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The environmental signals of stable carbon isotope in various tree-ring components of Pinus tabulaeformis

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Abstract

Chinese pine (Pinus tabulaeformis) trees were sampled in the Helan Mountain, northwest China. The stable carbon isotope (δ13C) values of whole wood, holocellulose and alpha-cellulose in tree rings over 30 years (1968–1997) were measured to study the δ13C response of different tree-ring components to past environmental change. There were obvious differences in the δ13C values of the three components. The Pearson correlation coefficient between the δ13C of alpha-cellulose and that of holocellulose was 0.547 (ρ < 0.01); between alpha-cellulose and whole wood, the coefficient was −0.126 (ρ > 0.10); between holocellulose and whole wood, the coefficient was −0.056. Correlation function analyses indicated that the δ13C content of tree-ring alpha-cellulose correlated strongly with the average temperature from June to August (r = 0.427, ρ < 0.05), more than that of holocellulose (0.324, ρ < 0.10) or total wood (−0.245, ρ > 0.10). Significant correlations were observed between δ13C of tree-ring alpha-cellulose and the precipitation from the current year’s February to July (r = −0.514, ρ < 0.01) that were much higher than that of holocellulose (−0.481, ρ < 0.05) or total wood (−0.249, ρ > 0.10). A significant correlation (−0.545, ρ < 0.01) was also found between the ring width and the δ13C residual chronologies. These results suggest that more past environmental information is retained in the δ13C of tree-ring alpha-cellulose. Thus, the δ13C of alpha-cellulose of tree rings is the most suitable among the studied parameters for reconstructing the past climatic conditions during the growing season. The δ13C values of other organic compounds in Pinus tabulaeformis xylem were affected by the external environment after carbon was fixed from the atmosphere.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Yu Liu for his help. S.W. Leavitt (University of Arizona, U.S.) provided atmospheric δ13C data. Samples were analyzed at the State Key Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology, Chinese Academy of Sciences. This research was supported by the National Science-technology Supporting Program of China during 11th Five-year Plan (2006BAJ08B01), China-Russia Cooperative Program of China MOST (2007DFR90050), and the Key Project of CST of Shanghai (07dza12007). Thanks are also due to the two reviewers and the editor for their comments, which improved the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, 1239 Siping Road, Shanghai, 200092, China

    Linmin Ma, Rena Duolikun & Zhao Jianfu

  2. Interdepartmental Centre of Agro-Environmental Research “Enrico Avanzi”, University of Pisa, Via Vecchina di Marina, 6, 56122, Pisa, Italy

    Linmin Ma & Giacomo Lorenzini

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  1. Linmin Ma
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  2. Rena Duolikun
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  3. Zhao Jianfu
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  4. Giacomo Lorenzini
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Correspondence to Linmin Ma.

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Communicated by A. Braeuning.

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Ma, L., Duolikun, R., Jianfu, Z. et al. The environmental signals of stable carbon isotope in various tree-ring components of Pinus tabulaeformis . Trees 25, 435–442 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00468-010-0518-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00468-010-0518-6

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