Abstract
Bald cypress (Taxodium distichum (L.) Rich.), a foundation species in the bottomland hardwood forests of the southeastern United States, is essential for maintaining ecosystem functions. This study assesses the impacts of environmental changes on bald cypress ring widths and xylogenesis by correlating growth patterns with climatic variables, using ring-width data from 17752022 and cellular development data from the 2023 growing season. We collected biweekly cambium samples from five trees in western Alabama, analyzing the correlation between cell development and environmental factors such as air and water temperatures, precipitation, water levels, solar radiation, and day length. Results indicate that new cell growth is significantly influenced by day length (r2 = 0.84, p 0.01) and maximum water temperature (r2 = 0.59, p 0.01), with water temperature potentially playing a role in initiating the growing season, which typically starts in late May and ends by early September. Notably, an intense precipitation event in early July, delivering 7.34 cm of rain, coincided with a mid-season increase in cell production after trees started to decrease production following the summer solstice, underscoring the sensitivity of bald cypress to acute hydro-meteorological events. The cessation of growth corresponded with the drying of the site, indicating water availability as a possible factor for ending the growth phase. These findings underscore the complex interaction between bald cypress and its changing environment, providing insights into its adaptive strategies to climatic variability and highlighting the ecological importance of this species in forecasting and managing wetland resilience.