资源环境科技发展态势分析平台

Drought recurrence in the Mediterranean is regarded as a fundamental factor for socioeconomic development and the resilience of natural systems in context of global change. However, knowledge of past droughts has been hampered by the absence of high-resolution proxies. We present a drought reconstruction for the northeast of the Iberian Peninsula based on a new dendrochronology network considering the Standardized Evapotranspiration Precipitation Index (SPEI). A total of 774 latewood width series from 387 trees of P. sylvestris and P. uncinata was combined in an interregional chronology. The new chronology, calibrated against gridded climate data, reveals a robust relationship with the SPEI representing drought conditions of July and August. We developed a summer drought reconstruction for the period 1734-2013 representative for the northeastern and central Iberian Peninsula. We identified 16 extremely dry and 17 extremely wet summers and four decadal scale dry and wet periods, including 2003-2013 as the driest episode of the reconstruction. Plain Language Summary We developed a new drought reconstruction for the NE Iberian Peninsula based on a total of 774 latewood width series from 387 pine trees. The reconstruction extended back 279 years from 1734 to 2013 AD. This is the first drought reconstruction using a novel drought index which allows the identification of different drought types and impacts in the context of global warming. We identify 16 extremely dry and 17 extremely wet summers since 1734 AD. Besides, some of these years coincide with other drought reconstruction in Europe suggesting large-scale synoptic drivers. In addition, this is the first reconstruction in Europe based on latewood width proxies which elicits new possibilities for paleoclimatic studies.