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Special Issue "Changes of Climate and Ecology Recorded by Density and Stable Isotopes of Tree Rings"

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A special issue of Forests (ISSN 1999-4907). This special issue belongs to the section "Forest Meteorology and Climate Change".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 18 March 2024 | Viewed by 4253

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Changfeng Sun

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Guest Editor

Institute of Global Environmental Change, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China
Interests: tree ring; climate change; stable isotope; hydroclimate; NDVI

Dr. Linlin Gao
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

College of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China
Interests: tree ring; forest ecology

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Under global warming, it is very important to fully understand climate change and its role in the ecological environment. In recent years, the frequent occurrence of extreme climate disasters has had an important impact on economic development and ecological protection. As an important part of the ecosystem, especially the forest system, the radial growth of trees is significantly affected by climate changes and their growth status can also reflect ecological changes to a certain extent. Therefore, tree rings have become an important tool to study climate and ecological changes and their relationship. Tree-ring indices (such as width, density and stable isotopes) can directly record climate changes and indirectly reflect the changes in the ecological environment. In addition, tree-ring xylem anatomy (such as the size, density and wall thickness of vessels or tracheids) records climate signals different from traditional tree-ring indices and can explain the relationship between ring and climate physiologically.

This Special Issue encourages the research on the changes in climate and ecology recorded by tree-ring width, density, stable isotopes and wood anatomy, and also accepts the research on the physiological analysis of the relationship between tree ring and climate, the research on the relationship among tree-ring indices, and the work on new methods of tree-ring experimental analysis and data processing.

Dr. Changfeng Sun
Dr. Linlin Gao
Guest Editors

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Keywords

climate change
forest ecology
tree rings
stable isotope
wood anatomy
treeline
vegetation coverage
dendrochronology

Published Papers (5 papers)

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16 pages, 5110 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Drought Variations in the Yili Basin, Northwest China since AD 1673 Based on Tree-Ring Width

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Forests 2023, 14(11), 2127; https://doi.org/10.3390/f14112127 - 25 Oct 2023

Viewed by 714

Abstract

The Yili Basin represents a typical region influenced by the Westerlies, and as a result of the substantial precipitation delivered by these winds, it has emerged as a significant hub for agricultural and animal husbandry activities in Central Asia. This study established a 419-year tree-ring width chronology, utilizing living Picea schrenkiana samples from two sampling sites in the Yili Basin. Correlation analysis showed that the standard tree-ring width chronology had the best correlation with the Palmer Drought Severity Index from the previous August to the current May (PDSI_P8C5) (r = 0.614, n = 59, p < 0.001). Therefore, we reconstructed PDSI_P8C5 variations from 1673 to 2018. The reconstruction results reveal eight wet and seven dry periods during the past 346 years. In the reconstructed series, droughts are particularly pronounced around 1770 and 1920, and the PDSI shows a significant long-term wetting trend since the 1980s. The solar activity, North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), and Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO) jointly influenced the regional moisture variation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Changes of Climate and Ecology Recorded by Density and Stable Isotopes of Tree Rings)

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17 pages, 4218 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Responses of Tree Growth and Intrinsic Water Use Efficiency to Climate Factors and Human Activities in Upper Reaches of Tarim River in Alaer, Xinjiang, China

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Forests 2023, 14(9), 1873; https://doi.org/10.3390/f14091873 - 14 Sep 2023

Viewed by 563

Abstract

With global warming and increasing human activities, exploring the impact of the rising atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration and climate change on forest ecosystems is crucial. In this study, we focus on Euphrates poplar (Populus euphratica Oliv.) in the upper reaches of the Tarim River in the Alaer region of Xinjiang. We use dendrochronological methods, tree-ring width, and stable carbon isotope series to explain basal area increment (BAI) and intrinsic water use efficiency (iWUE) changes. We further explore the influence of past climate change and human activities on the radial growth and iWUE of P. euphratica through stable oxygen isotope analysis combined with historical literature records. The results showed that relative humidity had an essential effect on Δ¹³C and δ¹⁸O fractionation in P. euphratica tree rings, whereas the vapor pressure deficit (VPD) was considered the main factor influencing the inter-annual variability of the iWUE and BAI. Since 1850, long-term variations in iWUE have exhibited an upward trajectory correlated with rising atmospheric CO₂ levels. Approximately 13% of this iWUE increase can be attributed to changes in carbon-concentration-induced water use efficiency (^cciWUE). Although Δ¹³C and δ¹⁸O were generally uncorrelated between 1850 and 2018, around 1918, their relationship changed from being weakly correlated to being significantly negatively correlated, which may record changes related to the upstream Tarim River diversion. During the period from 1850 to 2018, both the BAI and iWUE showed an increasing trend for P. euphratica growth; however, the relationship between them was not stable: during 1850–1958, both variables were mainly influenced by climatic factors, while during 1959–2018, the most important influence was due to human activities, specifically agricultural development and irrigation diversions. An abrupt surge in the BAI was observed from 1959 to 1982, reaching its peak around 1982. Surprisingly, post-1983, the escalating iWUE did not correspond with a continuation of this upward trajectory in the BAI, highlighting a divergence from the previous trend where the enhanced iWUE no longer facilitated the growth of P. euphratica. Despite P. euphratica having adapted to the continuously rising C_a, improving its iWUE and growth capacity, this adaptive ability is unstable and may easily be affected by human activities. Overall, the increase in C_a has increased the iWUE of P. euphratica and promoted its growth at a low frequency, while human activities have promoted its development at a high frequency. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Changes of Climate and Ecology Recorded by Density and Stable Isotopes of Tree Rings)

