Tree ring record of annual runoff for Issyk Lake, Central Asia

Abstract Revealing hydrologic variations in the past is helpful to understand the dynamic changes and evolution of a given water body. The widespread long-lived spruce forests growing in the mountainous area around Issyk Lake in Central Asia provide a good opportunity for dendrohydrologic studies about that lake. A regional tree-ring width chronology developed for Picea schrenkiana was used to reconstruct 345-year annual runoff for Issyk Lake. Based on frequency of the wettest/driest years and decades, the 20th century was identified as having the most frequent hydrologic fluctuations among the last three centuries. After applying a 21-year moving average, seven wet and six dry periods were found in the runoff reconstruction. The 10- and 2.1–5.4-year cycles of this reconstruction revealed that annual runoff variability of Issyk Lake may be influenced by solar activity and the atmosphere–ocean system. Spatial correlation proves that the runoff reconstruction contains climatic signals representative of a large area, including the western Tien Shan Mountains and Junggar Basin. A comparison between the annual runoff reconstruction and other hydroclimatic reconstructions reveals similar variations, particularly in the high-frequency domain. The annual runoff reconstruction also accurately captures some flood/drought events noted in the meteorological records and hydroclimatic reconstructions of Central Asia.

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Last 1100 yr of precipitation variability in western central Asia as revealed by tree-ring data from the Pamir-Alay

Quaternary Research ◽

10.1017/qua.2018.21 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 91 (1) ◽

pp. 81-95 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Magdalena Opała-Owczarek ◽

Tadeusz Niedźwiedź

Keyword(s):

Central Asia ◽

Tree Ring ◽

Tree Growth ◽

Palmer Drought Severity Index ◽

Ring Width ◽

Severity Index ◽

Drought Severity ◽

Mountainous Area ◽

Transfer Function Method ◽

Tree Ring Data

AbstractWe developed a 1108 yr chronology of tree-ring widths, based on 64 Himalayan pencil juniper (Juniperus semiglobosa Regel) trees, for the Pamir-Alay Mountains, central Asia. Dendroclimatological analysis demonstrates that precipitation has significant effects on tree growth in the semiarid mountainous area of northwestern Tajikistan located on the edge of the great midlatitude Karakum and Kyzylkum deserts. The highest level of linear correlation (r=0.67) is observed between tree growth and seasonalised winter (previous December–February) precipitation. Our studies also show that moisture (precipitation/Palmer Drought Severity Index) from the previous June to the current September was the dominant climatic factor accounting for interannual variations in tree-ring width, suggesting that this should be considered in climate reconstruction. Using the transfer function method, we reconstructed the region’s drought history over the period AD 908–2015. The results of this moisture reconstruction showed that the most recent millennium was characterised by series of dry and wet stages. The driest periods occurred before 1000, 1200–1250, and at the end of the eighteenth century and beginning of the nineteenth century. The wettest conditions existed in 1650–1700 and after 1990.

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Development of a Larix principis-rupprechtii tree-ring width chronology and its climatic signals for the southern Greater Higgnan Mountains

Geochronometria ◽

10.1515/geochr-2015-0082 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 45 (1) ◽

pp. 1-9 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Tongwen Zhang ◽

Shulong Yu ◽

Yujiang Yuan ◽

Liping Huang ◽

Shengxia Jiang

Keyword(s):

Tree Ring ◽

Ring Width ◽

Low Frequency ◽

Northern China ◽

Severity Index ◽

Drought Severity ◽

Mountainous Area ◽

Tree Ring Width ◽

Large Area ◽

Climatic Signals

Abstract Forty-one living larch (Larix principis-rupprechtii) trees collected from two sampling sites in 1310–1530 m a.s.l. in the southern Greater Higgnan Mountains in the northeastern China are used to develop a regional tree-ring width chronology. The credible chronology spans 185 years from 1830 to 2014. The results of correlation analyses indicate that moisture is the main climatic factor controlling radial growth of larch trees in this mountainous area. Spatial correlation proves that the regional tree-ring width chronology contains climatic signals representative for a large area including the eastern Mongolian Plateau and Nuluerhu Mountains. A comparison between the newly developed chronology and a May–July Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI) reconstruction for the Ortindag Sand Land reveals similar variations, particularly in the low-frequency domain. The tree-ring records also capture a severe and sustained drying trend recorded in the 1920s across a wide area of northern China.

