Stability assessment of tree ring growth of Pinus armandii Franch in response to climate change based on slope directions at the Lubanling in the Funiu Mountains,China

Global warming will affect growth strategies and how trees will adapt.To compare the response of tree radial growth to climate warming in different slope directions,samples of Pinus armandii Franch were collected and tree-ring chronologies developed on northern and western slopes from the Lubanling in the Funiu Mountains.Correlation analyses showed that two chronologies were mainly limited by temperatures in the previous June-August and the com-bination of temperatures and moisture in the current May-July.The difference of the climate response to slopes was small but not negligible.Radial growth of the LBLO1 site on the northern slope was affected by the combined maximum and minimum temperatures,while that of the LBLO2 site was affected by maximum temperatures.With regards to moisture,radial growth of the trees on the north slope was influenced by the relative humidity in the current May-July,while on the western slope,it was affected by the relative humidity in the previous June-August,the current May-July and the precipitation in the current May-July.With the change in climate,the effects of the main limiting factors on growth on different slopes were visible to a certain extent,but the differences in response of trees on different slopes gradually decreased,which might be caused by factors such as different slope directions and the change in diurnal temperature range.These results may provide information for forest protection and ecological construction in this region,and a scientific reference for future climate reconstruction.

Stability assessment of tree ring growth of Pinus armandii Franch in response to climate change based on slope directions at the Lubanling in the Funiu Mountains,China

Global warming will affect growth strategies and how trees will adapt.To compare the response of tree radial growth to climate warming in different slope directions,samples of Pinus armandii Franch were collected and treering chronologies developed on northern and western slopes from the Lubanling in the Funiu Mountains.Correlation analyses showed that two chronologies were mainly limited by temperatures in the previous June–August and the combination of temperatures and moisture in the current May–July.The difference of the climate response to slopes was small but not negligible.Radial growth of the LBL01 site on the northern slope was affected by the combined maximum and minimum temperatures,while that of the LBL02 site was affected by maximum temperatures.With regards to moisture,radial growth of the trees on the north slope was influenced by the relative humidity in the current May–July,while on the western slope,it was affected by the relative humidity in the previous June–August,the current May–July and the precipitation in the current May–July.With the change in climate,the effects of the main limiting factors on growth on different slopes were visible to a certain extent,but the differences in response of trees on different slopes gradually decreased,which might be caused by factors such as different slope directions and the change in diurnal temperature range.These results may provide information for forest protection and ecological construction in this region,and a scientific reference for future climate reconstruction.

January to August temperature variability since 1776 inferred from tree-ring width of Pinus tabulaeformis in Helan Mountain

Tree-ring standardized chronologies are developed by 78 cores collected from the eastern and western Helan Mountain. Statistical analysis shows that both the STD and RES chronologies correlate negatively with the temperature of different periods of early half year, especially with January to August mean （JA） temperature, which means that JA temperature is one of the predominant limiting factors of tree growth in the Helan Mountain. Based on this analysis, we reconstructed JA temperature, and the explained variance is 43.3% （F=21.422, p〈0.001 ）. The comparatively high temperature periods in the reconstruction were： 1805-1818 1828-1857, 1899-1907, 1919-1931 and 1968-1995; and the comparatively low temperatu re periods happened in 1858-1872, 1883-1895 and 1935-1953. Ten-year moving average curve shows three slow uplifting trends： 1766-1853, 1862-1931 and 1944-1995. Each temperature increase was followed by a sudden temperature decrease about 10 years, that is to say, the JA temperature in the Helan Mountain is characterized by slow increase and sudden decrease. The 70- and 10.77-year periodicities detected in the temperature series correspond to the Gleissberg （80-year） and Schwabe （11-year） periodicities of solar activity respectively, the 2.11-2.62 years cycles are considered to be influenced by QBO （Quasi-Biennial-Oscillation） and the local environmental change.

