Register      Login
Australian Journal of Botany Australian Journal of Botany Society
Southern hemisphere botanical ecosystems
Shopping Cart: ( empty )
You are here: Home > Journals > BT > BT09222
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 58(3)

Climate relationships with tree-ring width and δ13C of three Callitris species from semiarid woodlands in south-western Australia

Ciaran Sgherza A , Louise E. Cullen A and Pauline F. Grierson A B
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Ecosystems Research Group, School of Plant Biology M090, University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley WA 6009, Australia.

B Corresponding author. Email: Pauline.Grierson@uwa.edu.au

Australian Journal of Botany 58(3) 175-187 https://doi.org/10.1071/BT09222
Submitted: 26 November 2009  Accepted: 23 February 2010   Published: 5 May 2010

Abstract

Proxy measures of climate based on tree rings can allow reconstruction of climate back past the limit of instrumental records, thereby improving understanding of natural climate variability. We assessed the dendroclimatic potential of tree-ring widths and δ13C of three broadly co-occurring species of Callitris in south-western Western Australia. Ring width chronologies of C. columellaris F.Muell., C. canescens (Parl.) S.T. Blake and C. preissii Miq. met standard measures of dendrochronological acceptability. For all three species, the Expressed Population Signal (EPS) was >0.93 and mean correlations between series in each chronology was >0.79. In contrast, δ13C chronologies were of poorer statistical quality (EPS ranged 0.59 to 0.88, mean correlations ranged 0.33 to 0.65) with both less year-to-year and lower-frequency information (lower mean sensitivity and standard deviation values). The dominant climatic signal in the ring width chronologies was related to rainfall and was strongest over the March–September season (correlations ranged 0.27 to 0.70, all P < 0.05). Consistent with the poorer quality of the δ13C chronologies compared with those from ring widths, tree-ring δ13C was also less strongly correlated with rainfall and rarely significant (P = 0.05). The weaker δ13C correlations may be due to a strong water conservation strategy by Callitris. Our analysis of the whole ring rather than latewood and low sampling effort may also have dampened the δ13C response. However, combining the ring width and δ13C chronologies using Principal Components Analysis did not enhance the extraction of a climatic signal. While the variance explained by the first principal component (PC) was high for all three species (76 to 87%), correlations between the first PC and rainfall were not stronger than for ring widths alone. Tree-ring δ13C, in conjunction with δ18O in particular, may nevertheless provide insight into physiological responses of Callitris to climate variation. However, dendroclimatic studies using Callitris to develop past rainfall records should focus on developing chronologies from ring widths. Further effort to find sites with old trees (250 years or more) should be undertaken and are likely to provide much needed information on past rainfall in Australia.


Acknowledgements

This study was partly financed by a grant from the Hermon Slade Foundation. We thank Lidia Bednarek and Doug Ford from the West Australian Biogeochemistry Centre at UWA for assistance in isotope analyses and Patrick Baker for comments on the manuscript.


References


Akkemik Ü, Dagdeviren N, Aras A (2005) A preliminary reconstruction (A.D. 1635–2000) of spring precipitation using oak tree-rings in the western Black Sea region of Turkey. International Journal of Biometeorology 49, 297–302.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | PubMed | open url image1

Ash J (1983) Tree rings in tropical Callitris macleayana F. Muell. Australian Journal of Botany 31, 277–281.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Baker PJ, Palmer JG, D’Arrigo RD (2008) The dendrochronology of Callitris intratropica in northern Australia: annual ring structure, chronology development and climate correlations. Australian Journal of Botany 56, 311–320.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Banks J , Pulsford I (2001) Dendrochronology of Australian cypress pines. In ‘Perfumed Pineries – Environmental History of Australia’s Callitris Forests’. (Eds. J Dargavel, D Hart, B Libbs). pp. 30–38. (Centre for Resource and Environmental Studies: Australian National University)

Barber VA, Juday GP, Finney BP, Wilmking M (2004) Reconstruction of summer temperatures in interior Alaska from tree-ring proxies: evidence for changing synoptic climate regimes. Climatic Change 63, 91–120.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Barbour MM, Walcroft AS, Farquhar GD (2002) Seasonal variation in δ13C and δ18O of cellulose from growth rings of Pinus radiata. Plant, Cell & Environment 25, 1483–1499.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Biondi F, Waikul K (2004) DENDROCLIM2002: A C++ program for statistical calibration of climate signals in tree-ring chronologies. Computers & Geosciences 30, 303–311.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Bowman DMJS , Harris S (1995) Conifers of Australia’s dry forests and open woodlands. In ‘Ecology of the Southern conifers’. (Eds NJ Enright, RS Hill) pp. 252–270. (Melbourne University Press: Melbourne)

Briffa KR (1984) Tree-climate relationships and dendroclimatological reconstruction in the British Isles. PhD Thesis, University of East Anglia.

