Abstract ID: 3.14045 | Not reviewed | Requested as: Talk | TBA | TBA

Climate models project droughts of stronger intensity and longer persistence in many arid and semi-arid regions such as northern Patagonia mountains, which constitutes a serious concern worldwide. Soil moisture availability has a significant influence on the dynamic, stability and function of terrestrial ecosystems. In this study, we used wood samples of Austrocedrus chilensis and Araucaria araucana trees growing in northwestern Patagonia mountains to reconstruct the soil moisture for the last 900 years (1171-2020). Our reconstruction explained 51% of the variance contained in the September-January for the period 1987–2015. The soil moisture reconstructions indicate that during the last 2 years is decreasing the moisture. The spatial and temporal relationships associated with the Pacific Sea Surface Temperature indicated that the temporal variability observed in the soil moisture reconstruction is modulated by hemispheric-scale atmospheric circulation dynamics. Furthermore, the soil moisture reconstruction showed a spatial and temporal pattern similar to that observed in previous PDSI-based reconstructions. This study provides robust evidence of paleohydroclimatic variations for mountains of South America, improving our knowledge of the climate dynamics during the last millennium and allowing us to review the recently observed increase in wet and dry events in a long-term historical context.