SUMMER TEMPERATURE VARIABILITY IN CENTRAL SCANDINAVIA DURING THE LAST 3600 YEARS

ABSTRACT. A Scots pine ( Pinus sylvestris L.) tree-ring width chronology from Jämtland, in the central Scandinavian Mountains, built from living and sub-fossil wood, covering the period 1632 BC to AD 2002, with a minor gap during AD 887–907, is presented. This is the first multi-millennial tree-ring chronology from the central parts of Fennoscandia. Pine growth in this tree line environment is mainly limited by summer temperatures, and hence the record can be viewed as a temperature proxy. Using the regional curve standardization (RCS) technique, pine-growth variability on short and long time scales was retained and subsequently summer (June–August) temperatures were reconstructed yielding information on temperature variability during the last 3600 years. Several periods with anomalously warm or cold summers were found: 450–550 BC (warm), AD 300–400 (cold), AD 900–1000 (the Medieval Warm Period, warm) and AD 1550–1900 (Little Ice Age, cold). The coldest period was encountered in the fourth century AD and the warmest period 450 to 550 BC. However, the magnitude of these anomalies is uncertain since the replication of trees in the Jämtland record is low during those periods. The twentieth century warming does not stand out as an anomalous feature in the last 3600 years. Two multi-millennial tree-ring chronologies from Swedish and Finnish Lapland, which have previously been used as summer temperature proxies, agree well with the Jämtland record, indicating that the latter is a good proxy of local, but also regional, summer temperature variability.     

A 545-Year Drought Reconstruction for Central Oregon

Using a 545-year ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) tree-ring chronology, we examine the drought history of central Oregon to: (1) determine the relationship among drought, ENSO (El Niño/Southern Oscillation), and the PDO (Pacific Decadal Oscillation), and (2) compare the climatic sensitivity of ponderosa pine and western juniper (Juniperus occidentalis) to determine their suitability as interchangeable climate proxies. Our climatic reconstruction explained 35% of the variance in historical Palmer's Drought Severity Index (PDSI) values and revealed severe drought periods during the 1480s, 1630s, 1700s, and 1930s. The most sustained drought period in our reconstruction occurred during the 1930s, with the most severe single drought year occurring in 1489. We found a significant (p ≤ .01) but weak relationship between our ponderosa pine chronology and ENSO and the PDO, explaining 9% and 12% of the variation respectively. Both ponderosa pine and western juniper record periods of severe regional drought, but western juniper is more sensitive to regional and seasonal climatic variations, whereas ponderosa pine is more responsive to temperature change. These differences suggest that their substitutability as climate proxies in dendroecological studies is limited.     

黄柏山树轮生长对气候因子的响应及模拟

利用大别山西部的3个黄山松（Pinus taiwanensis Hayata）树木年轮采样点的样本,建立3个标准年表,其特征值都表明黄山松树木年轮宽度中含有较高的环境信息;年表间相关密切,区域主要受气候因子影响、南北差异显著;年表与气候因素的相关也显示不同环境生长的黄山松差异性要大于共性;同样多元线性回归也确定该研究区影响树木生长的主导因子为前一年10月的均温,而前一年8月的降水同样起着非常重要的作用。不同要素的模拟结果有较好的一致性,但极端气候条件下树木的生长差异显著。     

树木年轮密度实验方法及其在内蒙古准格尔旗树轮研究中的应用

在介绍树木年轮密度实验方法基本原理、国内外研究现状以及详细的实验方法和流程的基础上,建立了内蒙古准格尔旗油松树轮宽度年表,以及早材、晚材、最大、最小四个密度年表。年表之间相关分析表明树轮密度比宽度包含更多更复杂的气候环境变化因子。通过树轮密度年表与气象资料相关分析发现,准格尔旗树轮密度年表与该地区全年降水量之间有很好的相关性,早材密度和最小密度与降水量之间呈负相关关系,晚材密度和最大密度与降水量之间呈显著的正相关关系。无论正、负相关关系,均能够从树木生理角度予以合理解释。     

