Hydraulics play an important role in causing low growth rate and dieback of aging Pinus sylvestris var. mongolica trees in plantations of Northeast China

The frequently observed forest decline in water‐limited regions may be associated with impaired tree hydraulics, but the precise physiological mechanisms remain poorly understood. We compared hydraulic architecture of Mongolian pine ( Pinus sylvestris var . mongolica ) trees of different size classes from a plantation and a natural forest site to test whether greater hydraulic limitation with increasing size plays an important role in tree...