Effects of sample size in dendroclimatology

Uncertainty related to the rate and magnitude of predicted anthropogenic climate change highlights the need to enhance our understanding of past natural fluctuations in the Earth's climate system. This task emphasizes the importance of high-resolution palaeoclimatic records that cover industrial and pre-industrial times. Annually resolved and absolutely dated tree-ring measurements are a key input for cross-disciplinary research. Ambiguity due to paucity of data, however, characterizes many tree-ring data analyses. By utilizing nearly 12 000 living and historical ring width series from European fir Abies alba Mill., we demonstrate how massive sample replication can generate robust estimates of past growth rates, which may help reduce methodological and statistical constraints associated with many traditional tree-ring studies.