Cyclic Variation of Residual (CO2 + H2O) and Total Pressure in Conifer Stem and Woody Root Tree Rings

Abstract

Tree-ring chronologies of stem discs and core samples have been widely used to reconstruct the climatic conditions of tree growth. However, insufficient attention has been given to the fact that root and stem wood accumulate biogenic gases, whose distribution in annual rings can also be related to the climate-dependent features of tree growth. The study of chronologies of gas samples extracted under vacuum from the wood of tree-ring discs of the Siberian stone pine (Pinus sibirica Du Tour), Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.), Siberian larch (Larix sibirica Ledeb.) and Siberian spruce (Picea obovata Ledeb.) suggests that annual distributions of CO2 and H2O in the rings and pressure variation in extracted samples follow a cyclic pattern. It was found that the sample pressure and the content of CO2 and H2O in the annual rings in stems and roots of the Siberian stone pine and Scots pine from Tomsk (Russia) area are characterized by varied time cycles, including periods of about 4 and 11 years, the latter corresponding to the period of the solar activity cycle. The four-year cycle in the above chronologies is explained by the presence of similar cycles in temperature and precipitation chronologies, where cyclic variations of CO2 in the rings can be interpreted as a response of the plant to the change in the climatic conditions. The established cyclic variation of the pressure and CO2 content in tree rings in stems and roots indicates that CO2 release into the atmosphere should also follow a cyclic pattern. Therefore, to estimate correctly the release of CO2 by tree stems and large roots, long-term measurements are required

Keywords

• (CO2 + H2O)
• total pressure
• stem
• woody roots
• cyclicity
• (CO2 + H2O)