The dendroclimatology of Modern and Neolithic Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.)

• Main Author: Kevin Moir
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Subjects: North Atlantic; North Atlantic oscillation
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.425.4570; http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/bitstream/2438/6028/4/FulltextThesis.pdf

For the first time in northern Scotland, Modern tree-ring chronologies for Scots pine growing on peat are compared against those growing on mineral substrates. Mean tree-ring growth of pine on active bogs/mires is found to be limited to 0.5 to 1 mm yr-1, compared to ≥1.5 mm yr-1 on adjacent mineral sites. Almost instant change of radial growth rates in response to changes in water levels highlights the potential use of pine in reconstructions of lake levels and water tables in bog and mire. Dendroclimatological analysis identifies January and February temperatures to often be more important than summer temperature. Positive correlation of ring-width and North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) indices also occur in January and February. Lower winter temperatures, due to increased altitude and distance from the moderating effects of the ocean, may be important in limiting tree growth near its northern margin. Moving correlation functions identify a widespread reduction in the response of pine growing on both substrates from the 1920s. Nine subfossil pine site chronologies located beyond the species current northern limit are cross-matched to form a chronology called WRATH-9. This chronology is tentatively crossdated against Irish pine chronologies to provide the first picture of Neolithic Scots