Reconstructing the annual precipitation variation since 1899 based on tree-ring width in the western Hedong sandy land of Ningxia

Based on the analysis of the correlation between the tree-ring width of Pinus tabulaeformis and the climate factors in the western Hedong sandy land of Ningxia, a conversion equation between the annual precipitation and the tree-ring width since 1899 was reconstructed. The results of cross verification indicated that the conversion equation is stable and the reconstructed results are reliable. The result of reconstructed annual precipitation showed the remarkable fluctuation of precipitation and dry-to-wet variation before the 1940s. The smaller fluctuation and high frequent changes of precipitation occurred during the period of 1940s-1980s and after the 1980s the change trend of the precipitation became high periodic extent and low frequent. The study found that there were some coincidences with the climate change in Changling Mountains, Helan Mountains and the east of Qilian Mountains. The relatively dry periods in the beginning of 20th century, 1920s to 1930s, the end of the 20th century and 2004 to 2006 in the western Hedong sandy land of Ningxia accelerated the desertification, while the relatively humid period during the periods of the 1910s-1920s, 1930s-1940s and 1990s is favorable to prevent and control the desertification, and to weaken the climate warming and drying. The periods of annual precipitation variation in the western Hedong sandy land of Ningxia since 1899 are approximately 2-4 years, 5-7 years and 10 years.

Dynamics of moisture regime and its reconstruction from a tree-ring width chronology of Pinus sylvestris in the downstream basin of the Selenga River, Russia

Regional tree-ring width chronology of the Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) was constructed from 8 sites in the forest-steppe belt situated in the foothills of the Selenga River basin, Russia. Moisture information contained in tree-ring width chronology was obtained through linear regression reconstruction models of annual August–July precipitation and annual water discharge of the Selenga River during the period 1767–2015. Comparison of the smoothed series allowed estimating long-term variation component of these moisture regime parameters with a high precision. At the same time, regional drought indices are less correlated with pine radial growth, because they have contribution of the other environmental variables, which are much less reflected in the tree-ring of the investigated pine forest stands. Reconstructed dynamic of the moisture regime parameters is supported by documental evident of many socially significant events in the regional history, such as crop failures caused by both droughts and floods, and catastrophic fire in the Irkutsk City in 1879. Also, dependence of the amount of precipitation in the study area on the atmospheric circulation in Central Asia is revealed to have a similar pattern with other regions, i.e., a negative relationship of precipitation with the development of large high atmospheric pressure area within its center in the Altai and Tianshan mountains.

Climatic response of Pinus sylvestris var. mongolica tree-ring width and precipitation reconstruction for the northern Greater Higgnan Mountains, China, since 1720

August-June precipitation has been reconstructed back to AD 1720 for the northern Greater Higgnan Mountains, China, by use ofPinus sylvestris var. mongolica tree-ring width. The reconstruction explains the variance of 39% in observed precipitation from 1973 to 2008. Some extremely dry/wet signals in historical documents and other precipitation reconstructions in previous studies are precisely captured in our reconstruction. Wet periods occurred during the periods of 1730 to 1746, 1789 to 1812, 1844 to 1903, 1920 to 1930, 1942 to 1961, and 1985 to 1998; while periods of 1747 to 1788, 1813 to 1843, 1904 to 1919, 1931 to 1941, and 1962 to 1984 were relatively dry. Power spectral and wavelet analyses demon- strated the existence of significant 24-year, 12-year, and 2-year cycles of variability.

Tree ring based drought variability in Northwest Tajikistan since 1895 AD

Determining the mechanisms controlling the changes of wet and dry conditions will improve our understanding of climate change over the past hundred years,which is of great significance to the study of climate and environmental changes in the arid regions of Central Asia.Forest trees are ecologically significant in the local environment,and therefore the tree ring analysis can provide a clear record of regional historical climate.This study analyzed the correlation between the tree ring width chronology of Juniperus turkestanica Komarov and the standardized precipitation evapotranspiration index(SPEI)in Northwest Tajikistan,based on 56 tree ring samples collected from Shahristan in the Pamir region.Climate data including precipitation,temperature and the SPEI were downloaded from the Climate Research Unit(CRU)TS 4.00.The COFECHA program was used for cross-dating,and the ARSTAN program was used to remove the growth trend of the tree itself and the influence of non-climatic factors on the growth of the trees.A significant correlation was found between the radial growth of J.turkestanica trees and the monthly mean SPEI of February–April.The monthly mean SPEI sequence of February–April during the period of 1895–2016 was reconstructed,and the reconstruction equation explained 42.5%of the variance.During the past 122 a(1895–2016),the study area has experienced three wetter periods(precipitation above average):1901–1919,1945–1983 and 1995–2010,and four drier periods(precipitation below average):1895–1900,1920–1944,1984–1994 and 2011–2016.The spatial correlation analysis revealed that the monthly mean SPEI reconstruction sequence of February–April could be used to characterize the large-scale dry-wet variations in Northwest Tajikistan during the period of 1895–2016.This study could provide comparative data for validating the projections of climate models and scientific basis for managing water resources in Tajikistan in the context of climate change.

