Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

European Tree Rings and Climate in the 16th Century

  • Published:
Climatic Change Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

We present a selective review of tree-ring variability and inferred climate changes in Europe during the 16th century. The dendroclimatological evidence is assessed within the context of the last 500 years and some interpretational problems are discussed. The tree-ring evidence is compared with various non-dendroclimatic evidence. The body of evidence shows that a large region of mid and northern Europe experienced a sharp cooling at around 1570/80 that, at least in the north, marked a shift towards a prolonged period of cool conditions. This region had its southern boundary in the Alps and there is little evidence for a major cooling in southern Europe.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Baillie, M.G.L. (1983) Is there a single British Isles oak tree-ring signal? (In) Proceedings of the 22nd Symposium on Archaeometry. Bradford 1982. University of Bradford.

  • Baillie, M.G.L. (1996) Dendrochronology provides an independent background for studies of the human past. (In) L'uomo e la Foresta Secc.XIII-XVIII (D. Cavaciocci, Ed.), 99-119. Atti della Ventisettesima Settimana di Studi 8-13 maggio 1995 Instituto Internazionale di Storia Economica “F. Datini”, Prato.

    Google Scholar 

  • Becker, M., Bräker, O.U., Kenk, G., Schneider, O. and Schweingruber, F.H. (1990) Kronenzustand Waldbäumen im Dreiländereck Deutschland-Frankreich-Schweiz in den letzten jahrzehnten. Allg.Forst-Jagdztg. 11, 267-274.

    Google Scholar 

  • Briffa, K.R., Jones, P.D., Bartholin, T.S., Eckstein, D., Schweingruber, F.H., Karlén, W., Zetterberg, P. and Eronen, M. (1992) Fennoscandian summers from A.D. 500: temperature changes on short and long timescales. Climate Dynamics 7, 111-119.

    Google Scholar 

  • Briffa, K.R., Jones, P.D., Schweingruber, F.H., Shiyatov, S.G. and Cook, E.R. (1995) Unusual twentieth-century summer warmth in a 1,000-year temperature record from Siberia. Nature 376, 156-159.

    Google Scholar 

  • Briffa, K.R., Jones, P.D., Schweingruber, F.H., Karlén, W. and Shiyatov, S.G. (1996) Tree-ring variables as proxy-indicators: problems with low-frequency signals (In) Climatic Variations and Forcing Mechanisms of the last 2000 Years (P.D. Jones, R.S. Bradley and J. Jouzel, Eds.), 9-41, Springer-Verlag, Berlin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Briffa, K.R., Schweingruber, F.H., Jones, P.D., Osborn, T.J., Shiyatov, S.G. and Vaganov, E.A. (1998) Reduced sensitivity of recent tree growth to temperatures at high northern latitudes. Nature 391, 678-682.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eckstein, D. and Aniol, R.W. (1981) Dendroclimatological reconstruction of the summer temperatures for an Alpine region. Mitteilungen der Forstlichen Bundesversuchsanstalt Wien 142, 391-398.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eckstein, D. and Bauch, J. (1969) Beitrag zur Rationalisierang eines dendrochronologischen Verfahrens and zur Analyse seiner Aussagesicherheit. Forstwiss.Cent.bl. 88, 230-250.

    Google Scholar 

  • Elling, W. (1993) Immisionen im Ursachenkomplex von Tannenschädigung and Tannensterben. Allg.Forst.Z. 48, 87-95.

    Google Scholar 

  • Guiot, J. (1992) The combination of historical documents and biological data in the reconstruction of climate variations in space and time. (In) European Climate Reconstructed from Documentary Data: Methods and Results (Ed. B. Frenzel with C. Pfister and B. Gläser), Paläoklimaforschung 7, 93-104.

  • Kelly, P.M., Munro, M.A.R., Hughes, M.K. and Goodess, C.M. (1989) Climate and signature years in west European oaks. Nature 340, 57-60.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kienast, F., Schweingruber, F.H., Bräker, O.U. and Schär, E. (1987) Tree-ring studies on conifers along ecological gradients and the potential of single-year analyses. Canadian Journal of Forest Research 17, 683-696.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lenz, O., Nogler, P. and Bräker, O.U. (1988) L'evolution et le dépérissement du sapin blanc dans la région de Berne. Institut Federal de Recherches Forestieres. Raport 303, 1-44.

