Wet season precipitation during the past century reconstructed from tree-rings of a tropical dry forest in Southern Ecuador

摘要

This study investigates the dendroclimatic potential of tree species in a tropical dry forest in southern Ecuador. From 10 selected tree species, Bursera graveolens and Maclura tinctoria exhibited distinct annual and cross-datable tree-rings. It was possible to synchronize individual tree-ring series and to establish two tree-ring chronologies of 203 and 87 years length, respectively. The characteristic ENSO frequency band is reflected in wavelet power spectra of both chronologies. Both species show a strong correlation between ring width and precipitation of the wet season (January-May). Strong El Nino events (1972, 1983 and 1998) lead to strong growth responses in the tree-ring chronologies, whereas 'normal' ENSO events do not trigger long-lasting growth responses. The first ring-width based wet-season precipitation reconstruction for the past 103 years was developed. Statistical and spatial correlation analysis verified the skills of the reconstructed precipitation which captures a great part of the Rainfall Index over the land area of Ecuador and the equatorial Pacific. Furthermore, teleconnections with central Pacific precipitation and SST patterns were found. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.