R软件包MtreeRing在生长轮宽度测量中的应用

介绍了使用R软件包MtreeRing自动测量生长轮宽度的方法。MtreeRing使用数学形态学和边缘检测方法对数字图像中的生长轮边界进行识别,并且可以校正倾斜生长轮带来的测量误差。此外,MtreeRing还提供了具有图形用户界面的小程序,满足了不同编程水平用户的需求。两个针叶树种的对比分析表明,MtreeRing测量的生长轮宽度与WinDENDRO无显著差异,自动检测提高了测量效率,图形用户界面也增强了R软件的易用性。相比WinDENDRO等商业工具,MtreeRing无需软件成本,生长轮宽度序列可以直接在R软件中进行后续分析,或使用rwl等通用格式导出。

Reconstruction of hydrological changes based on tree-ring data of the Haba River, northwestern China

Reconstructing the hydrological change based on dendrohydrological data has important implications for understanding the dynamic distribution and evolution pattern of a given river. The widespread, long-living coniferous forests on the Altay Mountains provide a good example for carrying out the dendrohydrological studies. In this study, a regional composite tree-ring width chronology developed by Lariat sibirica Ledeb. and Picea obovata Ledeb. was used to reconstruct a 301-year annual （from preceding July to succeeding June） streamflow for the Haba River, which originates in the southern Altay Mountains, Xinjiang, China. Results indicated that the reconstructed streamflow series and the observations were fitting well, and explained 47.5% of the variation in the observed streamflow of 1957-2008. Moreover, floods and droughts in 1949-2000 were precisely captured by the streamflow reconstruction. Based on the frequencies of the wettest/driest years and decades, we identified the 19th century as the century with the largest occurrence of hydrological fluctuations for the last 300 years. After applying a 21-year moving average, we found five wet （1724-1758, 1780-1810, 1822-1853, 1931-1967, and 1986-2004） and four dry （1759-1779, 1811-1821, 1854-1930, and 1968-1985） periods in the streamflow reconstruction. Furthermore, four periods （1770-1796, 1816-1836, 1884-1949, and 1973-1997） identified by the streamflow series had an obvious increasing trend. The increasing trend of streamflow since the 1970s was the biggest in the last 300 years and coincided with the recent warming-wetting trend in northwestern China. A significant correlation between streamflow and precipitation in the Altay Mountains indicated that the streamflow reconstruction contained not only local, but also broad-scale, hydro-climatic signals. The 24-year, 12-year, and 2.2-4.5-year cycles of the reconstruction revealed that the streamflow variability of the Haba River may be influenced by solar activity and the atmosphere-ocean system.

Standardization of Qilian Juniper ring-width series in the eastern margin of the Qaidam Basin

Standardization is one of the important procedures in dendroclimatology. We used abundant Qilian juniper （Sabina przewalskii Kom.） tree-ring samples from the eastern margin of the Qaidam Basin to develop a new standardization method, i.e. total growth curve （TGC）. The samples that contained the complete pith and reached to the growing culmination around the 40th-60th year were used to fit TGC, and the generalized negative exponential function was used to fit the curve. Usually, most cores cannot reach the arboreal pith for some reasons and it is difficult to determine the arboreal cambial age. The empirical model of initial radial growth （IRG） was employed to estimate the number of rings missing from the pith by the same data and IRG model explained 90.9% of the variance. When developing the chronology, the cambial ages of cores that contained the complete pith were regarded as beginning from the first year and others were determined by the numbers of missing and included rings in the core. Standardization was accomplished by dividing each tree-ring series by corresponding TGC. The chronologies developed by TGC can retain more low-frequency variational information and TGC helps to develop more reliable tree-ring width chronology.

