Annually resolved tree-ring width and density measurements are widely used to reconstruct past variations in local- to hemispheric-scale temperatures (e.g., Jones & Mann 2004). Those proxies are generally derived from trees located in the high-northern latitudes or at high elevations (Fritts 1976, Schweingruber 1996). For Europe, multi-centennial to millennial-long tree-ring records (Büntgen et al. 2005, 2006a, b) and network analyses (Frank & Esper 2005) are predominantly derived from the Alps, whereas only few data are available from the Pyrenees (Büntgen et al. 2007a) and the Carpathian arc (Büntgen et al. 2007b). Moreover, only a few dendrochronological studies investigated the effect of anthropogenic airborne pollution on late 20^th century forest vigor in the Carpathian arc (Bytnerowicz et al. 2004, Grodzinska et al. 2004). Some other studies have analyzed the growth/climate response at the local-scale (Feliksik 1993, Bednarz et al. 1999, Szychowska-Krapiec 1998). However, studies considering the entire mountain system are broadly missing.
Here we (i) developed a tree-ring width (TRW) network of ten high-elevation spruce (Picea abies L. Karst) site chronologies along the Carpathian arc, (ii) detailed its growth/climate response as a function of (iii) geographical settings, and (iv) provide first evidence to allow bridging the existing gap between northern and southern European TRW chronologies, which have not been cross-dated in the past.