Tree-ring based climate reconstruction and growth–climate analysis of Pinus kesiya Royle ex Gordon in Doi Khuntan National Park, northern Thailand
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Issued Date
2026-01-01
Resource Type
ISSN
12124834
eISSN
1805935X
Scopus ID
2-s2.0-105037465446
Journal Title
Journal of Forest Science
Volume
72
Issue
4
Start Page
174
End Page
187
Rights Holder(s)
SCOPUS
Bibliographic Citation
Journal of Forest Science Vol.72 No.4 (2026) , 174-187
Suggested Citation
Palakit K., Duangsathaporn K., Pumijumnong N., Sriarkarin S., Bungbai T., Lumyai P. Tree-ring based climate reconstruction and growth–climate analysis of Pinus kesiya Royle ex Gordon in Doi Khuntan National Park, northern Thailand. Journal of Forest Science Vol.72 No.4 (2026) , 174-187. 187. doi:10.17221/78/2025-JFS Retrieved from: https://repository.li.mahidol.ac.th/handle/123456789/116586
Title
Tree-ring based climate reconstruction and growth–climate analysis of Pinus kesiya Royle ex Gordon in Doi Khuntan National Park, northern Thailand
Author's Affiliation
Corresponding Author(s)
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Abstract
Tree-ring analysis is a valuable tool for understanding long-term climate patterns and their influence on tree growth. This study investigates the climate-growth relationships of Khasi pine (Pinus kesiya Royle ex Gordon) in Doi Khuntan National Park, northern Thailand (at elevations of 850 to 1 035 m a.s.l.), to reconstruct past climate and inform forest management. Using 48 cross-dated increment cores, we developed an 83-year chronology (1936-2018). Standard dendrochronological methods and regression models were applied. The radial growth of P. kesiya was primarily influenced by moisture availability, showing significant positive correlations with March rainfall (r = 0.39, P < 0.01) and April-July relative humidity (r = 0.45, P < 0.01). Growth was negatively correlated with April-July mean temperature (r = -0.47, P < 0.01), indicating that warmer wet seasons induce stress. False-rings served as complementary intra-annual drought proxies, linked to cool-dry transitional periods. Multiple regression models explained 40.6% of radial growth variance and 65.6% of false-ring frequency variance. Reconstructed climate series revealed significant warming trends since the 1930s, most pronounced in April extreme minimum temperature, which increased by +0.98 °C over the study period (Mann-Kendall test, P < 0.01). These findings highlight the vulnerability of montane pine forests to increasing temperatures and atmospheric dryness, providing a multi-proxy baseline for climate change adaptation.