Climate reconstruction from tree rings: Part 1, basic methodology and preliminary results for England

Ring widths of oak trees ( Quercus petraea Liebl. and Q. robor L.) from a network of 14 sites (13 in the British Isles and one in France) are used to reconstruct spatially‐averaged temperature and rainfall for England. A multiple linear regression technique is used, in which the regressors are orthogonal principal components of the ring widths. The multiple correlation coefficients are, statistically, highly significant, and the regression models' stability has been confirmed using independent data. These results demonstrate the usefulness of tree‐ring widths for climate reconstruction in temperate, maritime areas.