Abstract
To extend the historical temperature record in the permafrost region of Northeast China, we reconstruct the regional ground surface temperature (GST) for the past four centuries based on a network of Dahurian larch (Larix gmelinii Rupr.) tree-ring width chronologies. Seven standard tree-ring chronologies, which correlate well with each other, are averaged to create a regional mean chronology. GST is the major limiting factor for tree growth in this region. The optimum range of GSTs is from 30 May to 26 August (summer GST), identified by combining the days on which tree growth was strongly influenced by the daily GST data. The summer GST was significantly correlated with the regional mean chronology (r = 0.704, p < 0.001) over the common period 1971–2008 and was reconstructed for the period 1587–2008. The reconstructed GST accounts for 49.4% of the actual variance in the GST over the period 1971–2008 and captures four warm periods (1597–1603, 1716–1723, 1781–1788, and 1925–1929) and three cold periods (1639–1647, 1686–1711, and 1799–1805). The reconstructed GST is consistent with the northern hemisphere temperature in the Little Ice Age, and the warming rate from 1857 to 2008 is similar to a previously reported temperature reconstruction in the Xiao Xing’an Mountains. The low frequency of the reconstructed GST is well matched with that of the permafrost thawing depth. The reconstructed GST represents the longest temperature record in this study region and may be used as a reference for the permafrost thawing depth.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Baltzer JL, Veness T, Chasmer LE, Sniderhan AE, Quinton WL (2014) Forests on thawing permafrost: fragmentation, edge effects, and net forest loss. Glob Chang Biol 20(3):824–834
Carrer M, Castagneri D, Prendin AL, Petit G, von Arx G (2017) Retrospective analysis of wood anatomical traits reveals a recent extension in tree cambial activity in two high-elevation conifers. Front Plant Sci 8:737. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2017.00737
Chen Z, He X, Davi NK, Zhang X (2016) A 258-year reconstruction of precipitation for southern Northeast China and the northern Korean peninsula. Clim Chang 139:1–14
Chen Z, Zhang X, He X, Davi NK, Cui M, Peng J (2013) Extension of summer (June–August) temperature records for northern Inner Mongolia (1715–2008), China using tree rings. Quatern Int 283:21–29
Cook ER, D’Arrigo RD, Mann ME (2002) A well-verified, multiproxy reconstruction of the winter North Atlantic Oscillation index since AD 1400. J Clim 15:1754–1764
Cook ER, Meko DM, Stahle DW, Cleaveland MK (1999) Drought reconstructions for the continental United States. J Clim 12:1145–1162
Cook ER, Holmes RL (1986) Users manual for program ARSTAN. Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research, University of Arizona, Tucson, USA
D’Arrigo R, Wilson R, Jacoby G (2006) On the long-term context for late twentieth century warming. J Geophys Res Atmos 111:375–402
Gauthier S, Bernier P, Kuuluvainen T, Shvidenko AZ, Schepaschenko DG (2015) Boreal forest health and global change. Science 349(6250):819–822
Holmes RL (1983) Computer-assisted quality control in tree-ring dating and measurement. Tree-Ring Bull 44:69–75
Jin H, Li SX, Cheng GD, Wang S, Li X (2000) Permafrost and climatic change in China. Glob Planet Chang 26:387–404
Lyu S, Li Z, Zhang Y, Wang X (2016) A 414-year tree-ring-based April-July minimum temperature reconstruction and its implications for the extreme climate events, Northeast China. Clim Past 12:1879–1888
Mcconnell NA, Turetsky MR, Mcguire AD, Kane ES, Waldrop MP, Harden JW (2013) Controls on ecosystem and root respiration across a permafrost and wetland gradient in interior Alaska. Environ Res Lett 8(4):045029. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/8/4/045029
Osborn TJ, Biffa KR, Jones PD (1997) Adjusting variance for sample-size in tree-ring chronologies and other regional-mean timeseries. Dendrochronologia 15:89–99
Osawa A, Zyryanova OA, Matsuura Y, Kajimoto T, Wein RW (2010) Permafrost ecosystems: Siberian larch forests, 209 edn. Springer Science & Business Media
Sugimoto A, Yanagisawa N, Naito D, Fujita N, Maximov TC (2002) Importance of permafrost as a source of water for plants in east Siberian taiga. Ecol Res 17(4):493–503
Vitt DH, Halsey LA, Zoltai SC (2000) The changing landscape of Canada’s western boreal forest: the current dynamics of permafrost. Can J For Res 30(2):283–287
Wigley TML, Briffa KR, Jones PD (1984) On the average value of correlated time series, with applications in dendroclimatology and hydrometeorology. J Clim Appl Meteorol 23:201–213
Yang ZP, Yang HO, Xu XL, Lin Z, Song MH, Zhou CP (2010) Effects of permafrost degradation on ecosystems. Acta Ecol Sin 30:33–39
Yi L, Yu H, Ge J, Lai Z, Xu X, Qin L, Peng S (2012) Reconstructions of annual summer precipitation and temperature in north-central China since 1470 AD based on drought/flood index and tree-ring records. Clim Chang 110:469–498
Zhang, T. (1998) Global Annual Freezing and Thawing Indices, Version 1. [Indicate subset used]. Boulder, Colorado USA. NSIDC: National Snow and Ice Data Center. https://doi.org/10.5067/TT6J3BH5YSSR. [Date Accessed]
Zhang T, Yuan Y, Wei W, Yu S, Zhang R, Shang H, Chen F, Fan Z, Qin L (2013) Tree-ring-based temperature reconstruction for the northern Greater Higgnan Mountains, China, since A.D. 1717. Int J Climatol 33:422–429
Zhang X, He X, Li J, Davi N, Chen Z, Cui M, Chen W, Li N (2011) Temperature reconstruction (1750-2008) from Dahurian larch tree-rings in an area subject to permafrost in Inner Mongolia, Northeast China. Clim Res 47:151–159
Zhang X, Yan X (2014) Spatiotemporal change in geographical distribution of global climate types in the context of climate warming. Clim Dyn 43:595–605
Zhang X, Yan X, Chen Z (2016) Reconstruct regional mean climate with Bayesian model averaging: a case study for temperature reconstruction in the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, China. J Clim 29:5355–5361
Acknowledgments
We thank Neil Pederson at Harvard Forest for his valuable suggestions.
Funding
This work was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41571094, 41601045, and 31570632).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Zhang, X., Bai, X., Hou, M. et al. Reconstruction of the regional summer ground surface temperature in the permafrost region of Northeast China from 1587 to 2008. Climatic Change 148, 519–531 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-018-2212-4
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-018-2212-4