Dry/wet variation recorded by shrub tree-rings in the central Badain Jaran Desert of northwestern China

The dendrochronological study of shrubs is a new field, particularly with respect to desert areas. Using a dendrochronological perspective, we studied the radial growth and the climatic response model of the common beancaper (Zygophyllum xanthoxylum Maxim) in three sampling sites in the Badain Jaran Desert of northwestern China. The results showed that the radial growth of the common beancaper was primarily affected by precipitation during the pre-growing and growing seasons, especially during July. Variation in wet/drought periods over the last 160 years in the study area was analyzed using a radial growth climatic response model and data on regional chronology. Using decadal time scales, three wet periods were identified in the Badain Jaran Desert: the 1840s to early 1850s, the early 1890s to the 1900s and the late 1970s to the mid-1980s. Similarly, transitions from dry to wet periods over the last 160 years occurred in the late 1850s, mid-1870s, early 1880s, early 1900s, mid-1920s, early 1950s, early and late 1970s and early 1990s. These results are helpful for understanding regional climate change and the desertification process in arid desert regions.