Norway spruce shows stronger growth sensitivity and weaker intrinsic water-use efficiency response than Scots pine under increasing water limitation in southern Finland

Szejner, Paul; Martínez-García, Eduardo; Haakana, Helena; Heikkinen, Juha; Rinne-Garmston, Katja T.; Kilpeläinen, Petri; Young, Giles; Sahlstedt, Elina; Mäkipää, Raisa; Lehtonen, Aleksi

doi:10.5194/bg-23-7223-2026

Articles | Volume 23, issue 20

https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-23-7223-2026

© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-23-7223-2026

© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Articles | Volume 23, issue 20

Research article

|

15 Oct 2026

Research article |

| 15 Oct 2026

Norway spruce shows stronger growth sensitivity and weaker intrinsic water-use efficiency response than Scots pine under increasing water limitation in southern Finland

Paul Szejner, Eduardo Martínez-García, Helena Haakana, Juha Heikkinen, Katja T. Rinne-Garmston, Petri Kilpeläinen, Giles Young, Elina Sahlstedt, Raisa Mäkipää, and Aleksi Lehtonen

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https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-23-7223-2026-supplement

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Norway spruce shows stronger growth sensitivity and weaker intrinsic water-use efficiency response than Scots pine under increasing water limitation in southern Finland P. Szejner1 et al. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.23237170

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Short summary

Forests in southern Finland have become increasingly water-limited over the past decades. Growth decline is pronounced in Norway spruce after 2016, indicating strong sensitivity to water limitation, while Scots pine exhibits only marginal reductions beginning around 2009. Intrinsic water-use efficiency derived from tree-ring carbon isotopes increased more steeply in Scots pine than in Norway spruce, suggesting weaker physiological adjustment in spruce to rising atmospheric moisture demand.