Briffa KR, Jones PD, Schweingruber FH (1988) Summer temperature patterns over Europe: A reconstruction from 1750 A.D. based on maximum latewood density indices of conifers. Quaternary Research 30, 36–52.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Brookhouse M (2006) Eucalypt dendrochronology: past, present and potential. Australian Journal of Botany 54, 435–449.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Brookhouse M, Lindesay J, Brack C (2008) The potential of tree rings in Eucalyptus pauciflora for climatological and hydrological reconstruction. Geographical Research 46, 421–434.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Buckley BM, Cook ER, Peterson MJ, Barbetti M (1997) A changing temperature response with elevation for Lagarostrobus franklinii in Tasmania, Australia. Climatic Change 36, 477–498.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Buckley BM, Wilson RJS, Kelly PE, Larson DW, Cook ER (2004) Inferred summer precipitation for southern Ontario back to AD 610, as reconstructed from ring widths of Thuja occidentalis. Canadian Journal of Forest Research 34, 2541–2553.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Buckley B, Palakit K, Duangsathaporn K, Sanguantham P, Prasomsin P (2007) Decadal scale droughts over northwestern Thailand over the past 448 years: links to the tropical Pacific and Indian Ocean sectors. Climate Dynamics 29, 63–71.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Chhin S, Wang GG, Tardiff J (2004) Dendroclimatic analysis of white spruce at its southern limit of distribution in the Spruce Woods Provincial Park, Manitoba, Canada. Tree-Ring Research 60, 31–43.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Cook ER (1985) A Time Series Approach to Tree Ring Standardization. PhD Thesis, University of Arizona.

Cook ER , Briffa K (1990) Data analysis. In ‘Methods of Dendrochronology’. (Eds ER Cook, LA Kairiukstis) pp. 97–162. (International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis: The Netherlands)

Cook ER , Kariukstis LA (Eds) (1990) ‘Methods of dendrochronology: applications in the environmental sciences.’ (Kluwer Academic Publishers and International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis: Dordrecht)

Cook ER , Krusic PJ (2006) ARSTAN40c. (Tree-Ring Laboratory, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory: New York)

Cook ER, Bird T, Peterson M, Barbetti M, Buckley B, D’Arrigo RD, Francey R (1992) Climatic change over the last millennium in Tasmania reconstructed from tree-rings. The Holocene 2(3), 205–217.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Cook ER, Buckley BM, D’Arrigo RD, Peterson MJ (2000) Warm-season temperatures since 1600 BC reconstructed from Tasmanian tree rings and their relationship to large-scale seas surface temperature anomalies. Climate Dynamics 16, 79–91.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Cullen LE, Grierson PF (2006) Is cellulose extraction necessary for developing stable carbon and oxygen isotope chronologies from Callitris glaucophylla?  Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 236, 206–216.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Cullen LE, Grierson PF (2007) A stable oxygen, but not carbon, isotope chronology of Callitris columellaris reflects recent climate change in north-western Australia. Climatic Change 85, 213–229.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

Cullen LE, Grierson PF (2009) Multi-decadal scale variability in autumn-winter rainfall in south-western Australia since 1655 AD as reconstructed from tree rings of Callitris columellaris. Climate Dynamics 33, 433–444.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Cullen LE, Macfarlane C (2005) Comparison of cellulose extraction methods for analysis of stable-isotope ratios of carbon and oxygen in plant material. Tree Physiology 25, 619–625. open url image1

Cullen LE, Adams MA, Anderson MJ, Grierson PF (2008) Analyses of δ13C and δ18O in tree rings of Callitris columellaris provide evidence of a change in stomatal control of photosynthesis in response to regional changes in climate. Tree Physiology 28, 1525–1533.
|  CAS | PubMed |
open url image1

D’Arrigo RD, Jacoby GC (1991) A 1000-year record of winter precipitation from northwestern New Mexico, USA: a reconstruction from tree-rings and its relation to El Nino and the Southern Oscillation. The Holocene 1, 95–101.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

D’Arrigo RD, Baker P, Palmer J, Anchukaitis K, Cooks G (2008) Experimental reconstruction of monsoon drought variability for Australasia using tree rings and corals. Geophysical Research Letters 35, L12709.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Dunwiddie PW, LaMarche VC (1980) Dendrochronological characteristics of some native Australian trees. Australian Forestry 43, 124–135. open url image1