样条函数步长变化对树轮宽度年表与气候相关性的影响初探

利用天山中部北坡头屯河及三屯河流域4个天山云杉采点的树轮样本,研制样条函数不同步长的树轮宽度标准化年表,分析样条函数不同步长对树轮宽度标准化年表与气候的相关性的影响发现:①随着样条函数步长的增加,位于森林中下部林缘的庙尔沟煤矿和三屯河的树轮宽度标准化年表与小渠子气象站上年7月至当年6月的降水量的相关系数曲线均呈现出先增后减小的变化形式,但在局部有差异,最佳步长分别为40 a和30 a。②随着样条函数步长的增加,处于森林上限的东南沟和小渠子的树轮宽度标准化年表与大西沟气象站当年2-3月的月平均气温的相关系数的曲线都呈现光滑的先升后平的对数曲线型,最终确定220 a、185 a分别作为东南沟和小渠子树轮宽度标准化年表的样条函数步长。③通过分析发现最佳的样条函数步长比传统方法给定的样条函数步长和按树轮宽度序列公共区间长度的1/2的样条函数步长所含的气候信息多。     

青藏高原南部南木林地区树木径向生长对气候因子的响应

树木年轮定年准确、连续性强、分辨率高,并且易于获取复本,已经成为过去气候变化重建的主要手段之一。通过分析青藏高原南部南木林地区大果圆柏的树木年轮宽度变化及其对气候因子的响应,发现树木生长季前期的温度与树木径向生长变化呈正相关关系,而夏季温度与树木径向生长呈负相关关系;年总降水量（上年7月到当年6月）是当地树木径向生长的主要限制因子,相关系数为0.66（P<0.01）,表明南木林地区树轮宽度变化可以指示该地区年总降水量变化。南木林树轮年表（1560—2008年）的突变检验结果显示,该年表在年代际尺度上存在1627年和1829年左右的突变点,表明南木林地区降水量在过去499 a间经历了两次突变。对树木年轮标准化年表的功率谱分析表明,南木林树轮记录具有150 a、100 a、75 a、60 a、50 a以及3.7 a 和3.06 a的显著周期,其中3.7 a和3.06 a周期可能与ENSO有关。     

AEOLIAN BLOWOUT DYNAMICS IN SUBARCTIC LAPLAND BASED ON DECADAL LEVELLING INVESTIGATIONS

Aeolian processes in the subarctic ecocline were investigated by measuring present‐day erosion and deposition rates over a decade in blowouts scoured into stabilized Early to Mid‐Holocene dunes. Four localities from different vegetation zones in Finnish Lapland were surveyed using precision levelling (infrared tachymeter) along eight transects at 1‐m intervals. During an 11‐year observation period, a total of 1439 observation points were monitored in three measurement campaigns, in 1993, 1994 and 2004. Together with dating results reported elsewhere, the results demonstrate the relative quiescence of these subarctic blowouts compared to many coastal dunes. On average, the deflation rate of the studied basins was 8.8 mm a^‐1, which corresponds well with the age and depth of the blowouts. Net deposition had taken place at 30% of the observation points, and one of the eight studied transects showed net deposition as the transect average. Symmetrical, smooth basins showed more consistent changes than basins with a complex form, indicating that internal factors are important in blowout formation under the Lapland climatic range. The deepest part of a blowout was generally found in the upwind end. The erosion/deposition patterns of the transects over a one‐year monitoring period were interpreted with Fourier analysis revealing along‐transect cyclicity, possibly reflecting the movement of small migrating bedforms in the blowouts. Generally, deflation rates at the latitudinal pine forest line were smaller than at those well outside the pine forest suggesting that the coniferous forest at the subarctic ecocline affects the intensity of present‐day aeolian activity in Fennoscandia.     

Quantification of Holocene lake-level changes in Finnish Lapland using a cladocera – lake depth transfer model

During recent years, numerous studies dealing with Holocene lake level fluctuations have been conducted in Finnish Lapland. However, no quantification of lake level variations exists to date. Here, we applied a recently developed modern cladocera – lake depth transfer model to subfossil cladocerans analysed from three small and shallow (< 6 m) kettle-hole lakes in northwestern Finnish Lapland to provide estimates of the amplitudes of long-term lake-level changes in the region. The quantitative inferences were compared to pollen, charcoal and geochemical records from one of the study sites. The lake levels were inferred to be high during the early Holocene; they faced marked reduction up to 4–6 m in the mid-Holocene (≈7000–4000 cal yr BP), and rose again during the latter part of the Holocene. There is some indication of lowered lake levels around 1500 cal yr BP, but interpretation of such small-scale changes is hazardous due to large prediction errors in the initial cladoceran model. The overall pattern of the Holocene lake level variation generally followed the regional changes in climate humidity as reconstructed in previous studies by means of other sedimentary proxy indicators, such as pollen and oxygen isotopic compositions. We postulate that changes in winter precipitation may have had a greater influence on lake-levels than variations in summer precipitation or evaporation.     

