The Suceava oak chronology: A new 804 years long tree-ring chronology bridging the gap between central and south Europe

Although the importance of centuries-long tree ring width oak chronologies in dating wood, eastern European regions are still lacking a reference chronology. To fill this geographical gap, we combined living and historical chronologies from the Moldova region, including part of Romania and the Republic of Moldova. Here we present the Suceava oak chronology as the first 804 years long chronology continuously covering the 1216-2019 period. Our analyses further revealed the strong teleconnection of the Suceava oak chronology with south European ones. The link between Romania and northern Turkey chronologies is of particular importance in the context of the high abundance of undated subfossil and archaeological/historical oak wood in eastern Europe and intense wood trades with central Europe in XV-XVII centuries. The availability of the Suceava oak chronology will provide a good base for precise dating and climatic reconstructions.

Automated summary

The study highlighted the importance of creating a reference chronology in eastern European regions by combining living and historical chronologies, presenting the Suceava oak chronology as the first long chronology covering the 1216-2019 period. The strong teleconnection with south European chronologies and the link with Romania and northern Turkey chronologies are of particular importance for dating undated wood and reconstructing climate in the region.