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Picea schrenkiana tree-ring chronologies development and vegetation index reconstruction for the Alatau Mountains, Central Asia

Geochronometria ◽

10.1515/geochr-2015-0091 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 45 (1) ◽

pp. 107-118 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Tongwen Zhang ◽

Ruibo Zhang ◽

Bo Lu ◽

Bulkajyr T. Mambetov ◽

Nurzhan Kelgenbayev ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Central Asia ◽

Tree Ring ◽

Large Scale ◽

Vegetation Index ◽

Moving Average ◽

Spatial Distance ◽

Vegetation Coverage ◽

Large Area ◽

Tree Ring Chronology ◽

Picea Schrenkiana

Abstract In this study, a total of 176 tree cores from Schrenk spruce (Picea schrenkiana) were used to establish a tree-ring chronology and a 167-year July–October normalized differential vegetation index (NDVI) for the Alatau Mountains in Central Asia was reconstructed using this newly developed chronology. The tree-ring based NDVI reconstruction tracks the observed data well (r=0.577, p<0.01, n=25) and precisely captures the drought events recorded in historical documents that occurred over a large area in 1917 and 1938. After applying a 21-year moving average, three dense (1860–1870, 1891–1907, and 1950–1974) and three sparse (1871–1890, 1908–1949, and 1975–2006) vegetation coverage periods were found in this reconstruction. Spatial correlation proves that the reconstructed NDVI series contains climatic signals representative for a large area including southern Kazakhstan. Although a comparison between this reconstruction and four climatic reconstructions for southeastern Kazakhstan, Nilka (in the Ili region), the Issyk Lake, and the Aksu region reveals similar variations, the coherence between these reconstructions become weak with the increase in spatial distance from north to south. In addition to the local representation, it was also demonstrated that the newly developed NDVI index can indicate the large-scale circulations over Eurasia, with the higher NDVI associated with stronger westerly winds from the Atlantic to the Alatau Mountains, and the lower NDVI associated with the weaker winds.

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Development of tree-ring width chronologies and tree-growth response to climate in the mountains surrounding the Issyk-Kul Lake, Central Asia

Dendrochronologia ◽

10.1016/j.dendro.2014.03.002 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 32 (3) ◽

pp. 230-236 ◽

Cited By ~ 14

Author(s):

Tongwen Zhang ◽

Yujiang Yuan ◽

Qing He ◽

Wenshou Wei ◽

Mamatkanov Diushen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Central Asia ◽

Tree Ring ◽

Tree Growth ◽

Growth Response ◽

Ring Width ◽

Tree Ring Width

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On the ‘Divergence Problem’ in the Alatau Mountains, Central Asia: A Study of the Responses of Schrenk Spruce Tree-Ring Width to Climate under the Recent Warming and Wetting Trend

Atmosphere ◽

10.3390/atmos10080473 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 10 (8) ◽

