Disentangling intra-annual Pinus sylvestris growth responses to hydro-climatic conditions: Insights from quantitative wood anatomy in peatlands

exhibited strong positive correlations with maximum temperatures (r = 0.66, March-May) and winter WTL (r = 0.50, November-March). Categorization of WTL and temperature into discrete classes revealed that both excessively shallow and deep WTL negatively impact xylem traits, while temperature showed linear effects, with high temperatures enhancing earlywood cell expansion and latewood cell wall thickening. These findings demonstrate the superior precision of QWA in capturing peatland tree growth responses to local (WTL) and regional (temperature) hydro-climatic variability, thereby enhancing our understanding of peatland ecosystem resilience to climate fluctuations and supporting conservation efforts in the face of global environmental change.