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Dendroclimatological potential of three juniper species from the Turkestan range, northwestern Pamir-Alay Mountains, Uzbekistan

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Intensity and magnitude of the growth-climate relationship depends on juniper species and sites. Juniperus seravschanica at low elevations shows highest potential for April–September drought reconstruction in the Turkestan range (Pamir-Alay), Uzbekistan.

Abstract

We present a detailed dendroclimatological study of three juniper species, Juniperus seravschanica Kom., Juniperus semiglobosa Regel and Juniperus turkistanica Kom., sampled at six sites of different elevation (2100–2700 m a.s.l.), exposition (west and south) and steepness (10°–30°) in the Zaamin National Park, Turkestan range, Pamir-Alay mountain system in eastern Uzbekistan. Simple correlation statistics and redundancy analyses were applied to detect species- and site-specific climate responses during the twentieth century, which were additionally investigated in the high-frequency domain by identifying extreme growth years. Our results show that tree-ring formation of J. seravschanica at our low-elevation site is strongly limited by April to September drought conditions, while J. semiglobosa inherits a weak and variable climate response with respect to elevation. J. turkistanica growth at high altitudes is positively associated with warm spring and summer temperatures. Species-specific growth extremes are triggered by incoming air masses from the Atlantic and Arctic, highlighting the connection of synoptic climate regimes across Eurasia. From a dendroclimatic perspective, J. seravschanica exhibits a high potential for reconstructing past drought and pluvials, but under sustained temperature rise also J. semiglobosa will likely increase its sensitivity to drought. Moreover, J. turkistanica at its distribution limit at the tree line is a suitable proxy of summer temperature. Our findings clearly demonstrate that a careful selection of the site, overall topography and elevation as well as the different juniper species are important for successfully reconstructing past climate in Uzbekistan.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to Almazbek Orozumbekov (†) and Alisher Shukurov for organizational support and Pavel Danilov for measuring site ZN3. The study was funded by Kungliga Vetenskapsakademien (KVA, including the Margit Althins Stipendiefond), Svenska Sällskapet för Antropologi och Geografi (SSAG), Wilhelm och Martina Lundgrens Vetenskapsfond and Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency SIDA (project SWE-2009-245).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Regional Climate Group, Department of Earth Science, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden

    Andrea Seim & Hans W. Linderholm

  2. Republican Scientific Production Centre for Decorative Gardening and Forestry, Tashkent, Uzbekistan

    Timur Tulyaganov, Lyutsian Nikolyai & Evgeniy Botman

  3. Central-Asian Institute for Applied Geosciences (CAIAG) and Kyrgyz National Agrarian University (KNAU), Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan

    Gulzar Omurova

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  1. Andrea Seim
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  2. Timur Tulyaganov
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  4. Lyutsian Nikolyai
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  5. Evgeniy Botman
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Correspondence to Andrea Seim.

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Communicated by A. Braeuning.

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Seim, A., Tulyaganov, T., Omurova, G. et al. Dendroclimatological potential of three juniper species from the Turkestan range, northwestern Pamir-Alay Mountains, Uzbekistan. Trees 30, 733–748 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00468-015-1316-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00468-015-1316-y

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