Method to measure tree-ring width,density,elemental composition,and stable carbon and oxygen isotopes using one sample

Tree-ring width(RW),density,elemental com-position,and stable carbon and oxygen isotope(δ^(13)C,δ^(18)O)are widely used as proxies to assess climate change,ecology,and environmental pollution;however,a specific pretreat-ment has been needed for each proxy.Here,we developed a method by which each proxy can be measured in the same sample.First,the sample is polished for ring width meas-urement.After obtaining the ring width data,the sample is cut to form a 1-mm-thick wood plate.The sample is then mounted in a vertical sample holder,and gradually scanned by an X-ray beam.Simultaneously,the count rates of the fluorescent photons of elements(for chemical characteriza-tion)and a radiographic grayscale image(for wood density)are obtained,i.e.the density and the element content are obtained.Then,cellulose is isolated from the 1-mm wood plate by removal of lignin,and hemicellulose.After producing this cellulose plate,cellulose subsamples are separated by knife under the microscope for inter-annual and intra-annual stable carbon and oxygen isotope(δ^(13)C,δ^(18)O)analysis.Based on this method,RW,density,elemental composition,δ^(13)C,and δ^(18)O can be measured from the same sample,which reduces sample amount and treatment time,and is helpful for multi-proxy comparison and combination research.