The climate-carbon isotope relationship in tree rings and the significance of site conditions

Abstract

Proceeds from the theoretically derived and experimentally confirmed finding that the relative humidity of the atmosphere but also the soil water content can influence the stomatal opening of plant leaves and consquently the δ13C of photosynthetically fixed carbon. Concludes that at relatively dry sites in temperate-moist climatic conditions, short-term precipitation variations can be reconstructed by δ13C measurement on tree rings of beech and probably also of the conifers pine and spruce. -from Authors