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14 pages, 6124 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A 250-Year Winter Minimum Temperature Reconstruction Based on Tree Rings from Luoji Mountain, Southwest China

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Forests 2023, 14(8), 1555; https://doi.org/10.3390/f14081555 - 29 Jul 2023

Viewed by 531

Abstract

Annually resolved temperature records spanning the past few centuries are limited in Southwest China. In this paper, we present a robust 250-year winter minimum temperature reconstruction based on the tree rings of Abies georgei Orr from Luoji Mountain, Southwest China. The tree rings exhibit significant correlations with winter minimum temperatures (Tmin) from the previous November to the current March (pNov–cMar). Based on this relationship, we reconstructed pNov-cMar Tmin from 1765 to 2014. This reconstruction accounts for 37.8% of the Tmin variance during the instrumental 1960–2014 period. Our reconstruction reveals five warm periods (1765–1785, 1795–1804, 1827–1883, 1901–1907, 1989–2014) and four cold periods (1786–1794, 1805–1826, 1884–1900, 1908–1988) over the past 250 years. Spectral analyses revealed several significant interannual (2.3–2.4a, 3.9–4.2a, 8.9–9.7a) and interdecadal (23.0–28.9a) cycles in our reconstruction series. Both spatial correlation analysis and the inter-comparison of paleoclimate records revealed that the winter Tmin reconstruction had significant positive correlations with the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO), with relatively consistent warm and cold periods in their variations over the past 250 years. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Changes of Climate and Ecology Recorded by Density and Stable Isotopes of Tree Rings)

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16 pages, 4028 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A 195-Year Growing Season Relative Humidity Reconstruction Using Tree-Ring Cellulose δ¹³C in the Upper Tarim River Basin, NW China

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Forests 2023, 14(4), 682; https://doi.org/10.3390/f14040682 - 26 Mar 2023

Viewed by 958

Abstract

Reconstruction of relative humidity changes in the upper Tarim River using carbon isotopic tree-ring chronology bridges the gap in historical observations on the Tarim River Basin in Arid Central Asia. Populus euphratica Olivier (P. euphratica), growing in the Tarim River Basin of Xinjiang, is an excellent record of past climate change. Based on precise dating, we analysed alpha-cellulose stable carbon isotopes in four cores of P. euphratica taken from the Alaer region of the upper Tarim River Basin. The four stable carbon isotope series records were corrected by the “pin method” and then combined into a carbon isotopic discrimination (Δ¹³C) series by the “numerical mix method”. The discrimination (Δ¹³C) series were clearly correlated with the mean relative humidity (RH_AS) in April–September of the growing season (n = 60, r = −0.78, p < 0.001), and according to the climate response analysis, we designed a simple regression equation to reconstruct the mean relative humidity (RH_AS) in April–September from 1824 to 2018 on the Alaer region. The reconstructed sequence showed mainly dry periods in the last 195 years, 1857–1866 and 1899–1907, while primarily wet periods from 1985 to 2016. Due to increased global warming and human activities, the climate shifted from “warm–dry” to “warm–wet” in the mid-to-late 1980s, when there were signs of a shift from “warm–wet” to “warm–dry” in the 2010s, with an increasing trend towards aridity. The RH_AS series of Alaer compares well to other hydroclimate series’ surrounding the research area, and the spatial correlation analysis indicates that the reconstructed series has good regional representativeness. On an interdecadal scale, the revamped RH_AS series is positively correlated with the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO) and negatively correlated with the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), reflecting the influence of westerly circulation on regional wet and dry variability. At the same time, the RH_AS may also be influenced by The Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO). Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Changes of Climate and Ecology Recorded by Density and Stable Isotopes of Tree Rings)

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13 pages, 4398 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Water Stress-Induced Divergence Growth of Picea schrenkiana in the Western Tianshan and Its Forcing Mechanisms

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Forests 2023, 14(2), 354; https://doi.org/10.3390/f14020354 - 10 Feb 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 992

Abstract

Since the 1950s, divergence problems have reduced the temporal stability of tree rings in response to climate, shaken the foundations of dendroclimatology, and affected the reliability of reconstructed models based on tree rings and the accuracy of historical climate series. Therefore, it is of great importance to investigate divergence problems, which will help us to better understand the growth strategies of trees in response to climate warming and provide a scientific basis for accurate climate reconstruction and simulation of forest dynamics. This paper aims to elucidate the mechanism of divergent growth of Picea schrenkiana at high altitudes in the western Tianshan from three aspects: variations in atmospheric circulation, changes in climatic factors, and the coping strategy of trees with climate change. High spring temperatures accelerate the melting of snow cover. Large amounts of snowmelt initially replenish soil water, leading to the rapid growth of trees, but later, the continuous consumption of snowmelt reduces the available water capacity of soil, resulting in water stress on trees. The pattern of trees’ response to changes in climate ranges from a pure temperature limitation to a collaborative temperature–moisture limitation. Since the 1990s, the weakening of the westerly circulation and the North Atlantic Oscillation has reduced their impacts on the hydroclimate in the Tianshan Mountains of Central Asia. The combination of heat-induced water deficit and a long-term weakening trend in atmospheric circulation has slowed tree growth over the past decade. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Changes of Climate and Ecology Recorded by Density and Stable Isotopes of Tree Rings)

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