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English yew rings reconstruct 300 years of drought

Southern England yew trees track spring–summer rain and Palmer drought, capturing 1710–2020 wet and dry extremes across western Europe.

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How many yew trees and sites were sampled?

186 living and dead trees at 22 southern England sites.

What is the final chronology’s sample count and span?

153 samples from 1710 to 2020 CE (33 trees dropped).

What climate variables correlate with residual versus standard chronologies?

Residual: April–July precipitation; standard: July scPDSI.

What is the full-period r for RES versus AMJJ rain?

0.70 (0.68 early / 0.72 late split).

What EPS does the raw chronology reach?

Mean EPS 0.91, above the 0.85 threshold.

What reconstructed AMJJ rainfall range and mean?

65–330 mm, mean 205 mm.

Name shared drought years below −1.8 SD.

1740, 1788, 1818, 1921, 1929, 1934, 1944, 1976, and 2018.

When were persistent dry versus wet intervals?

Drier 1720s–1750s and 1910s–1950s; wetter 1970s–2010s.

How far geographically does the correlation field reach?

>0.6 over southern England and northwest France, fading to 0.2 in the Alps, Czechia, and central Poland.

What is the lowest early replication?

Six samples between 1710 and 1725.

Why use a 130-year spline for reconstruction?

It matches mean segment length (132 years) and preserves longer-term variability.