Tree-ring response of Larix chinensis on regional climate and sea-surface temperature variations in alpine timberline in the Qinling Mountains

Tree-ring width chronologies of Larix chinensis were developed from the northern and southern slopes of the Qinling Mountains in Shaanxi Province,and climatic factors affecting the tree-ring widths of L.chinensis were examined.Correlation analysis showed that similar correlations between tree-ring width chronologies and climatic factors demonstrated that radial growth responded to climate change on both slopes.The radial growth of L.chinensis was mainly limited by temperature,especially the growing season.In contrast,both chronologies were negatively correlated with precipitation in May of the previous year and April of the current year.Spatial climate-correlation analyses with gridded land-surface climate data revealed that our tree-ring width chronologies contained a strong regional temperature signal over much of northcentral and eastern China.Spatial correlation with seasurface temperature fields highlights the influence of the Pacific Ocean,Indian Ocean,and North Atlantic Ocean.Wavelet coherence analysis indicated the existence of some decadal and interannual cycles in the two tree-ring width chronologies.This may suggest the influences of El Nin˜o-Southern Oscillation and solar activity on tree growth in the Qinling Mountains.These findings will help us understand the growth response of L.chinensis to climate change in the Qinling region,and they provide critical information for future climate reconstructions based on this species in semi-humid regions.

Dendroclimatic response of Abies spectabilis at treeline ecotone of Barun Valley, eastern Nepal Himalaya

A dendroclimatic study was conducted in the treeline ecotone of Barun Valley, eastern Nepal, to determine the tree-ring climate response and ring width trend of Abies spectabilis. A 160-year-old chronology, from 1850 to 2010, was developed from 38 tree-ring samples. No higher growth in recent decades was observed in tree-ring width in this area. The mean temperature of the current year in February and in the combined winter months of December, January, and February showed significant positive correlation with tree-ring width, although no significant correlation was found between tree-ring width and the precipitation pattern of the region. This tree-ring climate response result is different from that in other studies in Nepal, which could be attributed to location and elevation.

Climate forcing of tree growth in dry Afromontane forest fragments of Northern Ethiopia:evidence from multi-species responses

Background: Climate-induced challenge remains a growing concern in the dry tropics, threatening carbon sink potential of tropical dry forests. Hence, understanding their responses to the changing climate is of high priority to facilitate sustainable management of the remnant dry forests. In this study, we examined the long-term climate-growth relations of main tree species in the remnant dry Afromontane forests in northern Ethiopia. The aim of this study was to assess the dendrochronological potential of selected dry Afromontane tree species and to study the influence of climatic variables (temperature and rainfall) on radial growth. It was hypothesized that there are potential tree species with discernible annual growth rings owing to the uni-modality of rainfall in the region. Ring width measurements were based on increment core samples and stem discs collected from a total of 106 trees belonging to three tree species (Juniperus procera, Olea europaea p. cuspidate and Podocarpus falcatus). Thesubsp. collected samples were prepared, crossdated, and analyzed using standard dendrochronological methods. The formation of annual growth rings of the study species was verified based on successful crossdatability and by correlating tree-ring widths with rainfall. Results: The results showed that all the sampled tree species form distinct growth boundaries though differences in the distinctiveness were observed among the species. Positive and significant correlations were found between the tree-ring widths and rainfall, implying that rainfall plays a vital role in determining tree growth in the region. The study confirmed the formation of annual growth rings through successful crossdating, thus highlighted the potential applicability of dendroclimatic studies in the region. Conclusions: Overall, the results proved the strong linkage between tree-ring chronologies and climate variability in the study region, which further strengthens the potential of dendrochronological studies developing in Ethiopia, and also has great implications for further paleo-climatic reconstructions and in the restoration of degraded lands. Further knowledge on the growth characteristics of tree species from the region is required to improve the network of tree-ring data and quality of the chronology so as to successfully reconstruct historic environmental changes.

气候对天山中部不同海拔天山云杉径向生长的影响

为研究气候因子对天山中部不同海拔天山云杉(Picea schrenkiana var.tianschanica)径向生长的影响,在天山中部新疆农业大学实习林场内设置低、中、高3个海拔梯度(1900、2200、2500 m)进行年轮样芯取样,利用树木年轮学方法,选用1955—2022年研究区温度、降水、标准化降水蒸散发指数、帕默尔干旱指数等气象数据,与所测年轮数据进行分析。结果表明:低海拔天山云杉年轮宽度与前一年6月和当年6—8月温度、前一年8月降水以及当年6—9月帕默尔干旱指数呈显著正相关(P<0.05)。中海拔天山云杉年轮宽度与前一年6月温度、8月降水以及前一年6—8月标准化降水蒸散发指数呈显著正相关(P<0.05)。高海拔天山云杉年轮宽度与当年1月温度、前一年11月至当年3月标准化降水蒸散发指数呈显著负相关(P<0.05),与当年6—7月降水呈显著正相关(P<0.05)。因此,在林区内,天山云杉生长与环境的干湿状况随海拔变化存在密切的关系。降水是促进低海拔天山云杉径向生长的关键因素,温度和降水共同作用中海拔天山云杉生长,温度对高海拔天山云杉径向生长的影响高于降水。

