Multimillennial records of climatic variation in the Sierra Nevada inferred from tree rings
Journal Article
·
· Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America
OSTI ID:95793
- Univ. of Arizona, Tucson, AZ (United States)
Temporally precise, regional reconstructions of climatic variation provide a context in which to interpret population dynamics of long-lived (> 1000 yr) species. We use tree-ring data from living trees and subfossil material in the Sierra Nevada and White Mountains to infer climatic variations over the last 3000 years. Tree growth of foxtail pine (Pinus balfouriana; upper treeline, Sierra Nevada) is influenced by summer temperature and winter precipitation. Tree growth of giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum; west slope, Sierra Nevada) is influenced by short-term fluctuations in precipitation, especially extremely dry years, while growth of bristlecone pine (Pinus longaeva; lower forest border, White Mountains) reflects both short- and long-term variation in precipitation. Summer temperatures anomalies include an extended warm period from A.D. 1100 to 1375 and a cold period from A.D. 1450 to 1850. The precipitation reconstruction indicates severe drought from A.D. 1021 to 1070 and A.D. 1249 to 1365. These results are corroborated by radiocarbon dates of submerged and re-exposed tree stump at Mono Lake indicating severe drought from A.D. 900 to 1100 and A.D. 1200 to 1350. Our ongoing work seeks to understand the influence of long-term climatic variation on population dynamics in the subalpine zone of the Sierra Nevada.
- OSTI ID:
- 95793
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-9507129--
- Journal Information:
- Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America, Journal Name: Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America Journal Issue: 2 Vol. 76; ISSN BECLAG; ISSN 0012-9623
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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