Reconstruction of a long streamflow record using tree rings in the upper Kurshab River (Pamir-Alai Mountains) and its application to water resources management

A 294-year streamflow record of the upper Kurshab River was inferred from tree-ring width chronology of Turkestan juniper from the Pamir-Alai Mountains of Kyrgyzstan. The reconstructed streamflow variations were consistent with other hydrometeorological reconstructions of northern Pakistan and western Tien Shan on a decadal timescale, which demonstrate both increased and decreased streamflow intervals and trends. The new reconstruction and other hydrometeorological series successfully captured the recent wetting trend of Central Asia. Wavelet analysis indicates that decadal and interannual cycles exist in the reconstructed streamflow, which may be linked to solar activity and the North Atlantic Oscillation.