Reconstruction of spring phenology and temperature in Beijing, China, from A.D. 1741 to 1832

Abstract

ABSTRACTIn this study, 89 records of spring phenophases of plants and lake melting dates in Beijing from A.D. 1741 to 1832 were extracted from the poems written by the Qianlong, Jiaqing, and Daoguang emperors during the Qing Dynasty. Based on a phenology transformation model, all of these spring phenological records were converted into the first blooming date of Amygdalus davidiana for A.D. 1741–1832. Then, a springtime temperature anomaly series for A.D. 1741–1832 was reconstructed based on modern (1951–1980) correlation between the first blooming date of A. davidiana and the mean springtime (March–May) temperature. The main results are as follows. (1) The spring phenological and temperature series for Beijing were successfully dated back to A.D. 1741. (2) A.D. 1790 was the turning point of the spring phenology change between 1741 and 1832; specifically, the average first blooming date of A. davidiana had advanced by 4.84 days compared to the present (A.D. 1951–1980), during 1741 to 1789, and was delayed by 0.14 days during 1790 to 1832. (3) The mean springtime temperature in A.D. 1741–1789 was about 0.48 °C warmer than the present (A.D. 1951–1980) in Beijing. (4) The annual‐scale variation of the phenological series during A.D. 1790–1832 was greater than that in A.D. 1741–1789.