Oxygen isotope signatures preserved in tree ring cellulose as a proxy for April–September precipitation in Fujian, the subtropical region of southeast China

Abstract A tree ring cellulose oxygen isotope (δ 18 O) chronology for the period 1870–2011 was established using samples from four Fokienia hodginsii trees with the aim of exploring the potential to use tree ring δ 18 O records to reconstruct climatic variations in Fujian, a subtropical region of southeast China. We believe that this is the first tree ring δ 18 O chronology from this area. Response analysis revealed that tree ring δ 18 O is significantly correlated with precipitation between April and September, relative humidity between August and October, and the Palmer drought severity index between April and October. Our δ 18 O chronology accounts for 37.4% (24.6%) of actual variation in precipitation between April and September during…