Dendrochronologists have long estimated the impact of climate on tree-ring growth by empirical-statistical methods. The use of the model is illustrated with examples from widely differing environments, and possible future directions for model development and application are discussed. As forests are the main carbon sink on land, the results are of great importance for all global change studies.

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. These longer time perspectives are needed for assessing the unusualness of recent climate changes, as well as for providing insight on the range, variation and overall dynamics of the climate system over time spans exceeding available records from instruments, such as rain gauges and thermometers. Tree rings have become increasingly valuable in providing this long-term information because extensive data networks have been developed in temperate and boreal zones of the Earth, and quantitative methods for analyzing these data have advanced. Tree rings are among the most useful paleoclimate information sources available because they provide a high degree of chronological accuracy, high replication, and extensive spatial coverage spanning recent centuries. With the expansion and extension of tree-ring data and analytical capacity new climatic insights from tree rings are being used in a variety of applications, including for interpretation of past changes in ecosystems and human societies. This volume presents an overview of the current state of dendroclimatology, its contributions over the last 30 years, and its future potential. The material included is 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. ‘With the pressing climatic questions of the 21st century demanding a deeper understanding of the climate system and our impact upon it, this thoughtful volume comes at critical moment. It will be of fundamental importance in not only guiding researchers, but in educating scientists and the interested lay person on the both incredible power and potential pitfalls of reconstructing climate using tree-ring analysis.’, Glen M. MacDonald, UCLA Institute of the Environment, CA, USA ‘This is an up-to-date treatment of all branches of tree-ring science, by the world’s experts in the field, reminding us that tree rings are the most important source of proxy data on climate change. Should be read by all budding dendrochronology scientists.’, Alan Robock, Rutgers University, NJ, USA

In response to a request from Congress, Surface Temperature Reconstructions for the Last 2,000 Years assesses the state of scientific efforts to reconstruct surface temperature records for Earth during approximately the last 2,000 years and the implications of these efforts for our understanding of global climate change. Because widespread, reliable temperature records are available only for the last 150 years, scientists estimate temperatures in the more distant past by analyzing "proxy evidence," which includes tree rings, corals, ocean and lake sediments, cave deposits, ice cores, boreholes, and glaciers. Starting in the late 1990s, scientists began using sophisticated methods to combine proxy evidence from many different locations in an effort to estimate surface temperature changes during the last few hundred to few thousand years. This book is an important resource in helping to understand the intricacies of global climate change.

Dendrogeomorphology Beginnings and Futures: A Personal Reminiscence My early forays into dendrogeomorphology occurred long before I even knew what that word meant. I was working as a young geoscientist in the 1960s and early 1970s on a problem with slope movements and deformed vegetation. At the same time, unknown to me, Jouko Alestalo in Finland was doing something similar. Both of us had seen that trees which produced annual growth rings were reacting to g- morphic processes resulting in changes in their internal and external growth p- terns. Dendroclimatology was an already well established field, but the reactions of trees to other environmental processes were far less well understood in the 1960s. It was Alestalo (1971) who first used the term, dendrogeomorphology. In the early 1970s, I could see that active slope-movement processes were affecting the growth of trees in diverse ways at certain localities. I wanted to learn more about those processes and try to extract a long-term chronology of movement from the highly diverse ring patterns.

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.

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.

Dendroecologists apply the principles and methods of tree-ring science to address ecological questions and resolve problems related to global environmental change. In this fast-growing field, tree rings are used to investigate forest development and succession, disturbance regimes, ecotone and treeline dynamics and forest decline. This book of global scope highlights state-of-the-science dendroecological contributions to paradigm-shifts in our understanding of ecophysiology, stand dynamics, disturbance interactions, forest decline and ecosystem resilience to global environmental change and is fundamental to better managing our forested ecosystems for the full range of ecosystem goods and services that they provide.

Tree-ring dating, or dendrochronology, is the study of the chronological sequence of annual growth rings in trees. This book--a seminal study in its field--provides a simple yet eloquent introduction to the discipline, explaining what a dendrochronologist does both in the field and in the laboratory. Authors Stokes and Smiley first explain the basic principles of tree-ring dating, then describe details of the process, step by step, from the time a sample is collected until it is incorporated into a master chronology. The book focuses on coniferous evergreens of the Southwest, particularly piñons, because they have wide geographic distribution, constitute a large population, and show excellent growth response to certain controlling factors. The book is specifically concerned with the task of establishing a calendar date for a wood or charcoal specimen. This concise but thorough explication of an important discipline will make dendrochonology more meaningful to students and professionals in archaeology, forestry, hydrology, and global change.

This Open Access volume highlights how tree ring stable isotopes have been used to address a range of environmental issues from paleoclimatology to forest management, and anthropogenic impacts on forest growth. It will further evaluate weaknesses and strengths of isotope applications in tree rings. In contrast to older tree ring studies, which predominantly applied a pure statistical approach this book will focus on physiological mechanisms that influence isotopic signals and reflect environmental impacts. Focusing on connections between physiological responses and drivers of isotope variation will also clarify why environmental impacts are not linearly reflected in isotope ratios and tree ring widths. This volume will be of interest to any researcher and educator who uses tree rings (and other organic matter proxies) to reconstruct paleoclimate as well as to understand contemporary functional processes and anthropogenic influences on native ecosystems. The use of stable isotopes in biogeochemical studies has expanded greatly in recent years, making this volume a valuable resource to a growing and vibrant community of researchers.

This open access book explores a new conceptual framework for the sustainable management of the boreal forest in the face of climate change. The boreal forest is the second-largest terrestrial biome on Earth and covers a 14 million km2 belt, representing about 25% of the Earth’s forest area. Two-thirds of this forest biome is managed and supplies 37% of global wood production. These forests also provide a range of natural resources and ecosystem services essential to humanity. However, climate change is altering species distributions, natural disturbance regimes, and forest ecosystem structure and functioning. Although sustainable management is the main goal across the boreal biome, a novel framework is required to adapt forest strategies and practices to climate change. This collaborative effort draws upon 148 authors in summarizing the sustainable management of these forests and detailing the most recent experimental and observational results collected from across the boreal biome. It presents the state of sustainable management in boreal forests and highlights the critical importance of this biome in a context of global change because of these forests' key role in a range of natural processes, including carbon sequestration, nutrient cycling, and the maintaining of biodiversity. This book is an essential read for academics, students, and practitioners involved in boreal forest management. It outlines the challenges facing sustainable boreal forest management within the context of climate change and serves as a basis for establishing new research avenues, identifying future research trends, and developing climate-adapted forest management plans.