Data for: Growing faster, longer or both? Modelling plastic response of Juniperus communis growth phenology to climate change

Aim: Plant growth and phenology plastically respond to changing climatic conditions both in space and time. Species-specific levels of growth plasticity determine biogeographical patterns and the adaptive capacity of species to climate change. However, a direct assessment of spatial and temporal variability in radial-growth dynamics is complicated, as long records of cambial phenology do not exist.

Location: 16 sites across European distribution margins of Juniperus communis L. (the Mediterranean, the Arctic, the Alps and the Urals).

Time period: 1940-2016

Major taxa studied: Juniperus communis

Methods: We applied the Vaganov-Shashkin process-based model of wood formation to estimate trends in growing season duration and growth kinetics since 1940. We assumed that J. communis would exhibit spatially and temporally variable growth patterns reflecting local climatic conditions.

Results: Our simulations indicate regional differences in growth dynamics and plastic responses t...