Arctic tree rings as recorders of variations in light availability
Open accessAbstract
Annual growth ring variations in Arctic trees are often used to reconstruct surface temperature. In general, however, the growth of Arctic vegetation is limited both by temperature and light availability, suggesting that variations in atmospheric transmissivity may also influence tree-ring characteristics. Here we show that Arctic tree-ring density is sensitive to changes in light availability across two distinct phenomena: explosive volcanic eruptions (P<0.01) and the recent epoch of global dimming (P<0.01). In each case, the greatest response is found in the most light-limited regions of the Arctic. Essentially no late 20th century decline in tree-ring density relative to temperature is seen in the least light-limited regions of the Arctic. Consistent results follow from analysis of tree-ring width and from individually analysing each of seven tree species. Light availability thus appears an important control, opening the possibility for using tree rings to reconstruct historical changes in surface light intensity. Tree rings are widely used to reconstruct historical records of surface temperature. Here, Stine and Huybers analyse tree-ring records north of 50°N and show that changes in the light environment associated with both volcanic eruptions and global dimming significantly influence tree-ring growth.
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Little to no attention has been paid to the role of anthropogenic air pollutants and/or atmospheric dimming to explain the Divergence Problem.
“Despite some pioneering work by Stine and Huybers (2014), little to no attention has been paid to the role of anthropogenic air pollutants and/or atmospheric dimming to explain the DP.”
From Ecological and conceptual consequences of Arctic pollution (2020) · cites this paper as Stine and Huybers (2014)
Aerosols curtail surface irradiance and cause light diffusion, with the strongest impact over central and eastern Siberia, Alaska and Canada.
“These have been shown to curtail surface irradiance and to cause light diffusion (Stine and Huybers, 2014), with the strongest impact over central and eastern Siberia, as well as parts of Alaska and Canada (Briffa et al ., 1998).”
From Ecological and conceptual consequences of Arctic pollution (2020) · cites this paper as Stine and Huybers, 2014
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“HoweverAlthough, MXD may strugglehas been shown to capture secular scale summer temperature trends (Helema et al. 2009b, but see Luckman and Wilson 2005; Esper et al. 2012) and it may also be influenced by light availability as well a summer temperatures (Stine and Huybers 2014).”
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Evidence and attribution of the enhanced land carbon sink
Ruehr, S., Keenan, T. F., Williams, C. A., Zhou, Y., Lu, X., Bastos, A., Canadell, J. G., Prentice, I. C., Sitch, S. A., & Terrer, C. (2023) · Nature Reviews Earth & Environment · doi:10.1038/s43017-023-00456-3 · Cited by 268 · see citing works
“An unexplained divergence in the relationship between ring width, temperature 89,90 and nutrient limitation 91 has also been reported, which further complicates the interpretation and attribution of long-term trends.”
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Forests synchronize their growth in contrasting Eurasian regions in response to climate warming
Shestakova, T. A., Gutiérrez, E., Kirdyanov, A. V., Camarero, J. J., Génova, M., Knorre, A., Linares, J. C., de Dios, V. R., Sánchez‐Salguero, R., & Voltas, J. (2016) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.1514717113 · Cited by 182 · see citing works
“29) may counteract the effect of CO2 fertilization or rising N deposition, negatively impacting photosynthesis, especially in high latitudes (30).”
BackgroundScientific Merits and Analytical Challenges of Tree‐Ring Densitometry
Björklund, J., von Arx, G., Nievergelt, D., Wilson, R. J. S., den Bulcke, J. V., Günther, B., Loader, N. J., Rydval, M., Fonti, P., Scharnweber, T., et al. (2019) · Reviews of Geophysics · doi:10.1029/2019rg000642 · Cited by 164 · see citing works
“This is often referred to as the divergence problem (D'Arrigo et al., 2008; Esper & Frank, 2009; Stine & Huybers, 2014).”
