Elevation-layered dendroclimatic signal in eastern Mediterranean tree rings

Touchan, Ramzi; Shishov, Vladimir V; Tychkov, Ivan I; Sivrikaya, Fatih; Attieh, Jihad; Ketmen, Muzaffer; Stephan, Jean; Mitsopoulos, Ioannis; Christou, Andreas; Meko, David M

dc.contributor.author	Touchan, Ramzi
dc.contributor.author	Shishov, Vladimir V
dc.contributor.author	Tychkov, Ivan I
dc.contributor.author	Sivrikaya, Fatih
dc.contributor.author	Attieh, Jihad
dc.contributor.author	Ketmen, Muzaffer
dc.contributor.author	Stephan, Jean
dc.contributor.author	Mitsopoulos, Ioannis
dc.contributor.author	Christou, Andreas
dc.contributor.author	Meko, David M
dc.date.accessioned	2016-06-30T01:59:26Z
dc.date.available	2016-06-30T01:59:26Z
dc.date.issued	2016-04-01
dc.identifier.citation	Elevation-layered dendroclimatic signal in eastern Mediterranean tree rings 2016, 11 (4):044020 Environmental Research Letters	en
dc.identifier.issn	1748-9326
dc.identifier.doi	10.1088/1748-9326/11/4/044020
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10150/615124
dc.description.abstract	Networks of tree-ring data are commonly applied in statistical reconstruction of spatial fields of climate variables. The importance of elevation to the climatic interpretation of tree-ring networks is addressed using 281 station precipitation records, and a network of 79 tree-ring chronologies from different species and a range of elevations in the eastern Mediterranean. Cluster analysis of chronologies identifies 6 tree-ring groups, delineated principally by site elevation. Correlation analysis suggests several of the clusters are linked to homogenous elevational moisture regimes. Results imply that climate stations close to the elevations of the tree-ring sites are essential for assessing the seasonal climatic signal in tree-ring chronologies from this region. A broader implication is that the elevations of stations contributing to gridded climate networks should be considered in the design and interpretation of field reconstructions of climate from tree rings. Finally, results suggest elevation-stratified tree-ring networks as a strategy for seasonal climate reconstruction.
dc.description.sponsorship	The authors wish to thank the Forestry Departments in Turkey, Greece, Cyprus, Lebanon, and Syria for their great help and support in making this study possible. We would like to thank the Cyprus Meteorological Service for providing us with climate data. We thank Professor Alexandros P Dimitrakopoulos, of the Laboratory of Forest Protection, School of Forestry and Natural Environment, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece, for his help and support. We thank Christopher Baisan, Russell Biggs, and Gurudas C Bock for their valuable assistance in the field. We also thank Russell Biggs, Victoria L Frazier, Alicia Stout, Gurudas C Bock, Jessica L Little, and Anthony P Trujillo for their assistance in sample preparation and measurement. We wish to thank the anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments and suggestions on the manuscript. Funding was provided by the US National Science Foundation under Grant Earth System History (Grant No. 0075956), ATM-GEO/ATM-Paleoclimate Program 0758486, and Paleo Perspectives on Climate Change (Award No. 1103314). V. Shishov (software development and data analysis) was supported by the Russian Science Foundation (Grant # 14-14-00219). The tree-ring data will be available at the International Tree-Ring Data Bank (ITRDB) web site (https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/paleo/study/19016).	en
dc.language.iso	en	en
dc.publisher	IOP PUBLISHING LTD	en
dc.relation.url	http://stacks.iop.org/1748-9326/11/i=4/a=044020?key=crossref.8ee0f7b9e9e05ae11cbe5962a3ed69be	en
dc.rights	© 2016 IOP Publishing Ltd. Original content from thiswork may be used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 licence.	en
dc.rights.uri	https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
dc.subject	cluster analysis	en
dc.subject	Mediterranean	en
dc.subject	tree-ring network	en
dc.title	Elevation-layered dendroclimatic signal in eastern Mediterranean tree rings	en
dc.type	Article	en
dc.contributor.department	Univ Arizona, Tree Ring Res Lab	en
dc.identifier.journal	Environmental Research Letters	en
dc.description.note	Open access.	en
dc.description.collectioninformation	This item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at repository@u.library.arizona.edu.	en
dc.eprint.version	Final published version	en
refterms.dateFOA	2018-07-02T09:15:26Z
html.description.abstract	Networks of tree-ring data are commonly applied in statistical reconstruction of spatial fields of climate variables. The importance of elevation to the climatic interpretation of tree-ring networks is addressed using 281 station precipitation records, and a network of 79 tree-ring chronologies from different species and a range of elevations in the eastern Mediterranean. Cluster analysis of chronologies identifies 6 tree-ring groups, delineated principally by site elevation. Correlation analysis suggests several of the clusters are linked to homogenous elevational moisture regimes. Results imply that climate stations close to the elevations of the tree-ring sites are essential for assessing the seasonal climatic signal in tree-ring chronologies from this region. A broader implication is that the elevations of stations contributing to gridded climate networks should be considered in the design and interpretation of field reconstructions of climate from tree rings. Finally, results suggest elevation-stratified tree-ring networks as a strategy for seasonal climate reconstruction.