The Early- to Latewood Transition Phenology Is Asynchronous between the Different Parts of Abies forrestii var. smithii in Jiaozi Mountain, Yunnan, China

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

The paper is well prepared and the results will be useful for literature and forest products industry and forest service.  Minor corrections "Table 2" The authors should give full name of abbrevations such as "P", "F", and "n" as deepnote in Table 2. 

Ther English is genereally okay

Author Response

Dear Reviewer,

We are grateful for the quick review of our manuscript “The early- to late-wood transition phenology is asynchronous between the different parts of Abies georgei var. smithii in Jiaozi Mountain, Yunnan, China” (Manuscript ID: forests-2478302) and the constructive comments/suggestions from you. We have carefully revised the manuscript according to your suggestions and comments.

The detailed changes, corrections and modifications, and specific point-by-point responses to the editor and the reviewers’ questions and comments are listed in the attachment. The modified parts of the manuscript are highlighted in blue.

We are deeply indebted to the Forests editorial board and the reviewers for their efforts to improve our manuscript.

Yours sincerely,

Wenli Wang

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Reviewer 2 Report

What other factors (apart from temperature and humidity) influence the transition period from earlywood to latewood, e.g. the origin of the tree or genetics?

 

Why is the transition period of the branches more sensitive to environmental factors than that of the stems? How can this be explained? Does the process that regulates the onset of the transition from early to late wood depend on the photoperiod, to which the branches are more sensitive than the stems?

 Why does altitude at sea level not affect the mechanism of conversion from early to late wood in branches and stems? Since temperature and humidity change with altitude, right?

 Since the authors claim that their results provide new insights into the developmental regulation of tree ring formation and its sensitivity to climate, what opinions have prevailed so far about the contribution of environmental factors to this process?

The style and language used to describe the scientific experiments are typical of this type of publication and do not require much intervention.

Author Response

Dear Reviewer,

We are grateful for the quick review of our manuscript “The early- to late-wood transition phenology is asynchronous between the different parts of Abies georgei var. smithii in Jiaozi Mountain, Yunnan, China” (Manuscript ID: forests-2478302) and the constructive comments/suggestions from you. We have carefully revised the manuscript according to your suggestions and comments.

The detailed changes, corrections and modifications, and specific point-by-point responses to the editor and the reviewers’ questions and comments are listed in the attachment. The modified parts of the manuscript are highlighted in blue.

We are deeply indebted to the Forests editorial board and the reviewers for their efforts to improve our manuscript.

 

Yours sincerely,

Wenli Wang

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Reviewer 3 Report

This study examines how natural variables affect the phenology of the Smith fir's early- to late-wood transition in the Jiaozi Mountain (China). Overall, the paper provides a thorough investigation of both scientific and practical importance; however, there are a few queries and remarks that need an explanation.

Authors must correctly specify the Latin names of plants. First, you must provide an accepted biological name, not homotypic synonyms. Second, the first mention of the species' Latin name in the text should be given in full.

Abies georgei var. smithii (Viguié & Gaussen) W.C.Cheng & L.K.Fu - this name is a homotypic synonym of Abies forrestii var. smithii Viguié & Gaussen.

Site description.

Please provide more details about the sample locations. Specifically: slope gradient, slope exposure. Add key soil characteristics (soil type, texture, etc.).

Some questions about the sampling campaign.

Trees (15) of similar age exhibiting good growth... (L.93-94)”. To comprehend which trees were chosen for sampling, this information is insufficient. Were these mature trees? What was the mean height and DBH of the trees sampled? What was the average age of the trees? Provide more data.

Samples from the same branches (which were somehow labelled) or from different branches were collected throughout the investigation?

From which part of the crown were the branches taken? From the bottom, middle or top of the crown? Was the sampling pattern different along the cardinal directions? For instance, were samples from the branches obtained just from the southern or northern portions of the crown?

“…the sample collection was done in a "Z" pattern…” (L.108). "Z" pattern? Please explain the "Z" pattern.

You should modify the "Keywords" section. Delete the keyword “hormones”. You haven't conducted any research on hormone levels! Replace it with another keyword, according to your research.

Figure 3. Air REW (%). What does that parameter mean? Maybe it's “the relative humidity (RH)”?

Please change Figures 7 and 8. Use the term "branches" consistently, not just in the text but also in Figures. Do not use synonyms (in this case, "twigs" should be changed to "branches").

“The branch length rapidly decreased... (L.352)”. In this paper, there are no results related to varying branch length. Please provide these data.

“We found that …and dormancy induction (Fuchigami and Nee 2017). (L.311-312), “We found that … not just a single factor (Bouriaud et al. 2015). (L.359-360) and so on in the section “Discussion”. Why are you referring to other scientific studies if this is what you found? The statement "we found..." is not required when discussing the results of another study. Edit the text, please.

“…were then installed in each sample plot to measure local air temperature, humidity, and humidity.” (L.95-96). The word “humidity” is duplicated, correct the text.

Author Response

Dear Reviewer,

We are grateful for the quick review of our manuscript “The early- to late-wood transition phenology is asynchronous between the different parts of Abies georgei var. smithii in Jiaozi Mountain, Yunnan, China” (Manuscript ID: forests-2478302) and the constructive comments/suggestions from you. We have carefully revised the manuscript according to your suggestions and comments.

The detailed changes, corrections and modifications, and specific point-by-point responses to the editor and the reviewers’ questions and comments are listed in the attachment. The modified parts of the manuscript are highlighted in blue.

We are deeply indebted to the Forests editorial board and the reviewers for their efforts to improve our manuscript.

 

Yours sincerely,

Wenli Wang

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Round 2

Reviewer 3 Report

The authors answered all the questions and comments. The manuscript has been carefully revised. So , in my view, the manuscript can be accepted at the present state.