神农架地区树轮δ18O序列的气候指示意义

通过对湖北省神农架巴山冷杉(Abies forrestii)树轮纤维素氧同位素的分析,建立了1790-2011时段的年分辨率的δ¹⁸O年表。将树轮δ¹⁸O序列与邻近的巴东气象站记录的气候数据、大气环流数据以及南海海温进行对比分析,研究了树轮δ¹⁸O序列对气候要素的响应。结果表明,神农架地区树轮δ¹⁸O序列与该地区气候要素密切相关：与当年6-7月降水量呈负相关、与当年3-4月温度呈正相关,与当年6-7月相对湿度呈负相关。同时,树轮δ¹⁸O序列与当年2-3月北半球副高面积指数(5E-360)、9月南海副高面积指数(100E-120E)、1月太平洋极涡面积指数(Zone 2,150E-120W)及4-5月南海海温(SST)呈显著正相关;与当年1月南方涛动指数(SOI)呈负相关。表明树轮δ¹⁸O序列在一定程度上记录了大尺度的大气环流信息。该研究有助于进一步认知神农架地区树轮稳定氧同位素在过去气候变化研究中的潜在价值,为进一步气候重建研究提供科学依据。     

Reconstructing a cultural fire regime in the Pennsylvania Anthracite Region

Abstract

Fire history reconstructions provide fire managers with valuable information regarding historical fire regime dynamics. Yet, in the Central Hardwood Forest Region (CHF), there is an absence of dendroecological studies where frequent wildfires have persisted into the twenty-first century. This study presents the first documented tree-ring reconstruction of fire history in the Pennsylvania anthracite coal-producing region. An approximately 150-year fire chronology was developed from fire-scarred pitch pine (Pinus rigida) and sassafras (Sassafras albidum) collected on Spring Mountain in Schuylkill County. Principal component analysis and k-means cluster analysis were used to identify four fire regime clusters based on interacting fire and non-fire parameters. Results indicate that fires occurred under a variety of moisture conditions and that a mid-twentieth century increase in fire activity on Spring Mountain was associated with the collapse of the regional anthracite industry and possibly amplified by the 1960s drought. Fires continue to burn on Spring Mountain in the twenty-first century, contrary to the dominant pattern of fire exclusion across the CHF. Future research needs are highlighted regarding historical fire regime dynamics and cultural ties to landscape burning in the Pennsylvania Anthracite Region.     

Summer climate and conifer growth in mid-Norway: Chronologies from ancient construction timber compared with historical data

A tree-ring chronology derived from Norwegian timber structures made from Scots pine at locations near Trondheim dates back to AD 552. A chronology based on Norway spruce building timber from the same area has been constructed back to AD 1351. Both Trondheim chronologies, when tested for climatic signals, show a year-to-year pattern that correlates with the annual variation in the May–August tetratherm from Trondheim dating back to 1870. Particular years in both these chronologies show correspondence with historical notes about the summer weather and harvests from 1575 until the mid-19th century. Especially cold summers resulted in unripe harvests and narrow tree-rings in both chronologies. However, several exceptions suggest that the growth of conifers and harvests sometimes responded differently to the same environmental factors (or more than one factor was important). The spruce chronology does not show reported long-term (decadal, century) climatic trends, probably because many samples had too few tree-rings. The pine chronology also shows little correspondence with longer-term fluctuations, probably because of heterogeneous material and/or too few samples. However, generally narrow ring widths from 1570 to the early 18th century may reflect a cold period. The data are promising, but results suggest that more samples and possibly more powerful statistics are required to extract reliable climatic signals from building timber chronologies.     

