The Dendroclimatological Value of the European Larch (Larix decidua Mill.) in the French Maritime Alps

The relations between the width growth of thousand year old larches of the French Maritime Alps (Vallée des Merveilles, north of Nice) and climate are investigated in several ways. A first analysis of tree-ring width compared with meteorological data of the last 21 years (1954-1974) reveals above all an inverse relationship to precipitation and temperature for the months of June and July. Moreover the temperature and rain of the autumn (September in particular) and previous winter seem to affect ring formation as well as the temperature and rain of March and May of the current season. Thus comparison of tree-ring width variations - during the thousand year period of tree growth - with climatic data from various sources (history, chronicle, variations of the glacial front lines, known climatic episodes) shows that climate reconstruction, over several centuries, at the limits of the Mediterranean zone, can be obtained with larch of the French Maritime Alps.This item is part of the Tree-Ring Research (formerly Tree-Ring Bulletin) archive. It was digitized from a physical copy provided by the Laboratory of Tree-Ring research at The University of Arizona. For more information about this peer-reviewed scholarly journal, please email the Editor of Tree-Ring Research at editor@treeringsociety.org