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This book is a review and description of the state-of-the-art methods of tree-ring analy~is with specific emphasis on applications in the environmental sciences. Traditionally, methods of tree-ring analysis, or more properly in this case methods 0/ dendrochronology, were developed and used for dating archaeological and historical structures and for reconstructing past climates. The classic book Tree Rings and Climate, by H.C. Fritts, published in 1976, provided a superb introduction to the science and an in-depth description of techniques useful for extracting climatic information from tree rings. This book, which was published by Academic Press, is sadly out of print and, even though only 12 years old, lim ited in its methods and applications. This is owing to the extremely rapid development of the science since the 1970s. Only recently have tree rings as environmental sensors been fully recog nized as a valuable tool in detecting environmental change. For example, tree ring measurements have been critically important in studies of forest decline in Europe and North America. There are also attempts to use tree-ring analysis for ecological prognosis to solve large-scale regional problems including the sustain ability of water supplies, prediction of agricultural crops, and adoption of silvi cultural measures in response to ecological changes. More speculatively, dendro chronological methods are also used for dating and evaluating some astrophysical phenomena and for indicating possible increase in the biospheric carrying capac ity due to increased atmospheric carbon dioxide.
Tree-ring dating (dendrochronology) is a method of scientific dating based on the analysis of tree-ring growth patterns. As author James Speer notes, trees are remarkable bioindicators. Although there are other scientific means of dating climatic and environmental events, dendrochronology provides the most reliable of all paleorecords. Dendrochronology can be applied to very old trees to provide long-term records of past temperature, rainfall, fire, insect outbreaks, landslides, hurricanes, and ice storms--to name only a few events. This comprehensive text addresses all of the subjects that a reader who is new to the field will need to know and will be a welcome reference for practitioners at all levels. It includes a history of the discipline, biological and ecological background, principles of the field, basic scientific information on the structure and growth of trees, the complete range of dendrochronology methods, and a full description of each of the relevant subdisciplines. Individual chapters address the composition of wood, methods of field and laboratory study, dendroarchaeology, dendroclimatology, dendroecology, dendrogeomorphology, and dendrochemistry. The book also provides thorough introductions to common computer programs and methods of statistical analysis. In the final chapter, the author describes "frontiers in dendrochronology," with an eye toward future directions in the field. He concludes with several useful appendixes, including a listing of tree and shrub species that have been used successfully by dendrochronologists. Throughout, photographs and illustrations visually represent the state of knowledge in the field.
Tree Rings and Climate deals with the principles of dendrochronology, with emphasis on tree-ring studies involving climate-related problems. This book looks at the spatial and temporal variations in tree-ring growth and how they can be used to reconstruct past climate. Factors and conditions that appear most relevant to tree-ring research are highlighted. Comprised of nine chapters, this book opens with an overview of the basic biological facts and principles of tree growth, as well as the most important terms, principles, and concepts of dendrochronology. The discussion then shifts to the basic biology governing the response of ring width to variation in climate; systematic variations in the width and cell structure of annual tree rings; and the significance of tree growth and structure to dendroclimatology. The movement of materials and internal water relations of trees are also considered, along with photosynthesis, respiration, and the climatic and environmental system. Models of the growth-climate relationships as well as the basic statistics and methods of analysis of these relationships are described. The final chapter includes a general discussion of dendroclimatographic data and presents examples of statistical models that are useful for reconstructing spatial variations in climate. This monograph will be of interest to climatologists, college students, and practitioners in fields such as botany, archaeology, hydrology, oceanography, biology, physiology, forestry, and geophysics.
One of Springer’s Major Reference Works, this book gives the reader a truly global perspective. It is the first major reference work in its field. Paleoclimate topics covered in the encyclopedia give the reader the capability to place the observations of recent global warming in the context of longer-term natural climate fluctuations. Significant elements of the encyclopedia include recent developments in paleoclimate modeling, paleo-ocean circulation, as well as the influence of geological processes and biological feedbacks on global climate change. The encyclopedia gives the reader an entry point into the literature on these and many other groundbreaking topics.
This is the second of two high-level, data-rich volumes from the massive Smithsonian/MAB Biological Diversity Program documenting the latest findings on forest biodiversity. In original contributions, some three hundred scientists from over forty countries discuss socioeconomic aspects, ecological monitoring and assessment, forest dynamics, growth trends, dry forests, species richness of woody regeneration and of vascular plants, hurricane impact, tropical cloud forests, Landsat-TM satellite mapping, and quantitative ethnobotany. The book covers first the research and monitoring methodologies for the New World and then the results of individual research and integrated studies on all aspects of forest biodiversity in North and South America and the Caribbean.