Edwards TWD, Graf W, Trimborn P, Stichler W, Lipp J, Payer HD (2000) δ13C response surface resolves humidity and temperature signals in trees. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 64, 161–167.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

Evans MN, Schrag DP (2004) A stable isotope-based approach to tropical dendroclimatology. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 68, 3295–3305.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

Farjon A (2005) ‘A monograph of Cupressaceae and Sciadopitys.’ (Royal Botanic Gardens: Kew)

Farquhar GD, O’Leary MH, Berry JA (1982) On the relationship between carbon isotope discrimination and intercellular carbon dioxide concentration in leaves. Australian Journal of Plant Physiology 9, 121–137.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

Farquhar GD, Ehleringer JR, Hubick KT (1989) Carbon isotope discrimination and photosynthesis. Annual Review of Plant Physiology and Plant Molecular Biology 40, 503–537.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

Ferrio JP, Florit A, Serrano L, Voltas J (2003) δ13C and tree-ring width reflect different drought responses in Quercus ilex and Pinus halepensis. Oecologia 137, 512–518.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | PubMed | open url image1

Fichtler E, Trouet V, Beeckman H, Coppin P, Worbes M (2004) Climatic signals in tree rings of Burkea africana and Pterocarpus angolensis from semiarid forests in Namibia. Trees 18, 442–451.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Francey RJ, Allison CE, Etheridge DM, Trudinger CM, Enting IG, Leuenberger M, Landgenfelds RL, Michel E, Steele LP (1999) A 1000-year high precision record of δ13C in atmospheric CO2. Tellus 51B, 170–193.
|  CAS |
open url image1

Fritts HC (1976) ‘Tree Rings and Climate.’ (Academic Press: London)

Gagen M, McCarroll D, Edouard JL (2006) Combining ring-width, density and stable carbon isotope proxies to enhance the climatic signal in tree-rings: an example from the southern French Alps. Climatic Change 78, 363–379.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

Goodkin NF, Hughen KA, Cohen AL, Smith SR (2005) Record of Little Ice Age sea surface temperatures at Bermuda using a growth-dependent calibration of coral Sr/Ca. Paleoceanography 20, PA4016.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Graumlich LJ (1993) Response of tree growth to climatic variation in the mixed conifer and deciduouse forests of the upper Great Lakes region. Canadian Journal of Forest Research 23, 133–143.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Hammarlund D, Barnekow L, Birjs HJB, Buchardt B, Edwards TWD (2002) Holocene changes in atmospheric circulation recorded in the oxygen-isotope stratigraphy of lacustrine carbonates from northern Sweden. The Holocene 12, 339–351.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Heinrich I, Banks JCG (2005) Dendroclimatological potential of the Australian red cedar. Australian Journal of Botany 53, 21–32.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Holmes R (1983) Computer-assisted quality control in tree-ring dating and measurement. Tree-ring Bulletin 43, 69–78. open url image1

Hope P, Timbal B, Fawcett R (2009) Associations between rainfall variability in the southwest and southeast of Australia and their evolution through time. International Journal of Climatology ,
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

IOCI (2002) ‘Climate variability and change in south west Western Australia.’ Indian Ocean Climate Initiative Panel, Perth.

Jones PD, Briffa KR, Barnett TP, Tett SFB (1998) High-resolution palaeoclimatic records for the last millennium: interpretation, integration and comparison with General Circulation Model control-run temperatures. The Holocene 8, 455–471.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Kagawa A, Sugimoto A, Maximov TC (2006) 13CO2 pulse-labelling of photoassimilates reveals carbon allocation within and between tree rings. Plant, Cell & Environment 29, 1571–1584.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | PubMed | open url image1

Kirdyanov A, Treydte KS, Nikolaev A, Helle G, Schleser GH (2008) Climate signals in tree-ring width, density and δ13C from larches in Eastern Siberia (Russia). Chemical Geology 252, 31–41.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

Kress A, Young GHF, Saurer M, Loader N, Siegwolf R, McCarroll D (2009) Stable isotope coherence in the earlywood and latewood of tree-line conifers. Chemical Geology 268, 52–57.
|  CAS | Crossref |
open url image1

Lange RT (1965) Growth ring characteristics in an arid zone conifer. Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia 89, 133–137. open url image1

Lara A, Villalba R (1993) A 3620 year temperature record from Fitzroya cupressoides tree rings in southern South America. Science 260, 1104–1106.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | PubMed | open url image1

Lawrence DM , Grissino-Mayer HD (2001) Verify for Windows. Available from http://fuzzo.com/science/verify.htm

