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The analysis of the tree radial growth response to climate is crucial for dendroclimatological research. However, the response relationships between tree-ring indices and climatic factors at different timescales are not yet clear. In this study, the tree-ring width of Huashan pine (Pinus armandii) from Huashan in the Qinling Mountains, north-central China, was used to explore the response differences of tree growth to climatic factors at daily, pentad (5 days), dekad (10 days) and monthly timescales. Correlation function and linear regression analysis were applied in this paper. The tree-ring width showed a more sensitive response to daily and pentad climatic factors. With the timescale decreasing, the absolute value of the maximum correlation coefficient between the tree-ring data and precipitation increases as well as temperature (mean, minimum and maximum temperature). Compared to the other three timescales, pentad was more suitable for analysing the response of tree growth to climate. Relative to the monthly climate data, the association between the tree-ring data and the pentad climate data was more remarkable and accurate, and the reconstruction function based on the pentad climate was also more reliable and stable. We found that the major climatic factor limiting Huashan pine growth was the precipitation of pentads 20–35 (from April 6 to June 24) rather than the well-known April–June precipitation. The pentad was also proved to be a better timescale for analysing the climate and tree growth in the western and eastern Qinling Mountains. The formation of the earlywood density of Chinese pine (Pinus tabulaeformis) from Shimenshan in western Qinling was mainly affected by the maximum temperature of pentads 28–32 (from May 16 to June 9). The maximum temperature of pentads 28–33 (from May 16 to June 14) was the major factor affecting the ring width of Chinese pine from Shirenshan in eastern Qinling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relationship between temperature and drought was investigated using the temperature-sensitive growth of Larix chinensis Beissn in the Qinling Mountains, central China. Extremely high tree-ring width index values (TRWI) agreed well with dry conditions defined by the dryness-wetness index (DWI) obtained from data in Chinese historical documents and climate-related papers between 1814 and 1956 (before the short of instrumental measurements); the reverse applied to extremely low TRWI values. The main severe drought epochs occurred from the late 1850s to the 1870s, the 1920s to 1930s and in the 2000s, whereas wet spells occurred from 1817-1827 and 1881-1886. The droughts in the 2000s exhibited a similar pattern as the ones from the 1920s to 1930s, with obviously an increasing temperature. The variation of tree growth agreed well with other reconstructed temperature series from nearby and remote regions, suggesting that Larix chinensis could respond to broad-scale climate variability. The longest cold interval, 1817-1827, could be associated with the influence of the Tambora eruption in 1815. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At present, there is limited research on the effect of climate change on the growth of trees in the Qinling Mountains, and the effect of altitude has rarely been considered. In order to accurately grasp the impact of climatic factors on the natural forest in this region, the effect of water and temperature conditions on the radial growth of Pinus armandii was studied according to dendroclimatology principles. Response function and multivariate regression methods were applied to study the response of the tree-rings, including earlywood width and latewood width, of P. armandii at three elevations (1600-1800, 1800-2000, 2000-2200 m) to climate change in this region. The results showed that the radial growth of P. armandii at the three elevations contained rich climatic information. The tree-ring widths at the three elevations were significantly negatively correlated with September temperature of the previous year and May temperature of the current year (P < 0.05) and were also negatively correlated with August precipitation of the previous year and May precipitation of the current year. The late-wood width of P. armandii at 1600-1800 m and 1800-2000 m was less sensitive to temperature and precipitation than that of the earlywood. The latewood width of P. armandii at 2000-2200 m was significantly negatively correlated with December temperature of the previous year and May temperature of the current year (P < 0.01), and was significantly and positively correlated with August precipitation of the previous year (P < 0.05). Characteristic analysis of the special years showed that large quantities of precipitation in September and October of the previous year were more likely to result in the formation of a very wide tree-ring. High spring and summer temperatures and less precipitation from April to June more likely resulted in the formation of extremely narrow tree-rings. Therefore, high precipitation in autumn of the previous year was conducive to the growth of P. armandii, whereas high temperature and drought in spring and summer inhibited the growth of P. armandii. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change is threatening global ecosystems through its impact on the survival of individual species and their ecological functions. Despite the important role of understorey plants in forest ecosystems, climate impact assessments on understorey plants and their role in supporting wildlife habitat are scarce in the literature. Here we assess climate-change impacts on understorey bamboo species with an emphasis on their ecological function as a food resource for endangered giant pandas (Ailuropoda melanoleuca). An ensemble of bamboo distribution projections associated with multiple climate-change projections and bamboo dispersal scenarios indicates a substantial reduction in the distributional ranges of three dominant bamboo species in the Qinling Mountains, China during the twenty-first century. As these three species comprise almost the entire diet of the panda population in the region, the projected changes in bamboo distribution suggest a potential shortage of food for this population, unless alternative food sources become available. Although the projections were developed under unavoidable simplifying assumptions and uncertainties, they indicate potential challenges for panda conservation and underscore the importance of incorporating interspecific interactions into climate-change impact assessments and associated conservation planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A total of 290 tree-ring samples, collected from six sites in the West Qinling Mountains of China, were used to develop six new standard tree-ring chronologies. In addition, 73 proxy records were assembled in collaboration with Chinese and international scholars, from 27 publically available proxy records and 40 tree-ring chronologies that are not available in public datasets. These records were used to reconstruct annual mean temperature variability in the West Qinling Mountains over the past 500 years (AD 1500–1995), using a modified point-by-point regression (hybrid PPR) method. The results demonstrate that the hybrid PPR method successfully integrates the temperature signals from different types of proxies, and that the method preserves a high degree of low-frequency variability. The reconstruction shows greater temperature variability in the West Qinling Mountains than has been found in previous studies. Our temperature reconstruction for this region shows: 1) five distinct cold periods, at approximately AD 1520–1535, AD 1560–1575, AD 1610–1620, AD 1850–1875 and AD 1965–1985, and four warm periods, at approximately AD 1645–1660, AD 1705–1725, AD 1785–1795 and AD 1920–1945; 2) that in this region, the 20th century was not the warmest period of the past 500 years; and 3) that a dominant and persistent oscillation of ca. 64 years is significantly identified in the 1640–1790 period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paleosol samples from the fifth layer of the loess profile at Renjiapo in the eastern suburb of Xi'an are observed and analyzed using electron microscope and energy spectrum. Minerals such as AgSO and molybdenum, which are rare to find and can indicate typical dry climate environment, are found in this layer of paleosol. Secondary mineral is usually granular form of ellipsoidal and crystallization, and has the characteristics of chemical precipitating crystallization of apertures and fracture. Molybdenum minerals have the characteristics of colloidal substances. There are two kinds of secondary minerals. One is silver sulfate mineral and the other is silver oxide mineral. The movement of secondary silver, molybdenum and cobalt minerals, new clay mineral, FeO and AlO indicates that S has experienced strong chemical weathering and mineral dissolution during its development. Silver, molybdenum, and cobalt can be released from primary minerals. During that period, the precipitation was abundant in Xi'an where soil reached an acidity stage of chemical weathering. At the later development stage of paleosol in the lowest part of S, warm and wet monsoon climate had changed to dry and non-monsoon climate. In the period of the formation of AgSO, which is easier to dissolve than CaSO, a dry and non-monsoon climate was present in the Guanzhong Plain. Strong evaporation resulted in the accumulation of SO in the soil water solution and the formation of AgSO. At that time, summer monsoon of East Asia was weak and did not cross Qinling Mountains to reach Guanzhong Plain. And at that time, the precipitation in Xi'an was less than 300 mm, and it was drier then in Xi'an than at present in Lanzhou. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]