Dendroclimatological spring rainfall reconstruction for an inner Alpine dry valley

Abstract

Estimates of spring precipitation for the inner Alpine dry valley of the upper Inn (Tyrol, Austria) are made back to A.D. 1724 using a ring width chronology of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) as predictor. A highly significant agreement in year-to-year ring width changes exists between several chronologies along the dry valley. The dendroclimatic model used for climate reconstruction is a simple linear transfer function that estimates April–June precipitation from current tree-ring width. All verification statistics commonly used in dendroclimatological research are significant ( p < 0.01) and indicate that the reconstructed time series provides valuable information on past spring precipitation variability. Reconstructed spring rainfall deficiencies and surpluses ≥ 20% compared to the long-term mean in 1819, 1832, 1834, 1865, 1885, and in 1780, 1782, 1821, 1853, 1910, respectively, are also documented by local historical records. Furthermore, a comparison is made with an independent climate reconstruction based on historical weather indices valid for the northern side of the Swiss Alps. A fairly good agreement is found between both spring rainfall reconstructions at low frequency intervals during 1755–1862 and 1919–1981. This preliminary study shows that tree-rings can be used to reconstruct spring rainfall variability for inner Alpine dry valleys.