    Google Scholar 

  • Manley, G. (1974) Central England temperatures: monthly means 1659 to 1973. Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society 100, 389-405.

    Google Scholar 

  • Müller-Stoll, H. (1951) Vergleichende Untersuchungen über die Abhängigkeit der Jahrringfolge von Holzart, Standort and Klima. Bibliotheca Botanica 122, 1-93.

    Google Scholar 

  • Parker, D.E., Legg, T.P, and Folland, C.K. (1992) A new daily Central England temperature series. International Journal of Climatology 12 , 317-342.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pfister, Ch. (1984) Das Klima der Schweiz von 1525-1860. Paul Haupt, Bern, 184pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pfister, Ch. (1992) Monthly temperature and precipitation in central Europe 1525-1979: quantifying documentary evidence on weather and its effects. (In) Climate Since A.D.1500 (R.S.Bradley and P.D. Jones, Eds.), 118-142. Routledge, London.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pfister, Ch. (1998) Wetternachhersage.500 Jahre Klimavariation and Naturkatastrophen 1496-1995. Paul Haupt, Bern (in press).

    Google Scholar 

  • Schweingruber, F.H. and Brila, K.R. (1996) Tree-ring density networks for climate reconstruction. (In) Climate Variations and Forcing Mechanisms of the Last 2000 Years (P.D.Jones, R.S. Bradley and J. Jouzel, Eds.), 43-66, Springer-Verlag, Berlin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schweingruber, F.H., Bartholin, T., Schär, B. and Briffa, K.R. (1988) Radiodensitometric-dendroclimatological conifer chronologies from Lapland (Scandinavia) and the Alps (Switzerland). Boreas 17,559-566.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schweingruber, F.H., Briffa, K.R. and Jones, P.D. (1992) Yearly maps of summer temperatures in western Europe from A.D. 1750 to 1975 and western North America from 1600 to 1982. Vegetatio 92 , 5-71.

    Google Scholar 

  • Serre-Bachet, F., Martinelli, N. Pignatelli, O., Guiot, J. and Tessier, L. (1991) Evolution des temperatures du nord-est de Italic depuis 1500 A.D. Reconstruction d'apres les cernes des arbres. Dendrochronologia 9 , 213-229.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tarussov, A. (1992) The arctic from Svalbard to Severnaya Zemlya: climatic reconstructions from ice cores. (In) Climate Since A.D.1500 (R.S.Bradley and P.D. Jones, Eds.), 505-516, Routledge, London.

    Google Scholar 

  • Waldner, Ph.O. and Schweingruber, F.H. (1996) Temperature influence on decennial tree-ring width and density fluctuations of subalpine and boreal conifers in western Europe since 1850 A.D. Dendrochronologia 14, 127-151.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Climatic Research Unit, University of East Anglia, Norwich, NR4 7TJ, U.K.

    K.R. Briffa & P.D. Jones

  2. Snow and Landscape Research, Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Zürcherstrasse 111, CH-8903, Birmensdorf, Switzerland

    R.B. Vogel & F.H. Schweingruber

  3. Palaeoecology Centre, School of Geosciences, Queen's University, Belfast, BT7 1NN, U.K.

    M.G.L. Baillie

  4. Institute of Plant and Animal Ecology, Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 8 Marta Street, Ekaterinburg, 620219, Russia

    S.G. Shiyatov

  5. Institute of Forest, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Krasnoyarsk, 660036, Russia

    E.A. Vaganov

Authors
  1. K.R. Briffa
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. P.D. Jones
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. R.B. Vogel
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. F.H. Schweingruber
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. M.G.L. Baillie
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. S.G. Shiyatov
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. E.A. Vaganov
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Briffa, K., Jones, P., Vogel, R. et al. European Tree Rings and Climate in the 16th Century. Climatic Change 43, 151–168 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1005529830082

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1005529830082

Keywords

Search

Navigation