Climate Response Analysis of Pinus massoniana Tree-Ring Chronology in Shuangpai County,China

The formation of tree-rings is closely related to climate variation. This paper establishes the tree-ring chronology of Pinus massoniana for a period of 36 years and examines the relationship between the tree-ring chronology and climatic conditions based on tree-ring width samples from three sites on the northeast slopes of Yangming Mountain. This data is used to study the relationship between the tree-ring width of a young tree and climatic conditions in a moist hilly region of southern China and to understand the general pattern of climate variation and its effects on tree growth in the past in this region. The results indicate that changes in tree-ring widths in these sites are closely related to local climatic conditions. There is a significant positive correlation between the radial growth of Pinus massoniana and the mean temperature of the current year from January to May (coefficient of correlation, R, is 0.596, P<0.01) and the mean temperature of the previous year from June to July (R is 0.639, P<0.01). The radial growth of Pinus massoniana is negatively correlated with the total precipitation of the previous year from January to March and November to December (R is -0.46, P<0.05) and negatively correlated with the total precipitation of the previous year from June to July (R is -0.582, P<0.05). The effect of precipitation on the radial growth of Pinus massoniana is known as the “hysteresis effect”.     

A 200-Year Tree-Ring Chronology of Pine from a Raised Bog in Sweden: Implication for Climate Change?

A dendrochronological study was made on fossil tree trunks of Scots pine, Pinus sylvestris , preserved in a peat bog at Hanvedsmossen, 50 km SW of Stockholm, Sweden. Of 56 sampled pines, 48 were assembled in a 204-year long floating chro-nology. The chronology spans 1686-1483 BC ± 23 years. The trunks are found at the very bottom of the peat accumulation. Because the roots stand in underlying clay, the tree stand germinated before or simultaneously with bog growth and provides maximum age for bog vegetation development which started c . 1480 BC. The pine growth steadily decreased during the last 30 years of the chronology and most trees died during the same period. It is proposed that the drainage outlets from Hanvedsmossen overgrew with brushwood simultaneously with the succession of pines, resulting in a higher sensitivity of tree growth to small changes in water levels. The preservation of the logs is suggested to be a result of a raised water table providing anaerobic conditions and later the logs were enveloped by peat growth. It is suggested that this period was the initial phase of the ensuing climate deterioration. The climate shifted to wetter conditions, i.e. higher amounts of precipitation, lower temperature or both. This resulted in lower evaporation giving additional peat bog growth and a locally raised water table.     

Dendrochronology in Jordan

Dendrochronology is a valuable tool for the study of past climate and increases our knowledge of climate variability beyond the short period covered by instrumental data. Two annual tree-ring width chronologies were developed for northern Jordan (Pinus halepensis and Quercus aegilops), one chronology for Carmel Mountain, Israel (Pinus halepensis), and one chronology for southern Jordan (Juniperus phoenicia). The results of our study show that the northern site chronologies are significantly correlated, but the northern and southern sites are not. A relatively high correlation was shown between October–April precipitation and a Pinus halepensis chronology, and between October–May precipitation and Quercus aegilops, both in the north. October–May precipitation was reconstructed for the time span AD 1600 to 1995 from the Juniperus phoenicia tree-ring chronology. The longest reconstructed drought, defined as consecutive years below a threshold of 80% of the 1946–1995 mean observed October–May precipitation, was 4 years, compared with 3 years for the 1946–95 instrumental data.     

Response of tree-ring growth to climate at treeline ecotones in the Qilian Mountains, northwestern China

Climate constitutes the main limiting factor for tree-ring growth in high-elevation forests, and the relationship between tree-ring growth and climate is complex. Based on tree-ring chronology and meteorological data, the influence of precipitation, mean temperature and mean minimum temperature at yearly, seasonal and monthly scales on the tree-ring growth of Picea crossifolia was studied at treeline ecotones in the Qilian Mountains, northwestern China. The results show that growing season temperatures of previous and current years are important limiting factors on tree-ring growth, particularly June mean temperature and mean minimum temperature of current year. The precipitations in the previous winter and current spring have a positive correlation, and in the current fall has a negative correlation with tree-ring growth, but these correlations are not significant. Our results suggest that temperature controls tree-ring growth more strongly than precipitation at treeline ecotones in the Qilian Mountains.     

利用树木年轮重建阿勒泰地区1572—2014年初夏平均温度

利用阿勒泰地区3个高海拔西伯利亚落叶松(Larix sibirica)采样点的树轮样本,建立树轮宽度区域标准化年表(DKH).通过相关普查发现,DKH年表与阿勒泰地区7个气象站当年6月平均温度显著相关,相关系数为0.705(P<0.00001),表明6月平均温度是影响树木年轮径向生长的主要气候限制因子.用DKH年表可较...     

