Tree‐ring based drought reconstruction in the central Hengduan Mountains region (China) since A.D. 1655

• Published in: International journal of climatology Vol. 28; no. 14; pp. 1879 - 1887
• Main Authors: Fan, Ze‐Xin, Bräuning, Achim, Cao, Kun‐Fang
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Chichester, UK John Wiley & Sons, Ltd 30.11.2008; Wiley
• Subjects: Bgi / Prodig; Climatic oscillations. Historical climates. Palaeoclimates; Climatology; Climatology. Bioclimatology. Climate change; dendroclimatology; Earth, ocean, space; Exact sciences and technology; External geophysics; Hengduan Mountains; Meteorology; PDSI; Physical geography; tree rings; Yunnan China; Far East; Asia; China; Yunnan; Dendroclimatology; Wet spell; Historical reconstruction; Hengduan Mountains; gymnosperms; Century 19th; Plantae; Century 17th; Century 18th; climate variability; Hydroclimatology; PDSI; Dynamical climatology; Century 20th; Response function; Correlation analysis; drought; Coniferales; Spermatophyta; Dry spell; tree rings; Dendrology; Spring (season); Twentieth Century; Climate reconstruction; Palaeoclimatology; Drought; Seventeenth Century
• ISSN: 0899-8418; 1097-0088
• DOI: 10.1002/joc.1689

We developed four tree ring‐width chronologies of three species (Picea likiangensis Pritz, Tsuga dumosa (D. Don) Eichler and Abies ernestii Rehd.) in the central Hengduan Mountains, north‐western Yunnan, China. Although the four chronologies come from different species, significant correlations exist among the chronologies (mean r = 0.47), and the first principal component accounts for 60.5% of total variance over their common period 1655–2005. Correlation and response function analyses showed that pre‐monsoon (March, April) precipitation and relative humidity and Palmer drought severity index (PDSI) have positive effects on radial growth, while temperature in March influences tree growth negatively. This indicates that tree growth is generally limited by spring‐moisture availability. The spring (March–May) drought reconstruction was verified with independent data, and accounts for 42% of the actual PDSI variance during their common period 1951–2000. Wet springs occurred during AD 1690s, 1715–1730, 1750s, 1780s, 1825–1850, 1900s, 1930–1960, and 1990–present. Dry springs occurred during AD 1700–1715, 1733–1745, 1790–1820, 1860–1890, 1910–1925, and 1960–1990. Copyright © 2008 Royal Meteorological Society