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.

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.

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.

Resilience and response:Unveiling the impacts of extreme droughts on forests through integrated dendrochronological and remote sensing analyses

Extreme droughts are anticipated to have detrimental impacts on forest ecosystems,especially in water-limited regions,due to the influence of climate change.However,considerable uncertainty remains regarding the patterns in species-specific responses to extreme droughts.Here,we conducted a study integrating dendrochronology and remote sensing methods to investigate the mosaic-distributed maple-oak(native)natural forests and poplar plantations(introduced)in the Horqin Sandy Land,Northeast China.We assessed the impacts of extreme droughts on tree performances by measuring interannual variations in radial growth and vegetation index.The results showed that precipitation and self-calibrated palmer drought severity index(scPDSI)are the major factors influencing tree-ring width index(RWI)and normalized difference vegetation index(NDVI).The severe droughts between 2000 and 2004 resulted in reduced RWI in the three studied tree species as well as led to NDVI reductions in both the maple-oak natural forests and the poplar plantations.The RWI reached the nadir during the2000-2004 severe droughts and remained at low levels two years after the severe drought,creating a legacy effect.In contrast to the lack of significant correlation between RWI and scPDSI,NDVI exhibited a significant positive correlation with scPDSI indicating the greater sensitivity of canopy performance to droughts than radial growth.Furthermore,interspecific differences in RWI and NDVI responses were observed,with the fast-growing poplar species experiencing a more significant RWI decrease and more negative NDVI anomaly during severe droughts than native species,highlighting the species-specific trade-offs between drought resilience and growth rate.This study emphasizes the importance of combining tree-level radial growth with landscape-scale canopy remote sensing to understand forest resilience and response.Our study improves our understanding of forest responses to extreme drought and highlights species differences in climate responses,offering crucial insights for optimizing species selection in sustainable afforestation and forest management in water-limited regions under the influence of climate 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.

Establishment of tree-ring chronology and climatic response of Tibetan juniper(S.tibetica) in south Tibet,western China

A tree-ring width chronology of 442 years(1567-2008) was developed from Tibetan junipers(S.tibetica) derived from south Tibet in western China.Three versions of chronology were produced according to standard dendrochronological techniques.The correlation and response analysis displays a high correlation between the standard tree ring-width chronology and observed annual mean precipitation series during the period 1961-2008.Based on a linear regression model,an annual(prior August to current July) precipitation for the past 229 years was reconstructed.This is the first well-calibrated precipitation reconstruction for the Nanggarze region,south Tibet.The results show that relatively wet years with above-average precipitation occurred in 1780-1807,1854-1866,1886-1898,1904-1949,1967-1981 and 2000-2008,whereas relatively dry years with below-average precipitation prevailed during 1808-1853,1867-1885,1899-1903,1950-1966 and 1982-1999.Common dry/wet periods during 1890s,1910s,1940s-1960s and 1980s were also identified from other moisture reconstructions of nearby regions,indicating a synchronous climatic variation in south Tibet.Abrupt change beginning in 1888 was detected,revealing a transition from wet to dry conditions in south Tibet.Power spectrum analysis reveals significant cycles of 28-year,5.5-5.6-year and 3.3-year during the past 200 years.

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.

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.

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.

The summer standardized precipitation evapotranspiration index(SPEl)dataset for six European regions over the past millennium reconstructed by tree-ring chronologies

Accurate reconstructed series are crucial for studying the differences in regional hydroclimatic variations in Europe over the past millennium.Using hierarchical clustering analysis and stepwise regression methods,we reconstructed yearly time series of the summer standardized precipitation evapotranspiration index(SPEl)for six European regions over the past millennium.Our analysis also revealed prominent regional hydroclimatic differences in multidecadal signals over the past 500 years.For instance,in the 1500s-1570s(from the beginning of the 1500s to the end of the 1570s),drying trends were observed in northern and southeastern Europe,whereas southwestern Europe experienced a wetting trend.Moreover,drying trends were observed in northern and central Europe in the 1640s-1670s.Additionally,wetting trends were observed in western and central Europe during the 1830s-1850s,with drying trends in northern and southeastern Europe.Notably,the hydroclimatic variations in most European regions showed drying trends in the 1920s-1950s,especially in southern Europe.By utilizing large amounts of tree-ring samples and directly comparing regional hydroclimatic variations,our reconstructions provide a consistent and comprehensive dataset for further analysis.The reconstructed dataset is available at https://doi.org/10.57760/sciencedb.07215.

