A tree-ring based reconstruction of early summer precipitation in southwestern Virginia (1750–1981)

2015 ◽  
Vol 64 (3) ◽  
pp. 243-256 ◽  
Author(s):  
A Dawson ◽  
D Austin ◽  
D Walker ◽  
S Appleton ◽  
B Gillanders ◽  
...  
2014 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 61-68 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samuli Helama ◽  
Jari Holopainen ◽  
Mauri Timonen ◽  
Kari Mielikäinen

Abstract A near-millennial tree-ring chronology (AD 1147-2000) is presented for south-west Finland and analyzed using dendroclimatic methods. This is a composite chronology comprising samples both from standing pine trees (Pinus sylvestris L.) and subfossil trunks as recovered from the lake sediments, with a total sample size of 189 tree-ring sample series. The series were dendrochronologically cross-dated to exact calendar years to portray variability in tree-ring widths on inter-annual and longer scales. Al though the studied chronology correlates statistically significantly with other long tree-ring width chronologies from Finland over their common period (AD 1520-1993), the south-west chronology did not exhibit similarly strong mid-summer temperature or spring/early-summer precipitation signals in comparison to published chronologies. On the other hand, the south-west chronology showed highest correlations to the North Atlantic Oscillation indices in winter/spring months, this association following a dendroclimatic feature common to pine chronologies over the region and adjacent areas. Paleoclimatic comparison showed that tree-rings had varied similarly to central European spring temperatures. It is postulated that the collected and dated tree-ring material could be studied for wood surface reflectance (blue channel light intensity) and stable isotopes, which both have recently shown to correlate notably well with summer temperatures.


2001 ◽  
Vol 31 (6) ◽  
pp. 925-936 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonio Lara ◽  
Juan Carlos Aravena ◽  
Ricardo Villalba ◽  
Alexia Wolodarsky-Franke ◽  
Brian Luckman ◽  
...  

Nothofagus pumilio (Poepp et Endl.) Krasser, is a deciduous tree species that grows in Chile and adjacent Argentina between 36 and 56°S, often forming the Andean tree line. This paper presents the first eight tree-ring chronologies from N. pumilio at its northern range limit in the central Andes of Chile (36–39°S) and the first precipitation reconstruction for this region. Samples were taken from upper tree-line stands (1500–1700 m elevation) in three study areas: Vilches, Laguna del Laja, and Conguillío. Results indicate that, at the northern sites (Vilches and Laguna del Laja), the tree-ring growth of N. pumilio is positively correlated with late-spring and early summer precipitation and that higher temperatures reduce radial growth, probably because of an increase in evapotranspiration and decrease in water availability. At the southern Conguillío study area, radial growth was negatively correlated with late-spring and early summer precipitation. The presence of volcanic activity in this latter study area, which might have masked the climate signal, did not seem to have a significant influence on radial growth. A reconstruction of November–December (summer) precipitation for the period 1837–1996 from N. pumilio tree-ring chronologies accounted for 37% of instrumentally recorded precipitation variance. This is the first precipitation reconstruction from N. pumilio chronologies. Only temperature and snow cover have previously been reconstructed using this species. The reconstruction indicates that the driest and wettest 25-year periods within the past 160 years are 1890–1914 and 1917–1941, respectively.


2021 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. e011-e011
Author(s):  
Said Slimani ◽  

Aim of study: A March-June precipitation has been reconstructed for the period 1830-2015 using Atlas cedar (Cedrus atlantica Manetti) tree-ring records. Area of study: Atlas cedar forest of Mount Takoucht (Béjaïa, northern Algeria). Material and methods: Seasonal correlations were computed in order to identify the best period of the year for the climate reconstruction. The temporal stability of the tree-ring signal for precipitation was checked using the split-sample calibration-verification procedure. The reconstruction was performed using the transfer function method. Main results: The reconstructed data revealed high interannual to decadal variation in late winter to early summer precipitation. Wet conditions dominated during the 1830s and 1840s and were followed by sustained dry conditions during the mid-19th century, which registered two of the most severe droughts (1858 and 1869) over the period of reconstruction. Relatively moderate climate conditions marked the late 19th and early 20th centuries. A gradual return towards drier conditions was observed from the 1920s and reached high frequencies of drought around mid-20th century. After an exceptional prolonged wet period of 24 years (1966-1989), the reconstruction registered its highest frequency in extreme dry/wet events: the decade 1993-2002 recorded the highest drought frequency of the reconstruction, with the third most severe dry event (1999), while the last years were marked by a clear shift toward wet conditions. Research highlights: These findings provide relevant records on past climate variability in one of the rainiest areas in Algeria and constitute valuable knowledge for specific drought and wet periods monitoring in the region.


2009 ◽  
Vol 22 (17) ◽  
pp. 4710-4722 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karin Jönsson ◽  
Christer Nilsson

Abstract Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) trees growing on shingle fields offer a unique possibility to reconstruct precipitation and study climate variability in the fairly humid eastern part of central Sweden. Tree-ring characteristics were compared with monthly (1890–2001) and daily (1961–2001) climate data from an adjacent meteorological station. Chronologies for latewood (LW), earlywood (EW), and tree-ring widths (RW) were constructed from 73 living and dead trees. Correlation analyses show that tree growth is most sensitive to early summer precipitation. EW shows the strongest correlation with precipitation in May and June while LW is best correlated with June and July precipitation. A reconstruction model for May–June precipitation was calculated using principal component analysis (PCA) regression (regular regression) including EW, LW, and RW for present and previous years. The model explained 46% of the variation in May–June precipitation and allowed a reconstruction back to 1560. Information about wet and dry years was collected from historical documents and was used to validate the result. Periods with precipitation above and below the mean show agreement with previous reconstructions of spring precipitation from tree rings in Finland and of spring floods from estuary sediments in the region. Analyses of correlations between meteorological stations and reconstructed precipitation show that the model is valid for the coastal part of central Sweden. The authors conclude that Scots pine trees on shingle fields are well suited for precipitation reconstruction, and the separate analyses of LW and EW improve the reconstruction.


