Tree-ring-based temperature reconstruction for the Wolong Natural Reserve, western Sichuan Plateau of China

摘要

High-resolution tree-ring records covering past centuries in the western Sichuan Plateau of China are scarce, yet essential for developing a complete understanding of the regional patterns of climate change for the Tibetan plateau. This paper presents a temperature reconstruction for the Wolong Natural Reserve of the western Sichuan Plateau based on a tree-ring width chronology of a cypress species (Sabina saltuaria) endemic to the Tibetan plateau. The annual (prior October to current September) temperature reconstruction, which spans from 1840 to 2011, was developed using a linear regression model. The reconstruction explains 54.1% of the actual temperature variance during the calibration period from 1956 to 2010. The noteworthy warming periods of the reconstruction occurred between 1864-1882 and 1927-1960, while the most pronounced cold episodes were found between 1886-1926, 1788-1822, and 1961-1996. Spectral analysis revealed the existence of multi-decadal, decadal, and annual cycles that might correspond to the related cycles of Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation, solar activity, and ENSO-type variability, respectively.