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The performed dendrochronological analysis of the radial growth of coniferous trees in the avalanche paths of the Chuya River basin (Central Altai) has enabled to define the patterns of avalanche activity in the studied starting zones and the frequency of high-magnitude snow avalanches. It is shown that a tree-ring complex indicator is driving in detection of avalanche activity in specific avalanche paths. We suggest calling it the dendrochronological index of avalanche activity. In some cases, the applied dendrochronological method has helped to identify the cause (factor) of avalanching in the area under study.

This study examines the complex interplay between snowpack dynamics and tree growth in the Tigiretsky Ridge region, utilizing a combination of tree-ring chronologies and snowpack data from 2013 to 2020. Employing the Temperature-Based Melt-Index Method, we accurately assessed the maximum snowpack water equivalent during winter months, revealing significant spatial variability influenced by elevation, slope aspect, and proximity to watersheds. Our findings indicate an asymmetrical distribution of snow cover, with higher snow reserves on the southern slopes at lower elevations and a reversal at higher altitudes. Notably, near watershed areas, snow reserves on the northern slope can exceed those on the southern slope by a factor of 30. The analysis also highlights the positive correlation between increased snowpack water equivalent and radial growth of Abies sibirica L. within the ecotone of the upper timberline, suggesting a significant ecological response to changing snow conditions. These insights contribute to a deeper understanding of how climate variability impacts snow-vegetation interactions in mountainous ecosystems, laying the groundwork for future research aimed at unraveling the underlying mechanisms of these relationships.

The following features of the radial growth of Picea obovata L., Larix sibirica L., and Pinus sibirica Du Tour in the icing areas of Altai were analyzed: changes in growth along the trunk height, synchronicity of individual tree-ring chronologies, and sensitivity of generalized chronologies. The dependence of the width of the annual rings of the studied trees using such indicators as the volume and area of icing, the date of gathering of icing and the index of the intensity of icing formation was established. For the analysis, data from the state hydrometeorological station, remote sensing of Earth, literary sources, and materials from our own dendrochronological works were used.

The dependence of the of annual ring width of woody plants in the Altai Mountains on such parameters of snow cover as maximum thickness, water reserve, dates of disappearance, and establishment and duration of occurrence of stable snow cover, is analyzed. The data of the state hydrometeorological stations (HMS) and the authors’ own dendrochronological materials were used for the analysis. The features of the response of the radial growth to the snow cover parameters for various trees, fir (Abies sibirica L.), Siberian larch (Larix sibirica L.), Siberian stone pine (Pinus sibirica Du Tour), and pine (Pinus sylvestris L.), depending on the geographical location, were established.

The results of the dendrochronological study of the pine belt and Priobie pine forests of the Altai Territory, growing in the forest-steppe and steppe zones, are presented. The usage of regular network of 36 study plots allowed us to conduct a detailed research of the features of the growth of Scots pine in various zonal conditions (track changes in the climate signal from the southern forest to the dry steppe). On the basis of the cluster analysis two zonal groups of chronologies (forest-steppe and steppe) were received, and it showed the manifestation of the mesoclimatic signal in the tree-ring series. Comparative valuation of the cluster analysis results, of sensitivity and cross-series correlations coefficients, of climatic response of pine in the first and second halves of the XX century, which were characterized by different hydrothermal regime, was conducted. As a consequence the climatic signal attenuation in the first half of the XX century in favorable conditions for the growth of pine (cooler and more humid conditions) was discovered