Reconstructing mean maximum temperatures of May–August from tree-ring maximum density in North Da Hinggan Mountains, China

Lily Wang,Yu Sun,Jianping Duan,Jin Chen

doi:10.1007/s11434-012-5055-9

Abstract

Tree-ring samples from Dahurian Larch (Larix gmelinii (Rupr.) Rupr.) were collected at three sites in the northern Da Hinggan Mountains. Using samples measured by X-ray densitometry, measurements of tree-ring maximum latewood density chronologies of two sites were found to be significantly correlated with summer temperature. These two sites’ tree-ring series were combined to form a single standard regional chronology. This was used to reconstruct the May–August monthly mean maximum temperature for the period 1855–2008 AD, and it explained 39.5% of the total temperature variance. In the past 154 years, there were 4 cold periods (1874–1893, 1927–1948, 1951–1960 and 1992–2002) and 4 warm periods (1855–1873, 1894–1916, 1961–1991 and 2003–2008). The summer temperature rose more obviously than that of winter in this region. Having been validated by other temperature reconstructions from the surrounding area, the reconstruction could indicate the summer temperature changes of large-scale regions.

Highlights

Tree-ring samples from Dahurian Larch (Larix gmelinii (Rupr.) Rupr.) were collected at three sites in the northern Da Hinggan Mountains
Using samples measured by X-ray densitometry, measurements of tree-ring maximum latewood density chronologies of two sites were found to be significantly correlated with summer temperature
Wang et al [24] indicated that tree-ring maximum density of Larix gmelinii (Rupr.) Rupr. are highly sensitive to temperature variations during the late growing season in Mohe County, Heilongjiang, China, which makes it feasible to extrapolate historic variations of summer temperatures using maximum tree-ring density data from L. gmelinii in this

Summary

Introduction

Tree-ring samples from Dahurian Larch (Larix gmelinii (Rupr.) Rupr.) were collected at three sites in the northern Da Hinggan Mountains. Tree-ring densities appeared to be highly sensitive in cold-wet regions, which is of special significance with maximum latewood density, corresponding very well to summer temperatures, making them an important indicator in dendroclimatological studies [19,20,21]. We employed maximum densities of tree rings in L. gmelinii from the northern Da Hinggan Mountains to reconstruct the variations in the mean maximum temperature from May to August during the past 154 years. Gmelinii from the northern Da Hinggan Mountains to reconstruct the variations in the mean maximum temperature from May to August during the past 154 years

Methods

Results

Conclusion