BackgroundWild, M., Ohmura, A., Schär, C., Müller, G., Folini, D., Schwarz, M., Hakuba, M., & Sanchez-Lorenzo, A. (2017) · Earth system science data · doi:10.5194/essd-9-601-2017 · Cited by 132 · see citing works
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“…relationship even at high elevations in the Pyrenees (Galván et al. 2015), as well as possible changes in the diurnal temperature range (DTR; Easterling et al. 1997) and thus cloudiness (Büntgen et al. 2013), cannot be completely ruled out as complicating factors (Stine and Huybers 2014).”
BackgroundDiverse growth trends and climate responses across Eurasia’s boreal forest
Hellmann, L., Agafonov, L. I., Ljungqvist, F. C., Churakova, O. V., Düthorn, E., Esper, J., Hülsmann, L., Kirdyanov, A. V., Moiseev, P., Мыглан, В. С., et al. (2016) · Environmental Research Letters · doi:10.1088/1748-9326/11/7/074021 · Cited by 90 · see citing works
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BackgroundWeakening of annual temperature cycle over the Tibetan Plateau since the 1870s
Duan, J.-P., Esper, J., Büntgen, U., Li, L., Xoplaki, E., Zhang, H., Wang, L., Fang, Y.-J., & Luterbacher, J. (2017) · Nature Communications · doi:10.1038/ncomms14008 · Cited by 82
European warm-season temperature and hydroclimate since 850 CE
Ljungqvist, F. C., Seim, A., Krusic, P. J., González-Rouco, J. F., Werner, J., Cook, E. R., Zorita, E., Luterbacher, J., Xoplaki, E., Destouni, G., et al. (2019) · Environmental Research Letters · doi:10.1088/1748-9326/ab2c7e · Cited by 105 · see citing works
“Suggested possible mechanisms explaining this phenomenon is otherwise an increasing level of CO2 in the atmosphere, increasing supply of nitrogen from the soil, increasing levels of UV-B radiation (Briffa et al 1998), positive trend of winter precipitation in the sub-Arctic (Vaganov et al 1999), changes in light avail…”
BackgroundPellizzari, E., Camarero, J. J., Gazol, A., Granda, E., Shetti, R. H., Wilmking, M., Moiseev, P., Pividori, M., & Carrer, M. (2016) · Global Change Biology · doi:10.1111/gcb.13577 · Cited by 76 · see citing works
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“Despite some pioneering work by Stine and Huybers (2014), little to no attention has been paid to the role of anthropogenic air pollutants and/or atmospheric dimming to explain the DP.”
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“Strong arguments for both views are made, albeit only for the latter have investigators actually tested tree-ring density measurements from boreal trees to support their conclusions (Stine and Huybers 2014; Tingley et al. 2014).”
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“This has been a controversial topic in the field with various mechanisms proposed to explain the phenomenon (Briffa, Schweingruber, Jones, Osborn, Harris, et al., 1998; D’Arrigo et al., 2008; Stine & Huybers, 2014).”
BackgroundDeviations of treeline Norway spruce radial growth from summer temperatures in East-Central Europe
Ponocná, T., Chuman, T., Rydval, M., Urban, G., Migała, K., & Treml, V. (2018) · Agricultural and Forest Meteorology · doi:10.1016/j.agrformet.2018.02.001 · Cited by 43 · see citing works
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“, 1999), light availability (Stine and Huybers, 2014), and CO2 fertilization (Briffa et al.”
BackgroundIncreased Global Land Carbon Sink Due to Aerosol‐Induced Cooling
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“Latewood maximum density data, which nevertheless could also have their limitations (see Stine and Huybers 2014; Tingley et al.”
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“, 2010), has recently been associated with the radiative effects of ‘Artic Dimming’ due to industrial aerosol emissions in the high-northern latitudes (Stine and Huybers, 2014; Kirdyanov et al., 2020; Büntgen et al., 2021b).”
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Duan, J., Li, L., Ma, Z., Esper, J., Büntgen, U., Xoplaki, E., Zhang, D., Wang, L., Yin, H., & Luterbacher, J. (2018) · Journal of Climate · doi:10.1175/jcli-d-17-0664.1 · Cited by 27 · see citing works
“commonly used tree-ring width (TRW), measurements of maximum latewood density (MXD) are more sensitive to summer temperature variability and, likely, even to light availability (Stine and Huybers 2014; Esper et al. 2015; Duan et al. 2017).”