Leavitt SW, Long A (1982) Evidence for 13C/12C fractionation between tree leaves and wood. Nature 298, 742–744.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

Leavitt SW, Long A (1989a) Drought indicated in carbon-13/carbon-12 ratios of southwestern tree rings. Water Resources Bulletin 25, 341–347. open url image1

Leavitt SW, Long A (1989b) Drought indicated in carbon-13/carbon-12 ratios of south-western tree rings. Water Resources Bulletin 25, 341–347. open url image1

Leavitt SW, Wright WE, Long A (2002) Spatial expression of ENSO, drought, and summer monsoon in seasonal delta C-13 of ponderosa pine tree rings in southern Arizona and New Mexico. Journal of Geophysical Research-Atmospheres 107(D18), 4349.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Liu Y, Cai Q, Shi J, Hughes MK, Kutzbach JE, Liu Z, Ni F, An Z (2005) Seasonal precipitation in the south-central Helan Mountain region, China, reconstructed from tree-ring width for the past 224 years. Canadian Journal of Forest Research 35, 2403–2412.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Liu L-S, Shao X-M, Liang E-Y (2006) Climate signals from tree-ring chronologies of the upper and lower treelines in the Dulan region of the northeastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. Journal of Integrative Plant Biology 48, 278–285.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

McArthur WM (1991) ‘Reference soils of south-western Australia.’ (Department of Agriculture: Perth, Western Australia)

McCarroll D, Loader NJ (2004) Stable isotopes in tree rings. Quaternary Science Reviews 23, 771–801.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

McCarroll D, Jalkanen R, Hicks S, Tuovinen M, Gagen M, Pawellek F, Eckstein D, Schmitt U, Autio J, Heikkinen O (2003) Multiproxy dendroclimatology: a pilot study in northern Finland. The Holocene 13, 829–838.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Palmer JG, Xiong L (2004) New Zealand climate over the last 500 years reconstructed from Libocedrus bidwillii Hook. f. tree-ring chronologies. The Holocene 14, 282–289.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Pearman GI (1971) An exploratory investigation of the growth rings of Callitris preisii trees from Garden Island and Naval Base. Western Australian Naturalist 12, 12–16. open url image1

Pearman GI, Francey RJ, Fraser PJB (1976) Climatic implications of stable carbon isotopes in tree rings. Nature 260, 771–773.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Perlinski JE (1986) The dendrochronology of Callitris columellaris F. Muell. in arid, sub-tropical continental Western Australia. M.A. Thesis, University of Western Australia.

Porté A, Loustau D (2001) Seasonal and interannual variations in carbon isotope discrimination in a maritime pine (Pinus pinaster) stand assessed from the isotopic composition of cellulose in annual rings. Tree Physiology 21, 861–868.
| PubMed |
open url image1

Raffalli-Delerce G, Masson-Delmotte V, Dupouey J-L, Stievenard M, Breda N, Moisselin JM (2004) Reconstruction of summer droughts using tree-ring cellulose isotopes: a calibration study with living oaks from Brittany (western France). Tellus 56B, 160–174.
|  CAS |
open url image1

Robertson I, Switsur VR, Carter AHC, Barker AC, Waterhouse JS, Briffa K, Jones PD (1997) Signal strength and climate relationships in the 13C/12C ratios of tree ring cellulose from oak in east England. Journal of Geophysical Research 102, 19507–19516.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Saurer M, Borella S, Schweingruber F, Siegwolf R (1997) Stable carbon isotopes in tree rings of beech: climatic versus site-related influences. Trees (Berlin) 11, 291–297.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Schöngart J, Junk W, Piedade MTF, Ayres M, AlloyShutterman A, Worbes M (2004) Teleconnection between tree growth in the Amazonian floodplains and the El Niño–Southern Oscillation effect. Global Change Biology 10, 1–10.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Stokes MA , Smiley TL (1968) ‘An Introduction to Tree-ring Dating.’ (University of Chicago Press: Chicago)

Therrell MD, Stahle DW, Ries LP, Shugart HH (2006) Tree-ring reconstructed rainfall variability in Zimbabwe. Climate Dynamics 26, 677–685.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Watson E, Luckman BH (2001) Dendroclimatic reconstruction of precipitation for sites in the southern Canadian Rockies. The Holocene 11, 203–213.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Wigley TML, Briffa KR, Jones PD (1984) On the average value of correlated time series, with application in dendroclimatology and hydrometeorolgy. Journal of Climate and Applied Meteorology 23, 201–213.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Wolff EW (2005) Understanding the past – climate history from Antarctica. Antarctic Science 17, 487–495.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1