Data from: Survival and growth of three boreal conifer species transplanted to warm sites: Implications for responses to global warming and extreme climatic events

Understanding the responses of boreal conifers to climate change is
essential for future mitigation and adaptation. In this study, 3-year-old
seedlings of three Japanese boreal conifers, including Sakhalin fir, Yezo
spruce, and Sakhalin spruce, naturally found in Hokkaido, Japan, were
transplanted in spring 2016 to a cool control and two warm (air-dried
interior and humid coastal) sites. We investigated survival, height, and
ecophysiological traits based on three parameters: stable carbon isotope
discrimination (δ13C), specific leaf area, and leaf mass-specific nitrogen
concentration ( N) of seedlings during experiments. The survival rates of
two spruce species were gradually significantly lower in warm sites, while
that of Sakhalin fir did not significantly differ among sites. The
relative growth rate (RGR) of two spruce species was significantly lower
in the warm-interior site than in both cool control and warm-coastal sites
in 2018, although in 2017, the RGR of two spruce species was lower in the
warm sites than in the cool control site. The less negative δ13C value in
2018 revealed that a vapor pressure deficit might decrease the spruces’
RGR via stoma closure in the warm-interior site. We found that Sakhalin
fir would be less sensitive to climate change than the two spruce species.