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Sánchez-Salguero, R., Camarero, J., Gutiérrez, E., Gazol, A., Sangüesa-Barreda, G., Moiseev, P. A., & Linares, J. (2018) · Forests · doi:10.3390/f9110688 · Cited by 22
“Other drivers such as changes in light availability [77], nitrogen deposition and rising CO2, biotic interactions, disturbance regime and local adaptations could also affect treeline growth, but their roles have to be further explored.”
BackgroundTemperature reconstructions from tree‐ring densities overestimate volcanic cooling
Tingley, M. P., Stine, A., & Huybers, P. (2014) · Geophysical Research Letters · doi:10.1002/2014gl061268 · Cited by 35 · see citing works
“Furthermore, the Arctic light environment is generally more diffuse than the midlatitudes and becomes more diffuse in regions with stronger relative light limitation [Stine and Huybers, 2014].”
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Kirdyanov, A., Saurer, M., Arzac, A., Knorre, A., Prokushkin, A., (Sidorova), O. C., Arosio, T., Bebchuk, T., Siegwolf, R., & Büntgen, U. (2023) · Science of the Total Environment · doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.168858 · Cited by 21 · see citing works
“However, there can be other factors influencing tree growth, such as anthropogenic pollution and Arctic dimming (Kirdyanov et al., 2014, 2020a; Stine and Huybers, 2014; Büntgen et al., 2021b; Kharuk et al., 2023b), forest fires and subsequent changes in AL thickness (Goetz et al., 2007; Knorre et…”
BackgroundSummer Temperature Drives Radial Growth of Alpine Shrub Willows on the Northeastern Tibetan Plateau
Lu, X., Huang, R., Wang, Y., Sigdel, S. R., Dawadi, B., Liang, E., & Camarero, J. J. (2016) · Arctic Antarctic and Alpine Research · doi:10.1657/aaar0015-069 · Cited by 22 · see citing works
“Conversely, abundant summer rain- fall is accompanied by the thick cloud cover that reduces air temperature, thereby negatively affecting shrub growth (Buchwal et al., 2013; Stine and Huybers, 2015).”
BackgroundBrownlee, A. H., Sullivan, P. F., Csank, A. Z., Sveinbjörnsson, B., & Ellison, S. B. Z. (2015) · Ecology · doi:10.1890/15-0338.1 · Cited by 21 · see citing works
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“, more diffuse light after volcanic eruptions may stimulate growth (Stine and Huybers, 2014).”
August‐September Temperature Variability on the Tibetan Plateau: Past, Present, and Future
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“Tree‐ring maximum late‐wood density (MXD) forms in the late growing season and is sensitive to temperature conditions (Duan et al., 2017; Stine & Huybers, 2014), especially in the high latitudes and high‐altitude regions (Briffa et al., 1988; Bräuning & Mantwill, 2004; Duan et al., 2010, 2014,…”
BackgroundTrends of surface solar radiation in unforced CMIP5 simulations
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“Other contexts where SSR and its changes matter range from plant growth [Mercado et al., 2009; Stine and Huybers, 2014] to solar power production [Panagea et al., 2014; Wild et al., 2015; Bonjean Stanton et al., 2016].”
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“A complicating issue, however, is that the treering densities used in the climate reconstruction may overestimate volcanic cooling following large eruptions (Tingley et al. 2014; Stine and Huybers 2014).”
BackgroundDorado‐Liñán, I., Sanchez‐Lorenzo, A., Merino, E. G., Planells, O., Heinrich, I., Helle, G., & Zorita, E. (2015) · Climate Dynamics · doi:10.1007/s00382-015-2881-x · Cited by 12 · see citing works
“We used the subsets from (1) D’Arrigo et al. (2013); (2) Stine and Huybers (2014), which is derived from Gao et al. (2008) and; (3) a collection of seven volcanic eruptions that took place during the last two centuries from Gao et al. (2008).”
