Abstract
In this study, ring-width chronology of Picea jezoensis var. microsperma from the Changbai Mountain (CBM) area, Northeast China, was constructed. Growth/climate responses suggested that mean maximum temperature (Tmax) was the limiting factor affecting radial growth of PJ trees in the study region. According to the correlation analysis between the ring-width index and meteorological data, a June–July mean maximum temperature (Tmax6–7) series between 1772 and 2004 was reconstructed by using the standard chronology. For the calibration period (1959–2004), the explained variance of the reconstruction was 41.6%. During the last 233 years, there were 36 warm years and 34 cold years, accounting for 15.5% and 14.7% of the total reconstruction years, respectively. Cold periods occurred in 1899–1913, 1955–1970, and 1975–1989, while warm periods occurred in 1881–1888. The reconstructed temperature series corresponded to the historical disaster records of extreme climatic events (e.g., drought and flood disasters) in this area. Comparisons with other temperature reconstructions from surrounding areas and spatial correlation analysis between the gridded temperature data and reconstruction series indicated that the regional climatic variations were well captured by the reconstruction. In addition, multi-taper method spectral analysis indicated the existence of significant periodicities in the reconstructed series. The significant spatial correlations between the reconstructed temperature series and the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO), solar activity, and Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) suggested that the temperature in the CBM area indicated both local-regional climate signals and global-scale climate changes.
Highlights
The increase in global temperature since the 20th century has had a major impact on natural systems [1]
In the process of exploring the response of high-altitude Picea jezoensis var. trees to climate change in Changbai Mountain, we found that the radial growth of PJ has a high correlation with the mean maximum temperature in the previous year
The study area was located at the Changbai Mountain (CBM) Natural Reserve in Northeast China (Figure 1), where the climate is affected by the temperate continental monsoon, which is characterized by cold, windy winters and moist summers [33]
Summary
The increase in global temperature since the 20th century has had a major impact on natural systems [1]. Global warming will result in significant changes in species abundance and the distribution of mountain ecosystems at the mid–high latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere, where plant growth is mainly limited by temperature [2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10]. Forests 2019, 10, 416 extremely sensitive to climatic changes [11]. The drought and flood disasters caused by the interannual instability of the East Asia summer monsoon (EASM) have seriously affected the healthy development of agriculture and forest ecosystems [12,13]. Previous studies have shown that climate change in this region was associated with global land–sea atmospheric circulation and solar activities [14,15]. It is widely believed that the climate will get colder in periods of less solar activity (e.g., the “Little Ice Age” during AD 1450 and 1850) [16,17], while in a period of intense solar activity, the climate will become warmer
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