A 426-year floating tree-ring chronology from phyllocladus trichomanoides buried by the taupo eruption at pureora, central north island, new zealand

Abstract

This paper presents a 426-year chronology, developed from Phyllocladus tnchomanoides D.Don cross-sections preserved in a forest buried by the Taupo eruption (c. A.D. 186) at a site in Pureora Forest Park, Central North Island, New Zealand. The chronology statistics are compared with those from four contemporary sites representing a wide range of latitudes and altitudes. The modern site most closely resembling the buried forest in these parameters was one nearby at Waihora lagoon. The large amount of common variance in the chronologies, and significant correlations between trees from both the buried forest and Waihora lagoon sites, indicate good potential for palaeoclimatic reconstruction. The stage of formation of the incomplete outer ring observed in wood from the buried forest chronology indicates that the Taupo volcano erupted in late summer or early autumn. © 1988 Journal of the Royal Society of New Zeland.