Life histories of Abies alba and Picea abies growing in old-growth forests driven by natural gap-phase dynamics

We analyzed growth trajectories recorded in the tree-ring series of Norway spruce Picea abies (L.) H. Karst. and silver fir Abies alba Mill. co-occuring with European beech Fagus sylvatica L. in old-growth forests driven by natural stand dynamics. The study sites were localized in five old-growth stands in the Western Carpathians (Central Europe). We characterized the life histories of 218 individual trees by using 25 metrics which refer to the age of the trees, number of release events, reaction to releases, radial increment and basal area increment. We found a large variation in the dbh-age relationship. The life histories of most trees included two or three (in single cases up to seven) release events. We did not find tree age as an important factor in determining post-release growth response. The maximal basal area increment was frequently registered at the terminal stage of tree life. The life histories of spruces and firs did not significantly differ. We concluded that in natural forests driven by gap-phase dynamics, the history of release events is the primary driver of tree growth and that tree age plays a secondary role. After reaching the overstory, trees can continue growing without significant symptoms of aging until extrinsic forces cause their death. Our results indicate that in the studied ecosystem the persistence of less shade-tolerant spruce is not attributable to the niche differentiation and site partitioning mechanism. An alternative hypothesis based on shifts in stand densities, species composition and climatic factors is more probable.