气候因子对云冷杉针叶混交林主要针叶树种径向生长的贡献率分析

【目的】为分析气候变化对针叶树种径向生长的影响,揭示针叶混交林对气候变化的响应规律,在全球气候变暖的背景下,对森林生态系统的适应性经营提供理论支撑。【方法】以金沟岭林场云冷杉针叶混交林中的3个针叶树种为研究对象,建立3个针叶树种的树轮宽度标准化年表,分析3个树种的树轮宽度与气候因子之间的相关关系,明确该地区显著限制其径向生长的气候因子,并用层次分割法量化气候因子对各树种树轮宽度变化的贡献率。【结果】在95%的置信区间下,与气候因子相关分析显示:红松和臭冷杉的径向生长同时受气温和降水的影响,与生长季初期气温正相关;鱼鳞云杉的树轮宽度主要受气温影响,与秋冬季节气温负相关,与降水量的整体相关性较低。3个树种均受到上一年气候因子的影响,有一定的“滞后效应”。滑动相关分析表明,本研究3个主要针叶树种与气候因子的响应关系存在差异,主要表现为负相关性呈增强趋势。3月平均气温对红松的贡献率最高,为34.56%,4月最低气温对臭冷杉的贡献率最高,为22.29%,对鱼鳞云杉的贡献率为60.89%。【结论】层次分割分析法能够有效量化气候因子对各树种树轮生长的贡献率,分析结果可为制定该地区应对未来气候变化的经营管理措施提供理论参考。

塔克拉玛干沙漠腹地柽柳年轮宽度对地下水埋深的响应

【目的】柽柳作为干旱荒漠生态系统的典型物种,研究其年轮宽度对地下水响应的保护有重要价值。【方法】研究基于沙漠腹地达理雅博依绿洲地下水埋深资料,利用年轮测定方法分析不同地下水埋深状况下柽柳年轮宽度的变化,探讨其与地下水埋深变化的关系。【结果】样地一地下水埋深随时间逐年增加,埋深范围是1.2~2.6 m,柽柳的年轮宽度在2001-2020年呈显著增加趋势,变化范围为0.98~5.80 mm,年轮宽度年际间差异显著;样地二地下水埋深随时间增长呈现先增加后减小的趋势,埋深范围是2.7~4.5 m,柽柳年轮宽度在1977-2020年整体呈正弦函数变化,范围为1.46~4.41 mm,年轮宽度年际间差异性不显著;样地一柽柳标准年表振幅范围是0.502~1.641,大于样地二柽柳标准年表振幅范围为0.577~1.331。【结论】样地一地下水埋深向着柽柳生长适宜的范围增加时,有利于柽柳的生长,表现为年轮宽度增加,样地二的柽柳年轮宽度变化和地下水埋深之间无显著相关性。

中国南北过渡带油松径向生长对气候因子的响应研究——以鸡公山国家级自然保护区为例

本研究以河南省信阳市鸡公山自然保护区的油松林为研究对象,利用树木年轮学方法建立了油松径向生长宽度年表,其特征值表明,油松标准年表的质量较高,包含较多的气候信息,能反映气候变化对树木生长的影响。标准年表与鸡公山南北气象站(麻城和信阳站)的气象因子相关结果发现:油松生长与鸡公山南侧麻城气象站几乎与所有月份气温都呈负相关,与当年5—7月气温(6月的平均气温,5、6月平均最高气温和6、7月平均最低温度)呈显著负相关,而与几乎所有月份相对湿度都呈正相关,表明过渡带南侧高温带来的土壤水分胁迫对油松生长主要起着限制作用,南侧春末夏初4—6月相对湿度是油松生长的限制因子;鸡公山北侧信阳气象站生长季及生长季后期8—9月气温(8月平均气温、8、9月平均最低气温)对油松生长有明显的促进作用,上年7—8月相对湿度是油松生长的限制因子,北侧生长季后期9月降水对油松生长的促进作用具有滞后效应。滑动相关分析显示出,近几年油松生长对过渡带北侧信阳气象站8—9月平均气温的正响应趋势增强;在气候变暖的情景下,受到高温抑制(亚热带的麻城气温负相关),油松生长南界可能会向北移动。油松响应气候变暖的生长动态研究旨在为过渡带森林管理与更新提供基础数据支持。

