Signal Strength In Sub-Annual Tree-Ring Chronologies fromPinus ponderosaIn Northern New Mexico

Abstract

The creation of chronologies from intra-annual features in tree rings is increasingly utilized in dendrochronology to create season-specific climate histories, among other applications. A conifer latewood-width network has recently been developed for the southwestern United States, but considerable uncertainty remains in understanding site and species differences in signal strength and sample depth requirements. As part of the 22nd annual North American Dendroecological Fieldweek, the first Pinus ponderosa earlywood-width (EW) and latewood-width (LW) chronologies were developed for the Jemez Mountains in northern New Mexico. The aim was to extend an existing total ring-width (TW) chronology and to assess the potential for creating long LW chronologies. Analysis of chronology signal strength suggests that large sample size requirements remain a considerable hurdle for creating P. ponderosa LW chronologies longer than 400 years. At the Cat Mesa site, twenty-three sample trees were required to capture a statistically acceptable common signal in adjusted latewood (LW a), whereas only four samples were required for EW. This is significantly higher than sample depth requirements for LW a from the few other chronologies in the region where this statistic has been reported. A future priority should be to develop a conceptual guide for site and tree selection in order to maximize the potential for enhancing LW signal and for creating a robust network of multi-century LW chronologies.

Comparison of dendroclimatic relationships using multiple tree-ring indicators (tree-ring width andδ13C) from Masson pine

“…The pairwise correlation between EW and LW was tested. EW has a strong relationship with LW in our study, which supports the findings from another study in the southwestern United States [65]. This conclusion is also consistent with those for other tree species royalsocietypublishing.org/journal/rsos R. Soc.…”

Relative influences of multiple sources of uncertainty on cumulative and incremental tree-ring-derived aboveground biomass estimates

“…Multi-century and even multi-millennial tree-ring chronologies detail the seasonal and annual climate variability experienced by temperate, boreal, and alpine trees over the course of their lifespan (Mann et al 1998;Cook et al 2004;Griffin et al 2011;Williams et al 2012;Belmecheri et al 2015). For example, winter precipitation and summer temperature are the most influential growth factors for trees in semi-arid regions (Touchan et al 2011;Brice et al 2013; St. George and Ault 2014; St. George 2014) whereas forests in more mesic environments are most strongly influenced by summer precipitation (St. George et al 2010;St. George 2014).…”

Blue intensity parameters derived from Ponderosa pine tree rings characterize intra-annual density fluctuations and reveal seasonally divergent water limitations

“…Out of nine investigated BI parameters, peak height, width, and area showed the strongest common signal among trees as expressed by the Rbar. This common signal was weaker than those observed in EWW and TRW-which are characteristically high at sites from the US Southwest (Brice et al 2013)-but comparable to that found in LWW adj . As the latter parameter has been used for dendroclimatological purposes in this region (e.g.…”