pp. 473 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Zhang ◽

Jiang ◽

Bagila ◽

Ainur ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Central Asia ◽

Tree Ring ◽

Tree Growth ◽

Tree Species ◽

Climatic Factors ◽

Ring Width ◽

Tree Ring Width ◽

Recent Warming ◽

Divergence Problem ◽

The Stability

The divergence problem, which manifests as an unstable response relationship between tree-ring growth and climatic factors under the background of global warming, poses a challenge to both the traditional theory of dendroclimatology and the reliability of climatic reconstructions based on tree-ring data. Although Schrenk spruce, as the dominant tree species in the Tianshan Mountains, is frequently applied in the dendrochronological studies, the understanding of the divergence problem of this tree species is still limited. This study conducted correlation analysis between climatic factors and tree-ring width chronologies from 51 living and healthy specimens of Schrenk spruce at sites of high and low elevation in the Alatau Mountains to determine the stability of the response. The results revealed that the tree-ring width of the spruce specimens was correlated positively with precipitation and correlated negatively with temperature. Although the variations of the two tree-ring chronologies were similar, the radial growth of the spruce at the low elevation was found more sensitive to climatic factors. Furthermore, the sensitivity of tree growth to climate demonstrated an obvious increase after an abrupt change of climate under the background of the recent warming and wetting trend. Increased drought stress, calculated based on climatic data, was regarded as the main reason for this phenomenon. The results supply the gap of the stability of climatic response of tree growth in Central Asia to some extent.

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A 422-Year Reconstruction of the Kaiken River Streamflow, Xinjiang, Northwest China

Atmosphere ◽

10.3390/atmos11101100 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 11 (10) ◽

pp. 1100

Author(s):

Heli Zhang ◽

Huaming Shang ◽

Feng Chen ◽

Youping Chen ◽

Shulong Yu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Tree Ring ◽

Regional Climate ◽

Ring Width ◽

Regional Climate Change ◽

Northwest China ◽

Tien Shan ◽

The Past ◽

Runoff Variation ◽

Central Asian ◽

Solar Influence

Our understanding of Central Asian historical streamflow variability is still limited because of short instrumental hydrologcial records. Based on tree-ring cores collected from three sampling sites in Kaiken River basin near Tien Shan, a regional tree-ring width chronology were developed. The correlation analysis showed that the runoff of Kaiken River from previous August to current June was significantly correlated with the regional chronology, and the high correlation coefficient was 0.661 (P < 0.01). Based on the regional chronology, the August-June runoff of Kaiken River has been reconstructed over the past 422 year, and it accounted for 43.7% of actual runoff variance during the common period 1983–2013. The reconstruction model is reliable, and the trend of observed and reconstructed data is relatively consistent. The results of multi-taper spectral analysis for the runoff reconstruction indicated some remarkable cycles for the past 422 years; the 11.5-year cycles correspond to the solar cycle and is found widely in runoff reconstructions in Central Asia. This may imply a solar influence on the hydroclimate variations of Tien Shan. The runoff reconstruction of Kaiken River compares well with runoff reconstructions the Urumqi River and Manas River, and implies that there is a common driving factor for the runoff in central Tien Shan, China. The analysis of linkages between climate variation and the runoff reconstruction of Kaiken River shows that there is a relationship between extremes in runoff variation and abnormal atmospheric circulations. Our 422-year steamflow reconstruction provides long-term perspective on current and 20th century hydrological events in central Tien Shan, is useful for aids sustainable water management and addresses regional climate change challenges.

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CLIMATE CHANGE, TREE-RING WIDTH AND WOOD DENSITY OF PINES IN MEDITERRANEAN ENVIRONMENTS

IAWA Journal ◽

10.1163/22941932-20150098 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 36 (3) ◽

pp. 257-269 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Jorge Olivar ◽

Cyrille Rathgeber ◽

Felipe Bravo

Keyword(s):