Relationships between tree-ring width index and NDVI of grassland in Delingha

Using five well-replicated Qilian juniper (Sabina przewalskii Kom.) tree-ring width index se- ries, monthly normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) of grassland, and climatic data from 1982 to 2001, the relationships between tree-ring width index, NDVI of grassland, and climatic data were analyzed firstly. Then, the relationship between tree-ring width index and NDVI of grassland was explored. The re- sults showed that: (1) Temperature and precipitation in June influenced tree-ring width index and NDVI of grassland deeply in Delingha. (2) There were sig- nificant relationships between five tree-ring width index series (DLH1-DLH5) and monthly NDVI of grassland from June to September, with the most significant relationship being between tree-ring width index series and NDVI of grassland in August. (3) The PC1 (the first principal component derived from DLH1-DLH5 series) exhibited good agreement with monthly NDVI of grassland in the grass growth sea- son (from June to September) and the averaged NDVI in the growth season, which was attributed to their common responses to water-supply limit in Delingha. This study may allow an increase in studying the past dynamics of grassland in Delingha in that the variation of grassland NDVI during the last millennium has been reconstructed from PC1.

Response of tree-ring width to rainfall gradient along the Tianshan Mountains of northwestern China

By comparing the long-term tree-ring growths at various geographic scales, we can make clear the effects of environmental variations on tree growth, and get an understanding of the responses of forest ecosystems to the possible changes in global and regional climate. Radial tree-ring growth of Picea schrenkiana and its relationship to air temperature and precipitation were investigated across longi- tude transects on the north slopes of the Tianshan Mountains in northwestern China. Tree-ring samples were collected and residual chronologies were developed for three different regions along a gradient of decreasing precipitation from west to east. Response-function analysis was conducted to quantify the relationships between tree-ring chronologies and climate variables, such as monthly mean temperature and monthly precipitation from 1961 to 1998, using the PRECON software program. The statistical characteristics of the chronologies showed that the three chronologies constructed in this study con- tained significant environmental signals and were well suitable to reveal the impacts of climatic change on tree growth and forest productivity. Annual ring-width variations were similar among the three sites, but the variability was greatest in the east. This research showed that the growth trends of Picea schrenkiana in the Tianshan Mountains have not followed a uniform pattern. Response-function analy- sis indicated that there were significant correlations between tree growth and climatic factors in all the three regions, among which precipitation was the principal. With decreasing precipitation, the response of tree-ring widths to increasing temperature changed from a positive to a negative correlation. As for precipitation, the positive relationship to tree-ring width always dominates. It could be expected that with increased temperature and decreased precipitation, the importance of precipitation to tree growth would increase, and the response of tree growth to environmental changes would also increase. This study emphasizes the importance of regional-scale investigations into the biosphere-climate interac- tions. The results of this research indicated a substantial increment of tree-ring radial growth as a re- sult of warmer and wetter climate in the eastern regions. However, climate change will have less effect on forest growth and primary production in the western regions.

Tree-Ring Latewood Width Based July–August SPEI Reconstruction in South China since 1888 and Its Possible Connection with ENSO

Our understanding of the long-term hydroclimate variations in South China is prohibited by the shortness of me- teorological records. Paleoclimatic proxies, such as tree-rings, can be pursued to extend the meteorological records back for centuries to help us better understand hydroclimatic conditions. In this study, we reconstructed the July--Au- gust standardized precipitafio^evapotranspiration index （SPEIjut Aug） based on a newly developed 127-yr adjusted latewood width chronology from Tsuga longibracteata, South China. The chronology explained 40% of the actual SPEIjul Aug variance in the period 1953-2014. The reconstructed SPEIjuI Aug can represent large-scale July-August SPEI variations over South China, including northern Guangxi, Hunan, and Guizhou provinces. From the perspec- tive of the past 127 years, the extreme summer drought in 2013 was not unusual because more extreme drought events occurred in the first half of the 20th century. A significant 2.0-3.6-yr hydroclimatic cycle existed in the recon- struction, which indicated that the SPEIjulug might be driven by El Nifio-Southern Oscillation （ENSO）. We further checked the time-dependency of the relationship between SPEIJuI_Aug and ENSO and found that it was unstable. Their relationship was weak before the 1950s, became significant from the 1950s to early 1990s, and then dropped to be weak again and even out of phase since the early 1990s, which may be attributable to the significant westward exten- sion of the western Pacific subtropical high.