%0 Research article
%T Drought is more stressful for northern populations of Scots pine than low summer temperatures
%A Kozlov, Mikhail V.
%A Niemelä, Pekka
%D 2003
%J Silva Fennica
%V 37
%N 2
%R doi:10.14214/sf.499
%U https://silvafennica.fi/article/499
%X Needle fluctuating asymmetry, which is a non-specific stress indicator,  was used to evaluate responses of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) to  annual climatic variation in the Kola Peninsula, NW Russia, during  1992–1999. Although the 30 trees surveyed for this study demonstrated  individualistic responses to the temperature and precipitation of the  growth seasons, at the population level we found no effect of  temperature and a significant increase in fluctuating asymmetry with a  decline in precipitation during the previous August. This finding  suggests that the vitality of Scots pine populations at the northern  tree limit is controlled by late summer precipitation rather than by  temperatures of the growth season.