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.

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.

Although there are other scientific means of dating climatic and environmental events, dendrochronology provides the most reliable of all palaeorecords. 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.

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.

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.

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.

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