Ulf Büntgen

Biographic Data

ID299599
NAMEUlf Büntgen
GIVEN NAMESUlf
FAMILY NAMEBüntgen
SIGNATUREBÜNTGEN U
AFFILIATIONSMasaryk University
ORCID0000-0002-3821-0818
VERIFIEDYes
TOTAL WORKS43
TOTAL CITATIONS1099
AUTHOR COUNT43
EDITOR COUNT0
FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR2006
LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR2026
H-INDEX6

  • An absolutely dated mid-Holocene English yew chronology offers new opportunities for archaeological and palaeoenvironmental research

    Open AccessTatiana Bebchuk, Darren Davies et al.ARTICLEThe Holocene2026References: 14

    Research on Holocene climate variability and human history greatly benefits from annually resolved and absolutely dated tree-ring chronologies. The quality and quantity of such records, however, decline back in time, with little tree-ring evidence available for the Early and Middle Holocene. Here, we present a tree-ring width (TRW) chronology from 100 subfossil yews ( Taxus baccata L.) excavated from peat-rich soils in the Fenland region of easte…

  • Multi-Proxy Tree-Ring Dating during the Younger Dryas

    Frederick Reinig, Adam Sookdeo et al.ARTICLETree-Ring Research2025

    The world's longest tree-ring chronology comprises thousands of oak and pine series from Germany and continuously covers the Holocene back to 12,325 cal BP. A lack of relict wood from the Younger Dryas cold reversal ca. 12,900–11,700 cal BP, however, challenges the extension of this absolutely dated ring width record further back in time. Here, we combine 646 high-resolution stable oxygen isotope and 795 radiocarbon measurements from subfossil pi…

  • The Circulation of Yersinia pestis in Central Eurasia before and during the First Plague Pandemic (Second to Eighth Century CE)

    Open AccessJohannes Preiser-Kapeller, William A Mcgrath et al.ARTICLEHuman Ecology2025References: 111

    Modern Yersinia pestis genomes show the greatest diversity of the plague pathogen in Central Eurasia. This region is now widely linked to the origins of the Y. pestis lineages responsible for two historic plague pandemics: one starting with the so-called “Justinianic Plague” of the mid-sixth century and the other with the “Black Death” of the mid-fourteenth century. These pandemics have mostly been studied in the Mediterranean region and Europe. …

  • A tree ring-based spring temperature reconstruction for the Hindu Kush region in northern Pakistan

    Open AccessFayaz Asad, Muhammad Adil et al.ARTICLETrees Forests and People2024

    Annually resolved and absolutely dated proxy archives are necessary for contextualizing the rate and amplitude of anthropogenic climate change. High-resolution climate reconstructions are particularly important for remote regions where instrumental meteorological observations are limited in space and time. Here, we develop a robust, 260-year-long tree-ring width chronology from 32 Himalayan cedars (Cedrus deodara D. Don), which grew around 3000m …

  • Arctic amplification causes earlier onset of seasonal tree growth in northeastern Siberia

    Open AccessAlexander V Kirdyanov, Alexey I Kolmogorov et al.ARTICLEEnvironmental Research Letters2024

    Although recent warming affects the high-northern latitudes at an unprecedented rate, little is known about its impact on boreal forests because in situ observations from remote ecosystems in Siberia are sparse. Here, we analyse the radial growth and climate sensitivity of 54 Cajander larches ( Larix cajanderi Mayr.) from three sites across the northern treeline ecotone within the Omoloy river basin in northeastern Siberia. Three independent tree…

  • Tree-ring stable isotopes in cellulose and lignin methoxy groups reveal different age-related behaviour

    Open AccessAnna Wieland, Philipp Römer et al.ARTICLEQuaternary International2024

    Tree-ring stable isotopes (TRSI) have the unique ability to capture inter-annual to multi-millennial climate trends and extremes if the appropriate data and methods are combined. However, there is still an ongoing debate about age-related biases in TRSI measurements that potentially affect the fidelity of their chronologies and subsequent climate reconstructions. Here, we investigate carbon and oxygen TRSI measurements in cellulose (δ13Ccell and …

  • Russian dilemma for global arctic science

    Open AccessW G Rees, Ulf BüntgenARTICLEAMBIO2024Cited by: 1References: 12

    Polar regions are critically implicated in our understanding of global climate change. This is particularly the case for the Arctic, where positive feedback loops and climate tipping points enhance complexity and urgency. Half of the Arctic and much of the world’s permafrost zone lie within Russian territory. Heightened geopolitical tensions, however, have severely damaged scientific collaboration between Russia and previously well established ac…

