Tree-ring-based moisture variability in western Tianshan Mountains since A.D. 1882 and its possible driving mechanism

Zhang, Ruibo; Yuan, Yanbin; Gou, Xiaohua; He, Qing; Shang, Huaming; Zhang, Tongwen; Chen, Feng; Ermenbaev, Bakytbek; Yu, Shulong; Qin, Li; Zhai, Fan

doi:10.1016/j.agrformet.2015.12.067

Cited by 56 publications

(42 citation statements)

References 47 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…4, the extreme drought years in the inner Tianshan Mountains were 1702, 1704, 1733, 1768, 1775, 1778, 1830, 1864, 1917, 1945, 1985 and 1995, when the PDSI was lower than the mean À2r (standard deviation). In particular, 1917 was the driest year during that time-span , as shown by the precipitation/PDSI/SPEI records reconstructed for the Tianshan Mountains in previous dendroclimatology studies (Yuan et al 2000(Yuan et al , 2001(Yuan et al , 2003Li et al 2006;Wei et al 2008;Chen et al 2013;Zhang et al 2016aZhang et al , 2017. In particular, 1917 was the driest year during that time-span , as shown by the precipitation/PDSI/SPEI records reconstructed for the Tianshan Mountains in previous dendroclimatology studies (Yuan et al 2000(Yuan et al , 2001(Yuan et al , 2003Li et al 2006;Wei et al 2008;Chen et al 2013;Zhang et al 2016aZhang et al , 2017.…”

Section: Three Centuries Of Drought Variability In the Pdsimentioning

confidence: 74%

“…The Wusun Mountains are located in the inner Tianshan Mountains and belong to the Yili River Basin. Studies have shown that tree ring formation in Schrenk spruce growing in arid and semiarid mountainous environments is sensitive to moisture/ precipitation and tree rings in such areas are very suitable for reconstructing past hydroclimatic change (Zhang et al 2016a, b). However, meteorological stations were not installed in this area until the 1950s, which limits the analysis of long-term climate trends.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Wu et al (2013) detected divergence in climate-growth relationships of Schrenk spruce and also compared low-frequency and high-frequency variations. In the same region, Zhang et al (2016aZhang et al ( , 2017 reconstructed precipitation and moisture variability on a centennial time scale using tree rings. Due to their wide spatial distribution, annual resolution, calendar-exact dating and climate sensitivity, tree rings play an important role in reconstructing past environmental and climatic changes over the past millennium on regional, hemispheric and even global scales.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Past changes of spring drought in the inner Tianshan Mountains, China, as recorded by tree rings

Zhang

Yuan

et al. 2017

Boreas

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Drought is a common natural disaster in arid Central Asia, and the severity and frequency of drought and other hydroclimatic events are critical to the region's ecology and its residents' livelihoods. In particular, water resource management requires reliable knowledge of climatic variability and annual and centennial drought patterns. In this paper, we establish a 587-year tree ring chronology using 215 Schrenk spruce (Picea schrenkiana Fisch. et Mey) samples and reconstruct a spring Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI) for the inner Tianshan Mountains spanning the 1645-2008 period. The reconstruction explains 40.3% of the variance during the sub-period for which we also have reliable observational data . Cross-validation during this common period also supports our reconstruction model. Spatial correlation analyses with gridded PDSI data show that our PDSI reconstruction reveals a strong regional drought signal for the central and western Tianshan Mountains.

show abstract

Section: Three Centuries Of Drought Variability In the Pdsimentioning

confidence: 74%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Past changes of spring drought in the inner Tianshan Mountains, China, as recorded by tree rings

Zhang

Yuan

et al. 2017

Boreas

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In addition, the 2-3-yr cycle that can also be identified in arid Central Asia (Huang et al, 2013), is linked to variations of the westerly circulation in the middle troposphere, which may indicate that our reconstructed maximum snow depth variability might have some teleconnections with oscillations of the landatmosphere-ocean circulation systems. Furthermore, these high-frequency cycles can often be found in den- droclimatic studies of the Tianshan Mountains (e.g., Zhang et al, 2009Zhang et al, , 2013Zhang et al, , 2015bZhang et al, , 2016 and other arid and semiarid sites in northwestern China (Liang et al, 2009;Chen et al, 2011;Liu et al, 2011). The decadal-scale cycles of 14.0 yr falls within the range of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (Minobe, 1997;Mantua and Hare, 2002) and Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (Gray et al, 2004;Mann et al, 2009 …”

