Fig. 1

The geographical location of the study area and the plot distribution in the eastern Daxing’an Mountains, China (A); monthly average temperature for the climate period (2005–2015), with elevation ranging from 190 to 1190 m, in the Daxing’an Mountains (from 121° 12′ E to 127° 00′ E and from 50° 10′ N to 53° 33′ N) (B); monthly average precipitation for the climate period (2005–2015), with elevation ranging from 190 to 1190 m, in the Daxing’an Mountains (from 121° 12′ E to 127° 00′ E and 50° 10′ N to 53° 33′ N) (C). The red dots and numbers represent the forest bureaus and the number of plots nested in each forest bureau, respectively