  • A frequency-optimised temperature record for the Holocene

    Open AccessHelen Essell, Paul J Krusic et al.ARTICLEEnvironmental Research Letters2023

    Existing global mean surface temperature reconstructions for the Holocene lack high-frequency variability that is essential for contextualising recent trends and extremes in the Earth’s climate system. Here, we isolate and recombine archive-specific climate signals to generate a frequency-optimised record of interannual to multi-millennial temperature changes for the past 12 000 years. Average temperatures before ∼8000 years BP and after ∼4000 ye…

  • Risk and reward of the global truffle sector under predicted climate change

    Open AccessTomáš Čejka, Elizabeth L Isaac et al.ARTICLEEnvironmental Research Letters2022

    Climate change has been described as the main threat for the cultivation and growth of truffles, but hydroclimate variability and model uncertainty challenge regional projections and adaptation strategies of the emerging sector. Here, we conduct a literature review to define the main Périgord truffle growing regions around the world and use 20 global climate models to assess the impact of future trends and extremes in temperature, precipitation a…

  • Investigation of age trends in tree-ring stable carbon and oxygen isotopes from northern Fennoscandia over the past millennium

    Open AccessMax C A Torbenson, Lara Klippel et al.ARTICLEQuaternary International2022

  • Scrutinizing tree‐ring parameters for Holocene climate reconstructions

    Open AccessUlf BüntgenARTICLEWiley Interdisciplinary Reviews…2022References: 5

    Independent evidence from Europe and Asia shows that tree‐ring stable isotopes can reveal persistent long‐term hydroclimate trends that are generally not captured by more traditional dendroclimatic studies using tree‐ring width or density. Since the recently observed long‐term discrepancy between flatter “growth‐dependent” and more varying “growth‐independent” climate proxy data is unrelated to possible biases of statistical age‐trend removal, I …

  • The role of drought during the Hunnic incursions into central-east Europe in the 4th and 5th c. CE

    Open AccessSusanne Hakenbeck, Ulf BüntgenARTICLEJournal of Roman Archaeology2022Cited by: 2References: 20

    The Hunnic incursions into eastern and central Europe in the 4th and 5th c. CE have historically been considered one of the key factors in bringing the Roman Empire to an end. However, both the origins of the Huns and their impact on the late Roman provinces remain poorly understood. Here we provide a new, combined assessment of the archaeological, historical, and environmental evidence. Hunnic raids and warfare within the Roman provinces are mos…

  • Science in Silence

    Open AccessUlf Büntgen, Paul J Krusic et al.ARTICLEErdkunde2021

    Intellectual and cultural benefits from extended periods of self-isolation have a long history. The ongoing decline in academic freedom, however, distinguishes the coronavirus disease from previous crises. Despite the unprecedented political and economic challenges, as well as the devastating societal disruptions caused by the global COVID-19 pandemic, this study focusses on the fresh opportunities the current coronavirus restrictions offer to qu…

  • Rethinking a sustainable truffle sector under global crises

    Open AccessUlf Büntgen, Tomáš Čejka et al.ARTICLEErdkunde2021

    Global climate change is the main threat for the emerging truffle sector, which already extends across seven key regions in the Americas, Europe, South Africa and Australasia. At the same time, the potential effects of financial crises and global pandemics have not yet been considered in most risk assessments. Here we describe the direct and indirect impacts of the actual coronavirus pandemic on the rising truffle sector. We discuss how COVID-19 …

  • Climate and environmental context of the Mongol invasion of Syria and defeat at ‘Ayn Jālūt (1258–1260 CE)

    Open AccessNicola Di Cosmo, Sebastian Wagner et al.ARTICLEErdkunde2021Cited by: 3

    After a successful conquest of large parts of Syria in 1258 and 1259 CE, the Mongol army lost the battle of 'Ayn Jālūt against Mamluks on September 3, 1260 CE. Recognized as a turning point in world history, their sudden defeat triggered the reconfiguration of strategic alliances and geopolitical power not only in the Middle East, but also across much of Eurasia. Despite decades of research, scholars have not yet reached consensus over the causes…

  • Long-term ecological consequences of forest fires in the continuous permafrost zone of Siberia

    Open AccessAlexander V Kirdyanov, Matthias Saurer et al.ARTICLEEnvironmental Research Letters2020

    Wildfires are an important factor in controlling forest ecosystem dynamics across the circumpolar boreal zone. An improved understanding of their direct and indirect, short- to long-term impacts on vegetation cover and permafrost–vegetation coupling is particularly important to predict changes in carbon, nutrient and water cycles under projected climate warming. Here, we apply dendrochronological techniques on a multi-parameter dataset to reconst…