2018 ◽  
Vol 52 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 1583-1594 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chenxi Xu ◽  
Jiangfeng Shi ◽  
Yesi Zhao ◽  
Takeshi Nakatsuka ◽  
Masaki Sano ◽  
...  

Forests ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 1002
Author(s):  
Rafael M. Navarro-Cerrillo ◽  
Antonio Gazol ◽  
Carlos Rodríguez-Vallejo ◽  
Rubén D. Manzanedo ◽  
Guillermo Palacios-Rodríguez ◽  
...  

Systematic forest networks of health monitoring have been established to follow changes in tree vigor and mortality. These networks often lack long-term growth data, but they could be complemented with tree ring data, since both defoliation and radial growth are proxies of changes in tree vigor. For instance, a severe water shortage should reduce growth and increase tree defoliation in drought-prone areas. However, the effects of climatic stress and drought on growth and defoliation could also depend on tree age. To address these issues, we compared growth and defoliation data with recent climate variability and drought severity in Abies pinsapo old and young trees sampled in Southern Spain, where a systematic health network (Andalucía Permanent Plot Network) was established. Our aims were: (i) to assess the growth sensitivity of old and young A. pinsapo trees and (ii) to test if relative changes in radial growth were related with recent defoliation, for instance, after severe droughts. We also computed the resilience indices to quantify how old and young trees recovered growth after recent droughts. Wet-cool conditions during the prior autumn and the current early summer improved the growth of old trees, whereas late-spring wet conditions enhanced the growth of young trees. Old trees were more sensitive to wet and sunny conditions in the early summer than young trees. Old and young trees were more responsive to the Standardized Precipitation-Evapotranspiration Index drought index of June–July and July–August calculated at short (one–three months) and mid (three–six months) time scales, respectively. Old trees presented a higher resistance to a severe drought in 1995 than young trees. A positive association was found between stand defoliation and relative growth. Combining monitoring and tree ring networks is useful for the detection of early warning signals of dieback in similar drought-prone forests.


2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 1451-1471 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giovanni Leonelli ◽  
Anna Coppola ◽  
Maria Cristina Salvatore ◽  
Carlo Baroni ◽  
Giovanna Battipaglia ◽  
...  

Abstract. A first assessment of the main climatic drivers that modulate the tree-ring width (RW) and maximum latewood density (MXD) along the Italian Peninsula and northeastern Sicily was performed using 27 forest sites, which include conifers (RW and MXD) and broadleaves (only RW). Tree-ring data were compared using the correlation analysis of the monthly and seasonal variables of temperature, precipitation and standardized precipitation index (SPI, used to characterize meteorological droughts) against each species-specific site chronology and against the highly sensitive to climate (HSTC) chronologies (based on selected indexed individual series). We find that climate signals in conifer MXD are stronger and more stable over time than those in conifer and broadleaf RW. In particular, conifer MXD variability is directly influenced by the late summer (August, September) temperature and is inversely influenced by the summer precipitation and droughts (SPI at a timescale of 3 months). The MXD sensitivity to August–September (AS) temperature and to summer drought is mainly driven by the latitudinal gradient of summer precipitation amounts, with sites in the northern Apennines showing stronger climate signals than sites in the south. Conifer RW is influenced by the temperature and drought of the previous summer, whereas broadleaf RW is more influenced by summer precipitation and drought of the current growing season. The reconstruction of the late summer temperatures for the Italian Peninsula for the past 300 years, based on the HSTC chronology of conifer MXD, shows a stable model performance that underlines periods of climatic cooling (and likely also wetter conditions) in 1699, 1740, 1814, 1914 and 1938, and follows well the variability of the instrumental record and of other tree-ring-based reconstructions in the region. Considering a 20-year low-pass-filtered series, the reconstructed temperature record consistently deviates < 1 °C from the instrumental record. This divergence may also be due to the precipitation patterns and drought stresses that influence the tree-ring MXD at our study sites. The reconstructed late summer temperature variability is also linked to summer drought conditions and it is valid for the west–east oriented region including Sardinia, Sicily, the Italian Peninsula and the western Balkan area along the Adriatic coast.


2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 161-167
Author(s):  
Alar Läänelaid ◽  
Samuli Helama

Tree-ring records of Sitka spruce growing in Hiiumaa (Estonia) were investigated to illustrate their growth variability and its climatic determinants. A chronology comprising ring-width series of eight big individuals from the Suuremõisa forest park was correlated with local climatic records. The growth variability of this species introduced to Hiiumaa was statistically explained profoundly by winter temperature and early-spring precipitation. Comparisons were also made with local tree-ring data of Norway spruce. Interestingly, both the native and non-native species responded positively to precipitation in June and negatively to precipitation in April. Previous studies have shown that the winter temperature response, demonstrated here for Sitka spruce, is found as Norway spruce growth responses in eastern Estonia, whereas in western Estonia the growth of the latter species is more clearly connected, similar to our findings, to early-summer precipitation. These findings indicate that while the both spruce species remain sensitive to spring/summer moisture regime, the growth of Sitka spruce may actually be less tolerate to winter temperatures, as evident here in western Estonia where the winters may likely be milder than in eastern Estonia. Common to Sitka spruce results from Hiiumaa, tree-ring data representing conspecific native populations from north-west North American sites indicated positive responses to mid-winter temperatures. Based on these results, low winter temperatures and early-summer droughts may both threaten the survival of the remnant individuals of this species in Hiiumaa.


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