MethodWild, M., Ohmura, A., Schär, C., Müller, G., Folini, D., Schwarz, M., Hakuba, M., & Sanchez-Lorenzo, A. (2017) · doi:10.1594/pangaea.873078 · Cited by 12
“Further, GEBA data were used for the assessment of the worldwide variation in diffuse and direct shortwave radiation of relevance for biosphere growth, agricultural production, and tree-ring density (Mercado et al., 2009; Wild et al., 2012; Stine and Huybers, 2014).”
MethodMoradi, H., Schwab, N., & Schickhoff, U. (2025) · Dendrochronologia · doi:10.1016/j.dendro.2025.126306 · Cited by 10 · see citing works
Arctic aerosols and the ‘Divergence Problem’ in dendroclimatology
Büntgen, U., Kirdyanov, A. V., Krusic, P. J., Валерьевич, Ш. В., & Esper, J. (2021) · Dendrochronologia · doi:10.1016/j.dendro.2021.125837 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
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“Stine and Huybers [63] showed that no divergence is observed in arctic ecosystems with sufficient (non-limiting) light availability (i.”
BackgroundPost‐industrial late summer warming recorded in tree‐ring density in the eastern Tibetan Plateau
Duan, J.-P., Li, L., Ma, Z.-G., & Chen, L. (2019) · International Journal of Climatology · doi:10.1002/joc.6239 · Cited by 8
“In view of the better sensitivity of tree-ring MXD to light or temperature (Duan et al., 2013, 2017; Stine and Huybers, 2014), an extension of tree-ring density records provides us with an opportunity to evaluate recent warming within a longer historical context.”
BackgroundLeland, C., D'Arrigo, R. D., Davi, N., Anchukaitis, K. J., Andreu‐Hayles, L., Porter, T. J., Galloway, T., Mant, M. L., Wiles, G. C., Wilson, R. J. S., et al. (2023) · Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology · doi:10.1029/2022pa004581 · Cited by 10 · see citing works
“Stine and Huybers (2014) suggested that explosive volcanic eruptions can further decrease tree-ring density measurements via a reduction in light availability, especially in “light-limited” Arctic regions.”
BackgroundSuperellipse Equation Describing the Geometries of Abies alba Tree Rings
Huang, W., Ma, K.-H., Tan, J., Wei, M., & Lu, Y. (2024) · Plants · doi:10.3390/plants13243487 · Cited by 6
Unprecedented recent late-summer warm extremes recorded in tree-ring density on the Tibetan Plateau
Duan, J.-P., Wu, P.-L., Ma, Z.-G., & Duan, Y.-W. (2020) · Environmental Research Letters · doi:10.1088/1748-9326/ab5e01 · Cited by 5
Franco, M. G., Mundo, I. A., Pastur, G. J. M., & Barrera, M. D. (2019) · Dendrochronologia · doi:10.1016/j.dendro.2019.125625 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Revisiting the 10th‐Century Eldgjá Eruption: Modeling the Climatic and Environmental Impacts
Fuglestvedt, H., Gabriel, I., Sigl, M., Thordarson, T., & Krüger, K. (2024) · Geophysical Research Letters · doi:10.1029/2024gl110507 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
“…in the tree‐ring records compared to simulations remain uncertain, recent studies suggest that light availability and aerosol‐cloud interactions can influence the tree‐ring response to volcanic eruptions, including Icelandic ones (Chen et al., 2022; Helama et al., 2018; Stine & Huybers, 2014).”
Is temperature still the most limiting factor for growth in northern boreal forests?
Schreel, J. (2021) · The Holocene · doi:10.1177/09596836211011661 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
“As a result, an undetected, large divergence during that period cannot be fully discarded (Stine and Huybers, 2014), but is unlikely (Cook et al., 2004), making the currently observed divergence problem (DP) puzzling.”
