Tree‐ring‐based temperature reconstruction for the Wolong Natural Reserve, western Sichuan Plateau of China

A 172-year tree-ring-based temperature reconstruction for the Wolong Natural Reserve, a UNESCO-listed panda sanctuary on China’s Sichuan Plateau, reveals distinct warming and cooling periods. The study, using Sabina saltuaria cypress rings, identifies significant warmth between 1864–1882 and 1927–1960, with pronounced cold intervals from 1886–1926 and 1961–1996. The reconstruction, explaining 54.1% of temperature variance (1956–2010), links multi-decadal cycles to Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation and solar activity, while annual fluctuations align with ENSO variability. This high-resolution record fills a critical gap in Tibetan Plateau climate data, offering insights into past temperature dynamics that could inform conservation strategies for panda habitats.

Li, Z., Liu, G., Wu, X., & Wang, X. (2014). Tree‐ring‐based temperature reconstruction for the Wolong Natural Reserve, western Sichuan Plateau of China. International Journal of Climatology, 35(11), 3296–3307. Portico. https://doi.org/10.1002/joc.4207