Section: Characteristics Of Maximum Snow Depth Over the Past Two Centmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…et Mey) forests at 1700-3200 m in the Tianshan Mountains. Previous studies have shown that the tree-ring growth of the Schrenk spruce, grown in arid and semiarid mountainous environments, is sensitive to climate and thus is suitable for the reconstruction of past climate change Zhang et al, 2009Zhang et al, , 2013Zhang et al, , 2015bZhang et al, , 2016Chen et al, 2011).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tree-Ring Response to Snow Cover and Reconstruction of Century annual Maximum Snow Depth for Northern Tianshan Mountains, China

et al. 2016

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Heavy snowfall and extreme snow depth cause serious losses of human life and property in the northern Tianshan Mountains almost every winter. Snow cover is an important indicator of climate change. In this study, we developed five tree-ring-width chronologies of Schrenk spruce (Picea schrenkiana Fisch. et Mey) from the northern Tianshan Mountains using standard dendrochronological methods. Correlation analyses indicated that radial growth of trees in the northern Tianshan Mountains is positively affected by annual maximum snow depth. This relationship was validated and models of annual maximum snow depth back to the 18 th century were developed. The reconstruction explains 48.3% of the variance in the instrumental temperature records during the 1958/59-2003/04 calibration periods. It indicates that quasi-periodic changes exist on 2.0-4.0-yr, 5.3-yr, 14.0-yr, and 36.0-yr scales. The reconstructed series shows that maximum snow depth exhibits obvious stages change, the periods characterized by lower maximum snow depth were 1809/10-1840/41, 1873/74-1893/94, 1909/10-1929/30, 1964/65-1981/82, and the periods characterized by higher maximum snow depth were 1841/42-1872/73, 1894/95-1908/09, 1930/31-1963/64, and 1982/83-present. The lower period of annual maximum snow depth during the 1920s-1930s is consistent with the severe drought that occurred at this time in northern China. From the 1970s to the present, the maximum snow depth has increased clearly with the change to a warmer and wetter climate in Xinjiang. The reconstruction sheds new light on snow cover variability and change in a region where the climate history for the past several centuries is poorly understood.

show abstract

Tree‐ring‐based precipitation reconstruction in southern Kazakhstan, reveals drought variability since A.D. 1770

Zhang

Shang

et al. 2016

Intl Journal of Climatology

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In this article, we developed a tree‐ring‐width chronology of Schrenk spruce (Picea schrenkiana Fisch. et Mey) in southern Kazakhstan. Climate‐growth response result showed that the precipitation from the previous June to current May was the principal limited factor of radial growth. We also obtained a 246‐year reconstruction of June–May precipitation in southern Kazakhstan. The reconstruction explains 39.7% of the variance in precipitation records during the 1902–2013 calibration periods. In addition, the precipitation over the past 246 years in southern Kazakhstan has experienced six wetter periods and seven drier ones, and the extreme drought years were 1837, 1879, 1917 and 1945. From 1985 to 2004, precipitation has experienced longer and more rapid wetting, but the trend of precipitation has decreased in the past few years. The reconstructed series of precipitation is consistent with the historic precipitation/Palmer Drought Severity Index of the western Tianshan Mountains. Here, high precipitation variability occurred during 1770–1800 and 1900‐present, while 1800–1900 was relatively calm. Meanwhile, there was large power in the 2‐ to 7‐year short‐period and over the 34‐ to 35‐ and 40‐ to 43‐year long‐periods. We suggest the precipitation variability may be associated with large‐scale oscillations in the climate system. The reconstruction sheds new light on precipitation variability and the changes in a region where the climate history over the past several centuries is poorly understood.

show abstract

Tree-ring-based moisture variability in western Tianshan Mountains since A.D. 1882 and its possible driving mechanism

Cited by 56 publications

References 47 publications

Past changes of spring drought in the inner Tianshan Mountains, China, as recorded by tree rings

Past changes of spring drought in the inner Tianshan Mountains, China, as recorded by tree rings

Tree-Ring Response to Snow Cover and Reconstruction of Century annual Maximum Snow Depth for Northern Tianshan Mountains, China

Tree‐ring‐based precipitation reconstruction in southern Kazakhstan, reveals drought variability since A.D. 1770

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About