Interpreting Larix principis-rupprechtii radial growth in northern China based on the Vaganov-Shashkin model

Changes in annual radial growth is an important indication of climate change. Dendroclimatology studies in northern China have focused on linear statistical analysis,but lacking studies based on the process of ring formation to clarify the radial growth of trees. Tree-ring width standard chronology(STD) was established using samples of Larix principis-rupprechtii collected at 2303 m altitude on Luya Mountain. Using the Vaganov-Shashkin(VS) model to simulate growth and development, the internal physiological mechanism of radial growth is identified. It was concluded that:(1) the growing season of L. principis-rupprechtii was May to September;(2) soil moisture was a significant factor in the early and late growing seasons, and temperature was the dominant factor in its main growth period;and(3) formation of narrow ring widths was closely related to drought stress, the development of wide ring widths will be restricted by increasing future temperatures. The VS model is applicable for radial growth simulation of subalpine coniferous forests and for guiding the cultivation of local tree species in the future.

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.

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＂.

塞罕坝地区3个树种径向生长对气象因子的响应

为了明确塞罕坝地区华北落叶松(Larix principis-rupprechtii)、樟子松(Pinus sylvestris var.mongolica)和云杉(Picea meyeri)3个树种径向生长对气象因子的响应,分析了3个树种的年轮宽度年表与气象因子的关系。研究结果表明,塞罕坝地区气候具有暖干化的变化趋势;华北落叶松径向生长同时受气温、降水和SPEI(标准化降水蒸散指数)的显著影响,樟子松主要受气温和降水的显著影响,云杉主要受降水和SPEI的显著影响,受气温的影响较小;华北落叶松径向生长与前一年10月份和当年6、7月份气温,以及当年生长季(5—9月份)平均气温呈显著负相关关系,樟子松与当年6、7月份的气温呈负相关关系,但与8月份呈正相关关系;华北落叶松、樟子松和云杉均受前一年和当年降水的共同影响,对气象因子的响应存在明显滞后性。综合3个树种的年表波动以及对降水和气温的响应来看,华北落叶松对气候变化更为敏感,更易受到高温和干旱的双重胁迫,在塞罕坝暖干化的气候变化趋势之下,更容易出现衰退现象;其次为樟子松,云杉气候变化的敏感度最低,而稳定性最高。

基于红松树轮重建小兴安岭南麓过去140年6月份平均温度变化

基于建立的小兴安岭南麓红松树轮宽度标准年表,分析红松径向生长与该地区温度和降水间的关系以及1982年升温突变对此相关性的影响。结果表明:6月平均温度与树轮宽度年表在变暖前后始终呈极显著负相关,是该地区红松径向生长的主要限制因子。基于此构建的区域1843—1982年6月平均温度重建方程稳定可靠。重建温度序列的偏暖时期和偏冷时期分别持续7年和29年,偏暖时段为1915—1921年,偏冷时段为1880—1891年和1932—1948年。小波分析结果显示6月平均温度存在2—7a周期变化。空间相关分析结果表明重建温度序列能很好的代表小兴安岭南麓及附近区域的温度变化。本研究拓展了研究区现有的气候数据,可为掌握小兴安岭气候变化规律和科学预测未来气候提供数据支撑。

Infl uence of altitude and tree class on climate-growth relationships in a larch plantation in subtropical China

Precise quantifi cation of climate-growth relationships can make a major contribution to scientifi c forest management.However,whether diff erences in the response of growth to climate at diff erent altitudes remains unclear.To answer this,264 trees of Larix kaempferi from 88 plots,representing diff erent altitudinal ranges(1000-2100 m)and tree classes were sampled and used to develop tree-ring chronologies.Tree-ring growth(TRG)was either positively(dominant)or negatively(intermediate and suppressed)correlated with climate in diff erent tree classes at diff erent altitudes.TRG was strongly correlated with growing season at low altitudes,but was less sensitive to climate at middle altitudes.It was mainly limited by precipitation and was highly sensitive to climate at low altitudes.Climate-growth relationships at high altitudes were opposite compared to those at low altitudes.TRG of dominant trees was more sensitive to climate change compared to intermediate and suppressed trees.Climate factors(annual temperatures;moisture,the number of frost-free days)had diff erent eff ects on tree-ring growth of diff erent tree classes along altitudinal gradients.It was concluded that the increase in summer temperatures decreased water availability,resulting in a signifi cant decline in growth rates after 2005 at lower altitudes.L.kaempferi is suitable for planting in middle altitudes and dominant trees were the best sampling choice for accurately assessing climate-growth relationships.

