Separating the climatic signal from tree-ring width and maximum latewood density records

Great Basin Bristlecone pine (Pinus longaeva) is known for its longevity. The longest continuous tree-ring width chronology covers more than 9000 years. Tree-ring width of upper treeline bristlecone pine trees is influenced by summer temperature variability at decadal to centennial scales, but to infer a temperature signal on interannual scales, Maximum Latewood Density (MXD) is a better proxy. Here, we present a preliminary MXD chronology to investigate the temperature signal in upper treeline and lower elevation bristlecone pines. MXD was measured with an X-ray Computed Tomography toolchain in 24 dated cores, &#160;with the oldest sample dating back to 776 CE. Ring and fibre angles were corrected and two MXD chronologies for different elevations were developed, which will be used to study climate-growth relationships and the effect of elevation on them. Future scanning will allow constructing a 5000+ year-long MXD chronology from upper treeline sites, which will provide an annual-resolution North American temperature record covering the mid-to-late Holocene.

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Tree-ring width and maximum latewood density at the North American tree line: parameters of climatic change

Canadian Journal of Forest Research ◽

10.1139/x92-171 ◽

1992 ◽

Vol 22 (9) ◽

pp. 1290-1296 ◽

Cited By ~ 92

Author(s):

Rosanne D. D'Arrigo ◽

Gordon C. Jacoby ◽

Rosemary M. Free

Keyword(s):

Climatic Change ◽

Tree Ring ◽

North American ◽

Ring Width ◽

Positive Temperature ◽

Tree Line ◽

Tree Ring Width ◽

Maximum Latewood Density ◽

Latewood Density ◽

Instrumental Records

In remote subarctic North America, instrumental records are very short and sparsely distributed. Yet a long-term understanding of subarctic climate is critical to studies of global change. Annual tree-ring width and maximum latewood density are complementary, high-resolution parameters with different environmental and physiological controls that can be used to assess recent centuries of climatic change. In this paper we present a comparison of the different temperature information inferred from these parameters for white spruce (Piceaglauca (Moench) Voss), a dominant North American latitudinal tree line species. Ring-width and maximum latewood density chronologies (with a common period from 1720–1977) are shown for five sites along a widely spaced transect of the forest–tundra transition in northern Canada. The positive temperature response of maximum latewood density to year to year local temperatures is more consistent and covers a longer portion of the growing season than does that of ring width. Unlike density, the ring-width data show a preference for cold spring conditions. Some, but not all, of the ring-width and density series display increases during the recent century's large-scale climatic warming trend. It is concluded that both types of parameters are necessary for understanding changes in climate and forest dynamics at the northern tree line.

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Detection and removal of disturbance trends in tree-ring series for dendroclimatology

Canadian Journal of Forest Research ◽

10.1139/cjfr-2015-0366 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 46 (3) ◽

pp. 387-401 ◽

Cited By ~ 16

Author(s):

Miloš Rydval ◽

Daniel Druckenbrod ◽

Kevin J. Anchukaitis ◽

Rob Wilson

Keyword(s):

Environmental History ◽

Tree Ring ◽

Regional Climate ◽

Ring Width ◽

Tree Ring Width ◽

Climate Data ◽

Climate Trends ◽

Climate Signal ◽

Maximum Latewood Density ◽

Latewood Density

Nonclimatic disturbance events are an integral element in the history of forests. Although the identification of the occurrence and duration of such events may help to understand environmental history and landscape change, from a dendroclimatic perspective, disturbance can obscure the climate signal in tree rings. However, existing detrending methods are unable to remove disturbance trends without affecting the retention of long-term climate trends. Here, we address this issue by using a novel method for the detection and removal of disturbance events in tree-ring width data to assess their spatiotemporal occurrence in a network of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) trees from Scotland. Disturbance trends “superimposed” on the tree-ring record are removed before detrending and the climate signals in the precorrection and postcorrection chronologies are evaluated using regional climate data, proxy system model simulations, and maximum latewood density (MXD) data. Analysis of subregional chronologies from the West Highlands and the Cairngorms in the east reveals a higher intensity and more systematic disturbance history in the western subregion, likely a result of extensive timber exploitation. The method improves the climate signal in the two subregional chronologies, particularly in the more disturbed western sites. Our application of this method demonstrates that it is possible to minimise the effects of disturbance in tree-ring width chronologies to enhance the climate signal.

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Temperature reconstruction and volcanic eruption signal from tree-ring width and maximum latewood density over the past 304 years in the southeastern Tibetan Plateau

International Journal of Biometeorology ◽

10.1007/s00484-017-1395-0 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 61 (11) ◽

pp. 2021-2032 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Mingqi Li ◽

Lei Huang ◽

Zhi-Yong Yin ◽

Xuemei Shao

Keyword(s):

Tibetan Plateau ◽

Tree Ring ◽

Volcanic Eruption ◽

Ring Width ◽

Temperature Reconstruction ◽

Tree Ring Width ◽

Southeastern Tibetan Plateau ◽

Maximum Latewood Density ◽

The Past ◽

Latewood Density

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Is temperature still the most limiting factor for growth in northern boreal forests?