Tree Ring ◽

Wood Density ◽

Pinus Halepensis ◽

Moving Average ◽

Wood Quality ◽

Ring Width ◽

Growth Period ◽

Mediterranean Area ◽

Tree Ring Width ◽

Pine Species

During the second half of the 20th century, the Mediterranean area has experienced an increase in temperature, and a decrease in precipitation leading to a higher frequency of severe droughts. Consequently, widespread Mediterranean pine species suffered a shift in their climate-growth relationships that might lead to detrimental consequences. Wood features such as wood density are also affected by recent climatic changes producing an effect on wood structure and quality. Tree-ring anatomy was analyzed in three species (Pinus halepensis, P. pinaster and P. sylvestris), the three main pine species in Spain, in order to understand the relationships between tree-ring width and wood density as well as the influence of the climatic variations on these variables. Precipitation influenced tree radial growth and wood density for the three species, but at different times of the growth period. Mean and maximum density followed different patterns for the three species, decreasing with time in P. pinaster and increasing in P. halepensis and P. sylvestris. Growth and mean density trends were followed by a 5-year moving average with low variability in the three species. However, a high variability was observed in the inter-annual trends during the most recent years presumably related to climate. These climate-triggered modifications could adversely effect wood properties and wood quality.

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Can the mass balance of the entire glacier area of the Tien Shan be estimated?

Annals of Glaciology ◽

10.3189/1992aog16-1-173-179 ◽

1992 ◽

Vol 16 ◽

pp. 173-179

Author(s):

M.B. Dyurgerov ◽

M.G. Kunakhovitch ◽

V.N. Mikhalenko ◽

A. M. Sokalskaya ◽

V. A. Kuzmichenok

Keyword(s):

Mass Balance ◽

Vertical Profile ◽

River Basins ◽

Annual Runoff ◽

Snow Accumulation ◽

Tien Shan ◽

Exponential Dependence ◽

Glacier Area ◽

Equilibrium Line Altitude ◽

Boundary Area

The total area of glacierization of the Tien Shan in the boundary area of the USSR is about 8000 km2. The computation of mass balance was determined for this area in 12 river basins.In computation procedure, the vertical profile of snow accumulation in these regions and exponential dependence of variation of ablation with altitude are used. Thus the mass balance in each basin, bn, was calculated on the basis of these curves and represented in its relation with the equilibrium line altitude (ELA). It is shown that the relation ELA = f(bn) is linear when the range of bn values is close to zero, and in all altitude intervals this relation can be described by hypsographic curves, in all basins bn positive up to an ELA elevation of 3450 to 3500 m a.s.l. For average annual altitude of ELA, bn is negative for all regions. So the glaciers of these mountains add about 4 km3 of water to the total annual runoff.

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Development of Two Tree-ring Width Chronologies of the Samples Collected from the Baluntai Region

Arid Zone Research ◽

10.3724/sp.j.1148.2008.00288 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 25 (2) ◽

pp. 288-294 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Tong-wen ZHANG

Keyword(s):

Tree Ring ◽

Ring Width ◽

Tree Ring Width

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The Relationship between Tree-Ring Growths of Pinus densiflora and Climate from Three Mountains in Central Region, the Republic of Korea

Atmosphere ◽

10.3390/atmos12070878 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (7) ◽

pp. 878

Author(s):

Chang-Hyun Park ◽

Ui-Cheon Lee ◽

Soo-Chul Kim ◽

Kwang-Hee Lee

Keyword(s):

Tree Ring ◽

National Parks ◽

Central Region ◽

Climatic Factors ◽

Pinus Densiflora ◽

Ring Width ◽

Republic Of Korea ◽

Logarithmic Curve ◽

The Republic ◽

The Relationship

To analyze the relationship between climatic factors (monthly mean temperature and total precipitation) and tree-ring growths of Pinus densiflora from the central region of the Republic of Korea, more than 20 trees were sampled from three national parks. The tree-ring chronology of Mt. Bukhan covering the period of 1917–2016 was assessed, as well as that of Mt. Seorak across 1687–2017 and Mt. Worak across 1777–2017. After cross-dating, each ring-width series was double-standardized by first fitting a logarithmic curve and then a 50 year cubic spline. Climate-growth relationships were computed with bootstrap correlation functions. The result of the analysis showed a positive response from the current March temperature and May precipitations for tree-ring growth of Pinus densiflora. It indicates that a higher temperature supply during early spring season and precipitation during cambium activity are important for radial growths of Pinus densiflora from the central region in the Republic of Korea.

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