BackgroundInfluentialDistinct seasonal climate drivers revealed in a network of tree-ring records from Labrador, Canada
Parfitt, R., Ummenhofer, C. C., Buckley, B. M., Hansen, K. G., & D'Arrigo, R. D. (2020) · Climate Dynamics · doi:10.1007/s00382-019-05092-6 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Zhao, G., Xin, Z., Liu, J., Huang, Y.-Z., Keyimu, M., & Li, Z.-S. (2023) · Forests · doi:10.3390/f14061219 · Cited by 2
Arctic moistening provides negative feedbacks to riparian plants
Helama, S., Arppe, L., Mielikäinen, K., & Oinonen, M. (2018) · Global Change Biology · doi:10.1111/gcb.14058 · Cited by 2
Heterogeneous warming of Northern Hemisphere surface temperatures over the last 1200 years
Tingley, M. P., & Huybers, P. (2015) · Journal of Geophysical Research Atmospheres · doi:10.1002/2014jd022506 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
“Also worth noting is evidence that the divergence between tree ring reconstructions and temperature is related to global dimming [Stine and Huybers, 2014; Tingley et al., 2014] and is likely an exclusively twentieth century phenomena.”
BackgroundSelf-citationFranke, J., Valler, V., Brönnimann, S., Neukom, R., & Santero, F. J. (2019) · doi:10.5194/cp-2019-80 · Cited by 1
“Limiting factors may change over time (Babst et al., 2019) or light availability may be important and not always be highly correlated with temperature, i.e. more diffuse light after 275 volcanic may stimulate growth (Stine and Huybers, 2014).”
Multiscale combination of climate model simulations and proxy records over the last millennium
Chen, X., Xing, P., Luo, Y., Nie, S., Zhao, Z., Huang, J.-B., & Tian, Q.-H. (2018) · Theoretical and Applied Climatology · doi:10.1007/s00704-017-2119-4 · Cited by 1
“A great number of studies have addressed the capability of model simulation and proxy-based reconstruction in estimating the response to volcanic eruptions (Anchukaitis et al. 2012; D’Arrigo et al. 2013; Mann et al. 2012; Stine and Huybers 2014; Tingley et al. 2014).”
BackgroundExorcizing Divergence in Tree‐Ring Density Along the Rocky Mountains
Kunz, M., Torbenson, M. C. A., Reinig, F., del Castillo, E. M., Büntgen, U., Wilson, R., Homfeld, I. K., King, G. M., Reid, E., Anchukaitis, K. J., et al. (2026) · Journal of Geophysical Research Biogeosciences · doi:10.1029/2026jg009783
“…(Esper et al., 2010), “global” (Stanhill & Cohen, 2001; Wild, 2009) or “Arctic dimming” (Büntgen, Kirdyanov, et al., 2021; Kir-dyanov et al., 2020; Stine & Huybers, 2014) caused by anthropogenic aerosols, stand dynamics (Grudd, 2008), and methodological issues (Büntgen et al., 2008, 2011;…”
Yang, T., Shen, Y.-L., Shen, J., Wang, T.-Y., Zhao, Y., Mu, X.-W., & Jiang, F. (2026) · Evolving Earth · doi:10.1016/j.eve.2026.100154
- Authors
- Stine, A. R., & Huybers, P.
- Affiliations
- San Francisco State University (US)
- Harvard University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Stine, A. R.
- Venue
- Nature Communications
- Published
- 2014-05-07
- Volume
- 5
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 3836-3836
- ISSN
- 2041-1723 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC4024743
- OpenAlex
- W2159771609
- Cited by
- 62
- References
- 51
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 1 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 4 · 2019: 8 · 2018: 10 · 2017: 8 · 2016: 8 · 2015: 6 · 2014: 2 · 2013: 1
- FWCI
- 5.31
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Nature Communications (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Digital Access to Scholarship at Harvard (DASH) (Harvard University) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- National Science Foundation (1304309)
- San Francisco State University
- Harvard University
- Center for the Environment, Harvard University
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Atmospheric Science › Tree-ring climate responses
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Atmospheric Science › Geology and Paleoclimatology Research
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Global and Planetary Change › Climate variability and models
- Keywords
- light availability, tree-ring density, tree-ring width, global dimming, volcanic eruptions, atmospheric transmission, light limitation, tree growth, paleoclimate reconstruction
- MeSH terms
- Arctic Regions, Sunlight, Trees, Volcanic Eruptions
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