Conifers dominate temperate and boreal forests around the world and many species are economically important for structural timber production. They are also adapted to extreme climatatic conditions, such as drought and cold temperatures. Numerous conifer species occur within the Pacific Northwest United States (PNW) including firs, hemlocks, cedars, larches, and pines. The diversity of hydrologic and geographic variables across the PNW creates distinctive localized climates with differing limiting factors on conifer growth, such as temperature, moisture, and nutrient availability. Dendrochronology, or tree-ring dating, is a multidisciplinary methodology that utilizes annual tree ring widths to investigate environmental conditions influencing trees or stands throughout their life. A substantial amount of information is known about tree-growth responses to climate and stand dynamics. However, investigations into interacting silvicultural and climatological influences, as well as spatial variability of growth relationships, may inform future management and dendrochronological techniques. The first three chapters of this dissertation utilize dendrochronology to investigate multiple drivers of species-specific tree growth. The first chapter investigates the impacts of density reductions, via different thinning intensities, on tree growth in moist mixed coniferous forests in northern Idaho, USA. Species that respond rapidly to available sunlight and/or nutrients, like western larch and western redcedar, show the greatest growth increases following thinning. The less consistent responses to thinning by western hemlock and grand fir were likely due to their autecological characteristics and inherent lack of responses to greater growing space. Findings from Chapter 1 align with past thinning experiments and found that thinning is an effective tool for increasing growth in most species. However, if the objectives are to favor injury-prone and less competitive species like western hemlock and grand fir, precautions must be taken during and after treatment to limit tree damage that could produce undesired responses. Chapter 2 presents the temporal variability of growth-drought relationships for the same species from Chapter 1, and how that relationship is influenced by thinning. The four species in this study, western larch, grand fir, western redcedar, and western hemlock, show a wide range of responses to drought depending on timing of drought, length of drought, intensity of drought, and forest stand density. Findings indicate that length and season of drought, species-specific drought tolerance, and stage of stand development, influence growth-drought responses. Drought sensitivity often involves trade-offs among other limiting factors like direct competition for resources. Moreover, trees growing in moist forests may not be as highly susceptible to droughts as those in dry forests. Therefore, it is suggested that stands be managed as complex adaptive systems by prioritizing species, age, and structural diversity. Results from Chapter 1 and Chapter 2 demonstrate that strip clearcutting in moist forest results in diverse conifer species composition and structure that can be further managed to create complexity through mid-rotation thinning. Chapter 3 focused at a larger spatial scale (e.g., greater PNW) to examine the effects of geographical factors on flow-growth relationships of four different conifer species. Streamflow correlated negatively with subalpine fir and mountain hemlock growth, species commonly found at cool, moist, high elevation sites, indicating that they are likely more sensitive to severe environmental variation like those experienced with climate change. Drier-site species, Douglas-fir and ponderosa pine were mostly positively correlated with flow, though a few had significant negative correlations, indicating that they are species with high adaptive capacity. Results help simplify planning for field collections and strengthen methodologies for future streamflow reconstructions by supplying knowledge about which streams, species, elevations, and directions will yield the most robust models in the spatially diverse terrain of the PNW. Chapter 4 is a collaborative synthesis of climate change research in the Columbia River Basin (CRB). Results show that spatial distribution and thematic content of research varies across an international border, with greater concentrations of research in the United States than Canada. A general scarcity of social science research and limited interaction between social and biophysical content reinforces the need for increased collaboration between disparate disciplines. Future research focus areas should include research related to climate change adaptation and mitigation, increased integration between social and biophysical sciences, and collaborations that bridge the international border for a more unified basin-wide focus. Focusing on these new directions for research will increase the potential for science and management communities to co-produce actionable science and effective responses to climate change. With the utilization of dendrochronological techniques, many of the interacting drivers of species-specific tree growth in the PNW were discovered. Shade tolerance, disturbance dynamics, and hydroclimate all influence conifer growth in the region. The relationships between streamflow and growth are heightened for trees growing in extreme climates, and these relationships are driven by geographical features. Overall, this dissertation provides insight into dendrochronological techniques as well as silvicultural management in moist mixed conifer forests; it also lends support that forest management can assist tree growth and alter growth-drought relationships depending on species. Finally, the dissertation offers additional evidence to the decades-long theory that trees growing at the edges of their ranges show higher sensitivity to limiting factors.
A top priority in climate research is obtaining broad-extent and long-term data to support analyses of historical patterns and trends, and for model development and evaluation. Along with directly measured climate data from the present and recent past, it is important to obtain estimates of long past climate variations spanning multiple centuries and millennia. Dendroclimatic Studies at the North American Tree Line presents an overview of the current state of dendroclimatology, its contributions over the past few decades, and its future potential. The material included is not useful not only to those who generate tree-ring records of past climate-dendroclimatologists, but also to users of their results-climatologists, hydrologists, ecologists and archeologists. In summary, this book: Sheds light on recent and future climate trends by assessing long term past climatic variations from tree rings Is a timely coverage of a crucial topic in climate science portraying recent warming trends which are of serious concern today Features well-reputed scientists highlighting new advanced methodologies to reconstruct past climate change Models the tree growth environmental response