Responses of Intrinsic Water-use Efficiency and Tree Growth to Climate Change in Semi-Arid Areas of North China

Tree-level intrinsic water-use efficiency (iWUE) is derived from the tree-ring 13C isotope composition (δ13C) and is an important indicator of the adaptability for trees to climate change. However, there is still uncertainty regarding the relationship between long-term forest ecosystem carbon sequestration capacity and iWUE. To determine whether elevated atmospheric CO2 concentration (Ca) increase iWUE and tree growth (basal area increment, BAI), dendrochronological methods and stable isotope analyses were used to examine annual changes in the tree-ring width and carbon isotope composition (δ13C) of Platycladus orientalis in northern China. The iWUE derived from δ13C has increased significantly (p < 0.01). Long-term iWUE trend was largely and positively driven by the elevated atmospheric CO2 concentration and temperature. We observed a general increase in averaged BAI, which had significant positive correlation with iWUE (R2 = 0.3186, p < 0.01). Increases in iWUE indeed translated into enhanced P. orientalis growth in semi-arid areas of northern China. Elevated atmospheric CO2 concentration significantly (p < 0.01) stimulated P. orientalis biomass accumulation when Ca was less than approximately 320 ppm in the early phase; however, this effect was not pronounced when Ca exceeded 320 ppm.