宁夏罗山油松(Pinus tabulaeformis)树轮宽度对气候因子的响应分析

 树轮样本采自宁夏罗山油松纯林的下限和上限。建立了下限和上限的树轮宽度标准化年表,分析了树轮宽度与降水、气温、湿润指数(P/T)的相关关系,结果显示,下限和上限树轮宽度指数都与当年3月、5月、春季以及年降水量显著正相关,与7月气温显著负相关;下限树轮宽度标准化年表与气候要素的相关系数一般大于上限的相关系数,而且下限树轮宽度与前一年9月、秋季降水以及夏季气温的相关也达到显著水平,表明下限树轮宽度标准化序列对降水和气温单一气候要素的变化较敏感;下限和上限的树轮宽度指数和湿润指数(P/T)呈正相关关系,而且上限树轮宽度和3—8月湿润指数的正相关达到99%的置信水平,说明罗山油松纯林上限树轮宽度标准化序列对水热组合的响应较敏感。     

阿勒泰西部树轮年表特征分析

通过对比阿勒泰西部5个标准化树轮宽度年表的多项年表特征参数,发现沙勒哈年表包含的气候信息较多,而柯姆年表所含的气候信息可能最少。通过年表间互相关系数的对比,发现2个位于森林上限的沙勒哈年表与哈纳斯南年表的相关最高（0.676）。而接近下树线森林边缘的哈纳斯北年表和柯姆年表的相关达0.586,却与3个位于森林上限的年表相关较低。通过相关普查得出,阿勒泰西部3个位于森林上限的年表与该区域当年6\_7月的月平均气温呈正相关,其相关系数最高为0.426,显著性水平达0.0035,与当年6\_8月的降水量呈负相关,其相关系数最高为-0.535,显著性水平达0.0002,而两个接近下树线森林边缘的年表与该区域当年1月的降水量呈正相关,其相关系数最高为0.45,显著水平达0.0019,且二者的相关具有明确的树木生理学意义。在0.10的显著性水平上,除吉克音年表外,其他4个年表均具有2.4 a的变化准周期。此外,吉克音年表和柯姆年表均存在13.5 a和14.4 a的变化准周期,哈纳斯南年表和沙勒哈年表均存在23.0 a和38.3 a的变化准周期。通过对比年表高低频信息含量,发现阿勒泰西部年表中高频信息含量一般高于低频信息含量。     

用树木年轮重建阿勒泰东部6-7月平均温度序列

 利用采自阿勒泰中东部地区8个树轮采样点的西伯利亚落叶松树轮资料,建立宽度年表。分析这些年表与气候要素的相关性发现,标准化年表序列与该地区青河气象站6—7月的月平均气温存在显著的正相关关系,最高单相关为卓勒萨依ZLS年表,相关系数为0.555（P＜0.0001）,且具有明显的树木生理学意义。用卓勒萨依t和卓勒萨依t+3两个树轮标准化年表序列,可较好地重建该地区过去394 a来6—7月月平均气温序列,交叉检验表明,重建方程稳定可靠。分析发现,阿勒泰东部地区394 a来的气温重建序列具有7个偏冷和7个偏暖阶段,和2.7~3.7 a,43.7 a,52.4 a的显著冷暖变化准周期。月平均气温重建序列存在10个突变点,其中在1669年,1714年,1762年,1802年和1939年前后为初夏月平均气温由低向高突变,而在1691年,1732年,1781年,1919年和1963年前后是自高温向低温突变。     

天山南坡巴仑台地区树轮年表特征分析

通过对巴仑台地区2个标准树轮年表的有关参数的对比,证明夫斯坦沟年表比萨色克沟年表包含了更多的气候信息。将这2个标准树轮年表与附近的巴仑台气象站1961-2005年月平均降水资料进行相关分析,结果表明,夫斯坦沟年表的年轮指数与巴仑台地区上年7月至当年6月的降水呈显著正相关,而萨色克沟年表则与上年6月至上年8月的降水呈显著正相关,且二者的正相关具有明确的树木生理学意义。研究还发现,在0．05的显著性水平上,夫斯坦沟年表树轮指数变化具有48．67 a、17．18 a和2．07 a-2．39 a的变化准周期,萨色克沟年表则具有14．6 a、13．27- 13．9 a、12．7 a和2．09-2．16 a的变化准周期。夫斯坦沟年表的高频信息含量高于萨色克沟年表,而其低频信息含量则低于萨色克沟年表。