  • A millennium-long ‘Blue Ring’ chronology from the Spanish Pyrenees reveals severe ephemeral summer cooling after volcanic eruptions

    Open AccessAlma Piermattei, Alan Crivellaro et al.ARTICLEEnvironmental Research Letters2020

    ‘ Blue Rings’ (BRs) are distinct wood anatomical anomalies recently discovered in several tree species from different sites. While it is evident that they are associated with a cooling-induced lack of cell wall lignification, BRs have yet to be evaluated systematically in paleoclimate studies. Here, we present a continuous wood anatomical assessment of 31 living and relict pine samples from a high-elevation site in the central Spanish Pyrenees th…

  • Quality Dating

    Open AccessAdam Sookdeo, Bernd Kromer et al.ARTICLERadiocarbon2020Cited by: 8References: 27

    Advances in accelerator mass spectrometry have resulted in an unprecedented amount of new high-precision radiocarbon ( 14 C) -dates, some of which will redefine the international 14 C calibration curves (IntCal and SHCal). Often these datasets are unaccompanied by detailed quality insurances in place at the laboratory, questioning whether the 14 C structure is real, a result of a laboratory variation or measurement-scatter. A handful of intercomp…

  • Illuminating Intcal During the Younger Dryas

    Open AccessFrederick Reinig, Adam Sookdeo et al.ARTICLERadiocarbon2020Cited by: 5References: 18

    As the worldwide standard for radiocarbon ( 14 C) dating over the past ca. 50,000 years, the International Calibration Curve (IntCal) is continuously improving towards higher resolution and replication. Tree-ring-based 14 C measurements provide absolute dating throughout most of the Holocene, although high-precision data are limited for the Younger Dryas interval and farther back in time. Here, we describe the dendrochronological characteristics …

  • The IntCal20 Northern Hemisphere Radiocarbon Age Calibration Curve (0–55 cal kBP)

    Open AccessPaula J Reimer, William E N Austin et al.ARTICLERadiocarbon2020Cited by: 997References: 150

    Radiocarbon ( 14 C) ages cannot provide absolutely dated chronologies for archaeological or paleoenvironmental studies directly but must be converted to calendar age equivalents using a calibration curve compensating for fluctuations in atmospheric 14 C concentration. Although calibration curves are constructed from independently dated archives, they invariably require revision as new data become available and our understanding of the Earth syste…

  • Black truffle winter production depends on Mediterranean summer precipitation

    Open AccessUlf Büntgen, Daniel Oliach et al.ARTICLEEnvironmental Research Letters2019

    The unprecedented price inflation of Black truffles, recently exceeding 5000 Euro kg −1 (in Zurich), is a combined result of increasing global demands and decreasing Mediterranean harvests. Since the effects of long-term irrigation and climate variation on symbiotic fungus-host interaction and the development of belowground microbes are poorly understood, the establishment and maintenance of truffle plantations remains a risky venture. Using 49 y…

  • European warm-season temperature and hydroclimate since 850 CE

    Open AccessFredrik Charpentier Ljungqvist, Andrea Seim et al.ARTICLEEnvironmental Research Letters2019

    The long-term relationship between temperature and hydroclimate has remained uncertain due to the short length of instrumental measurements and inconsistent results from climate model simulations. This lack of understanding is particularly critical with regard to projected drought and flood risks. Here we assess warm-season co-variability patterns between temperature and hydroclimate over Europe back to 850 CE using instrumental measurements, tre…

  • Dendroarchaeological evidence of early medieval water mill technology

    Open AccessBernhard Muigg, Willy Tegel et al.ARTICLEJournal of Archaeological Science2018Cited by: 2References: 2

  • Linking European building activity with plague history

    Open AccessFredrik Charpentier Ljungqvist, Willy Tegel et al.ARTICLEJournal of Archaeological Science2018Cited by: 9References: 17

  • Speed Dating

    Open AccessAdam Sookdeo, Lukas Wacker et al.ARTICLERadiocarbon2017Cited by: 3References: 25

    Radiocarbon measurements in tree rings can be used to estimate atmospheric 14 C concentration and thereby used to create a 14 C calibration curve. When wood is discovered in construction sites, rivers, buildings, and lake sediments, it is unclear if the wood could fill gaps in the 14 C calibration curve or if the wood is of historical interest until the age is determined by dendrochronology or 14 C dating. However, dendrochronological dating is s…