Boreal and temperate tree species are adapted to the seasonally varying climatic conditions with their annual cycle of development so that the frost hardy dormant phase and the susceptible growth phase are synchronized with the seasonality of the climate. The annual cycle includes various attributes such as timing of bud burst and other phenological events, and seasonality of photosynthetic capacity or frost hardiness of the trees. During the last few decades dynamic ecophysiological models have been used increasingly in studies of the annual cycle, especially when projecting the ecological effects of climate change. These studies are reviewed and some additional new ideas on the topic are also introduced. A unifying notation is used throughout Boreal and Temperate Trees in a Changing Climate when discussing different aspects of the annual cycle. Main emphasis is on combining modelling with experimental studies and on the importance of the biological realism of the models
1. Climatic Adaptation of Boreal and Temperate Tree Species
2. Dynamic Modelling of the Annual Cycle
3. The Annual Phenological Cycle
4. The Annual Cycle of Photosynthesis in Evergreen Conifers
5. The Annual Cycle of Frost Hardiness
6. Evolutionary Aspects of the Annual Cycle
7. Upscaling to Higher Levels of Organisation
8. The Annual Cycle Under Changing Climatic Conditions
9. Concluding Remarks