A 1 835 a tree-ring chronology and its preliminary analyses in Dulan region, Qinghai

TREE-ring analysis is one of the important ways for paleoclimatic reconstruction because tree-ring series of several hundred or even thousands of years are available, and can be matched orextended and accurately dated, and the tree rings can record changes in climate. In China,several thousand paleoclimatic series of data are obtained from the historical documents,

The ecological scale mediates whether trees experience drought legacies in radial growth

The impact of lag effects produced by disturbances on primary production has been a major concern among ecologists during the last decade.Sudden and extreme climatic events are imposing drastic reductions in radial growth of trees as evidenced in tree-rings series Dendrochronological samples are obtained at tree level but analyzed at an aggregated scale(i.e.,mean chronologies),although aggregating tree-ring chronology on a regional scale may reduce the possibility of studying the variability of individual tree response to drought,by amplifying the average population response.Here,we conducted experimental research in which 370 trees of 5 species were analyzed to assess the potential statistical and scaling issues that may occur when using regressionbased methods to analyze ecosystem responses to disturbances.Drought legacy effects were quantified using individual and aggregated scales.Then,lag effects were validated using confidence and prediction intervals to identify values falling outside the certainty of the climate-growth model Individual scale legacy effects contrasted with confidence intervals were commonly distributed across species but were scarce when compared with prediction intervals.The analysis of aggregated scale legacies detected significant growth reductions when validated using prediction intervals;however,individual scale legacy lag effects were not detected.This finding directly contrasts the results obtained when using an aggregated scale.Our results provide empirical evidence on how aggregating ecological data to infer processes that emerge from an individual scale can lead to distorted conclusions.We therefore encourage the use of individual based statistical and ecological procedures to analyze tree rings as a means of further understanding the ecosystem responses to disturbances.

柴达木东缘山地千年祁连圆柏年轮定年分析

针对中国干旱区生长的树木缺失轮和伪轮多等具体情况,及常规树轮定年方法应用于中国干旱地区时所遇到的问题,本文以柴达木盆地东缘山地上生长的千年祁连圆柏树轮定年工作为例,详细探讨了在中国干旱地区建立树轮定年年表的方法体系及技术路线,对常规的工作方法提出新的改进。这包括:采样中要采集不同树龄、不同小生境且大复本量的样本;交叉定年工作要按一定的工作程序;安放缺失轮时要同时考虑窄轮和宽轮变化的一致性;用多种方法对定年和轮宽量测值进行检验等。这些方法的具体应用有助于在中国干旱地区建立定年准确、千年尺度的树轮年表。

山西宁武地区1686年以来年降水重建

根据山西北部宁武地区的树轮宽度指标，建立了该地区过去318年的树轮STD，RES和ARS年表，发现上年8月至当年7月（全年）的降水与差值年表（RES）显著相关（r=0．71，n=50），在此基础上设计了转换方程，重建了宁武地区1686年以来的全年降水，方差解释量达到48．6％（调整自由度后为46．8％，r=0．697，F=26．471，P〈0．0001）。降水量较少的时段为1693～1710年，1720～1764年，1825～1841年，1873～1882年，1901～1930年，1966～1972年和1988～2003年，降水量较多的时段为1711～1720年，1765～1824年，1842～1872年，1883～1886年和1931～1987年。历史文献记录的干旱年份在重建序列上均有所反映。重建序列与贺兰山1—7月降水显著相关（99％置信度下，r=0．312）。功率谱分析表明山西宁武上年8月至当年7月降水含有2．34～2．68年，4．92年，5．26年的显著周期，可能与ENSO活动有关。