Lingering response of radial growth of Picea crassifolia to climate at different altitudes in the Qilian Mountains, Northwest China

Key message The influence of climate in the previous year on radial growth was stronger than that in the current year and climatic influence became weaker as the altitude increased. Abstract The climate conditions during the previous year often influence the radial growth of trees in the current year, which is known as the lingering effect of climate. To explore this lingering effect in depth, we compare the influence of climate in the previous and current year on radial growth and find variations in climatic effects on growth along the altitudinal gradient. We also relate radial growth of Picea crassifolia to climate variables from 24 different timescales (from 1 month to the previous 24 months) at different altitudes in the middle of the Qilian Mountains. In the study area, accumulated monthly precipitation before November in the previous year benefited radial growth in the current year at all altitudes. At lower altitudes, July could be seen as a demarcation point that precipitation from the current May–July significantly affected radial growth in the current year, but precipitation from the current July–October significantly affected radial growth in next year. At the same time, radial growth there responded stronger to precipitation from the previous July–October than that from the current May–July. Radial growth at higher altitudes responded weaker to climatic factors than that at lower altitudes and rarely correlated with precipitation from the current year.