Temperature reconstruction from tree‐ring maximum density of Balfour spruce in eastern Tibet, China

Abstract Wood from Balfour spruce [ Picea likiangensis var. balfouriana (Rehd. et Wils.)] was collected at three sites in eastern Tibet. Maximum latewood densities (MXD) were measured by X‐ray densitometry; individual series were first cross dated and then combined to form a standard chronology. This chronology was significantly correlated with late summer temperatures on the eastern Tibetan Plateau. It was used to reconstruct the August–September mean temperature for the period 1695–2000 A.D., and it explained the 63.5% of the total temperature variance. Wavelet analysis of the reconstructed temperature series suggested the existence of a 20‐year climatic cycle during the period 1800–1860 and a ∼50‐year cycle at the beginning of the twentieth century. Copyright © 2009 Royal Meteorological Society