The Holocene ◽

10.1177/09596836211011661 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 095968362110116

Author(s):

Jeroen DM Schreel

Keyword(s):

Tree Ring ◽

Boreal Forests ◽

Ring Width ◽

Temperature Fluctuations ◽

Limiting Factor ◽

Tree Ring Width ◽

Climate Reconstructions ◽

Latewood Density

Over the last few decades – at a range of northern sites – changes in tree-ring width and latewood density have not followed mean summertime temperature fluctuations. This discrepancy sharply contrasts an earlier correlation between those variables. As the origin of this inconsistency has not been fully deciphered, questions have emerged regarding the use of tree-ring width and latewood density as a proxy in dendrochronological climate reconstructions. I suggest that temperature is no longer the most limiting factor in certain boreal areas, which might explain the observed divergence.

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A Preliminary Reconstruction of Rainfall in North-Central China since A.D. 1600 from Tree-Ring Density and Width

Quaternary Research ◽

10.1006/qres.1994.1056 ◽

1994 ◽

Vol 42 (1) ◽

pp. 88-99 ◽

Cited By ~ 91

Author(s):

Malcolm K. Hughes ◽

Wu Xiangding ◽

Shao Xuemei ◽

Gregg M. Garfin

Keyword(s):

Tree Ring ◽

Spectral Power ◽

Singular Spectrum Analysis ◽

Ring Width ◽

Central China ◽

North Central ◽

Ring Density ◽

Maximum Latewood Density ◽

Documentary Sources ◽

Latewood Density

AbstractMay-June (MJ) and April-July (AJ) precipitation at Huashan in north-central China has been reconstructed for the period A.D. 1600 to 1988 using tree-ring density and width fromPinus armandii. MJ precipitation (based on ring width and maximum latewood density) calibrated and cross-validated against local instrumental data more strongly than AJ precipitation (based only on ring width). A major drought was reconstructed for the mid- and late 1920s, confirmed by local documentary sources. This drought (culminating in 1929) was the most severe of the 389-yr period for MJ and second most severe for AJ, after an event ending in 1683. Neither reconstruction shows much spectral power at frequencies lower than 1 in 10 yr, but both show concentrations of power between 2.1 and 2.7 yr and 3.5 to 9 yr. There are significant correlations between the two reconstructions and a regional dryness/wetness index (DW) based on documentary sources, particularly at high frequencies. These correlations are focused in the 7.6- to 7.3-, 3.8- to 3.6-, and 2.5-yr periods. Using singular spectrum analysis, quasiperiodic behavior with a period close to 7.2 yr was identified in the MJ precipitation reconstruction and in the DW index based on documents.

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Spatial and temporal stability of the climatic signal in northern Fennoscandian pine tree-ring width and maximum density

Boreas ◽

10.1111/j.1502-3885.2008.00046.x ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 38 (1) ◽

pp. 1-12 ◽

Cited By ~ 22

Author(s):

MERVI TUOVINEN ◽

DANNY McCARROLL ◽

HÅKAN GRUDD ◽

RISTO JALKANEN ◽

SIETSE LOS

Keyword(s):

Tree Ring ◽

Temporal Stability ◽

Ring Width ◽

Maximum Density ◽

Tree Ring Width ◽

Pine Tree ◽

Climatic Signal

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Comparison between Blue Intensity (BI) and Maximum Latewood Density (MXD) tree-ring chronologies from the North American Boreal forests

10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-21137 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Laia Andreu-Hayles ◽

Rosanne D'Arrigo ◽

Rose Oelkers ◽

Kevin Anchukaitis ◽

Greg Wiles ◽

...

Keyword(s):

High Resolution ◽

North America ◽

Tree Ring ◽

Boreal Forests ◽

Ring Width ◽

Maximum Latewood Density ◽

Latewood Density ◽

Tree Ring Data ◽

Summer Temperatures ◽

Blue Intensity

Tree ring-width (TRW) and Maximum Latewood Density (MXD) series have been largely used to develop high-resolution temperature reconstructions for the Northern Hemisphere. The divergence phenomenon, a weakening of the positive relationship between TRW and summer temperatures, has been observed particularly in northwestern North America chronologies. In contrast, MXD datasets have shown a more stable relationship with summer temperatures, but it is costly and labor-intensive to produce. Recently, methodological advances in image analyses have led to development of a less expensive and labor-intensive MXD proxy known as Blue Intensity (BI). Here, we compare 6 newly developed BI tree-ring chronologies of white spruce (Picea glauca [Moench] Voss) from high-latitude boreal forests in North America (Alaska in USA; Yukon and the Northwestern Territory in Canada), with MXD chronologies developed at the same sites. We assessed the quality of BI in relation to MXD based on mean correlation between trees, chronology reliability based on the Expressed Population Signal (EPS), spectral properties, and the strength and spatial extent of the temperature signal. Individual BI chronologies established significant correlations with summer&#160;temperatures showing a similar&#160;strength and spatial cover than MXD chronologies. Overall, the BI tree-ring data is emerging as a valuable proxy for generating high-resolution temperature spatial reconstructions over northwestern America.

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