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Stable carbon- and hydrogen-isotope ratios of subfossil oaks in southern Germany: methodology and application to a composite record for the Holocene

FZJ-Research Center Julich, ICG V, D-52425 Julich, Germanyc.mayr{at}fz-juelich.de

Burkhard Frenzel

Michael Friedrich

Marco Spurk

University of Hohenheim, Institute of Botany (210), D-70593 Stuttgart, Germany

Willibald Stichler

Peter Trimborn

GSF-National Research Center for Environment and Health, Institute of Hydrology, D-85764 Neuherberg, Germany

The &D and ¹³C values of tree rings from dendrochronologically dated subfossil Holocene oaks have been studied for palaeoenvironmental and palaeoclimate reconstructions. The wood material mainly originates from fluvial deposits of the river Main and to a lesser extent from the Danube and Rhine regions in southern Germany. The chronology consists of the isotope records of 82 trees that cover a large part of the Holocene. The periods 8230 BC to AD 905 are represented by 6'¹³C values; AD values exist for the time interval 6470 BC to AD 905. Not all records have the same time resolution and not all of them were prepared in the same way for isotope analysis. However, investigations on the influence of the preparation technique on the isotope values and on the isotope composition of different wood compartments (latewood and earlywood, respectively) allowed us to homogenize the records. The comparison of D values of wood with different cambial ages showed that hydrogen-isotoperatios were affected by growth trends. The uniformity of the trends implies physiological rather than microclimatic causes of these D growth trends. The growth trends were corrected by subtracting a standardized trend curve, which in most cases resulted in a higher conformity in the overlap of tree-ring sequences. The ¹³C records showed no uniform trends. However, the differences between ¹³C values of overlapping trees in several cases were markedly offset, making it difficult to interpret the ¹³C long-term trends in some sections of the chronology. Despite that, there are some characteristics common to both isotope chronologies. Most noticeable is the occurrence of comparatively high values in the interval 4500 to 2000 BC indicating higher temperatures (D) and possibly lower water availability (¹³C), and a decrease in both isotope chronologies since about 2000 BC.

Key Words: Stable isotopes • oxygen • deuterium • 13C • D • tree rings • oak chronology • palaeoclimate • tree-growth trends • southern Germany • Holocene

The Holocene, Vol. 13, No. 3, 393-402 (2003)
DOI: 10.1191/0959683603hl632rp


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