Pine Maximum Latewood Density in Semi‐Arid Northern China Records Hydroclimate Rather Than Temperature

Long records of tree-ring maximum latewood density (MXD) measurements in conifers have been successfully employed to reconstruct summer temperature changes globally. Yet, the potential MXD as a proxy semi-arid, low-latitude regions for reconstructing either or hydroclimate variability remains largely unexplored. Here, we developed data set Chinese pine from semi-arid northern China, and investigated its sensitivity different climate variables. We found that annual self-calibrated Palmer Drought Severity Index previous August current July displays strongest influence on variation. The entire chronology (covering 1736–2020) is highly consistent with nearby tree-ring-based precipitation drought reconstructions at decadal timescales, confirming temporally stable signal our record. In particular, rapid wetting trend during 2010–2020 period well captured by data. This novel study has wide implications future use past