring width. This climate/growth relationship is stable throughout the 1930–2002 period. Yet the influence of above-average temperature is slightly more important in June than in July. It turned out that birch tree rings are challenging to work with in dendrochronology, considering that their boundaries are difficult to distinguish. Moreover, frequent early summer frosts, insect attacks, and sheep grazing affect birch wood formation and development of tree rings in Iceland, making dendrochronological work even harder.