Stable carbon isotopes in tree rings of beech: climatic versus site-related influences (original) (raw)

Abstract

Stable carbon isotopes in tree rings are a promising tool in palaeoclimate research, provided attempts are made to disentangle climatic from local effects (e.g. soil properties, competition, light). The 13C/12C variations in cellulose of tree rings of beech (Fagus sylvatica) were determined at several sites in the Swiss Central Plateau covering the last 50 years. We chose sites which differ in moisture conditions and sampled cores from four to six trees per site. The mean 13C/12C series from the different dry sites (distant by up to 40 km) are closely interrelated suggesting a common external cause. Correlation analysis with climate data proved the total precipitation in the months May, June and July to have the strongest effect on the carbon isotopes (r = – 0.73). This result is in agreement with the commonly used model which relates the isotope discrimination to the water use efficiency. On the other hand, the isotope series of the wet sites are not as well correlated to the climate. At two of the sites (a dry and a humid) tree ring width suddenly increased. We used this effect as a test-case to study the influence of local growth conditions on the climate-isotope relationship.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

• Starting from 10 chapters or articles per month
• Access and download chapters and articles from more than 300k books and 2,500 journals
• Cancel anytime View plans

Buy Now

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

1. Paul Scherrer Institute, CH-5232 Villigen PSI, Switzerland, Switzerland
   M. Saurer & Rolf Siegwolf
2. Physics Institute, University of Berne, Sidlerstrasse 5, CH-3012 Berne, Switzerland, Switzerland
   Silvio Borella
3. Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research, CH-8903 Birmensdorf, Switzerland, Switzerland
   Fritz Schweingruber

Authors

1. M. Saurer
2. Silvio Borella
3. Fritz Schweingruber
4. Rolf Siegwolf

Additional information

Received: 17 April 1996 / Accepted: 2 September 1996

Rights and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Saurer, M., Borella, S., Schweingruber, F. et al. Stable carbon isotopes in tree rings of beech: climatic versus site-related influences.Trees 11, 291–297 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1007/s004680050087

Download citation

• Published: 01 April 1997
• Issue date: April 1997
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s004680050087