Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-2plfb Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-25T00:24:39.090Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Red Spruce Tree-Ring Widths and Densities in Eastern North America as Indicators of Past Climate

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Laura E. Conkey
Laura E. Conkey*
Affiliation:
Department of Geography, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire 03755
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Dendroclimatological studies in eastern North America are enhanced by the use of long-time series of maximum latewood densities determined by x-ray densitometry. The densities show higher correlation from tree to tree and site to site than do ring-width measurements from the same trees. Based on the macroclimatic link thus implied, maximum density and width series of Picea rubens Sarg. from high elevations in Maine are used to reconstruct up to 310 yr of past spring temperatures at nearby climate stations. The regression equations explain from 33 to 47% of calibrated variance, and verification testing of the reconstructions produces highly significant correlations and high, positive reduction of error statistics. The climate-wood density relationships are considered in light of tree physiological factors that may explain them. Results from this study are applicable to (1) an increased understanding of the relationship of climate to the formation of wood density and (2) further development of paleoclimatological and paleoenvironmental studies via tree rings in mesic regions such as northeastern North America.

Type
Research Article
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 26 , Issue 2 , September 1986 , pp. 232 - 243
Copyright
University of Washington

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Baron, W.R.(1980).Tempests, Freshets, and Mackerel Skies: Climatological Data Using Content Analysis Ph.D. dissertation University of Maine Orono Google Scholar
Baron, W.R. Smith, D.C. Borns, H.W. Jr. Fastook, J. Bridges, A.E.(1980).Long-time series temperature and precipitation records for Maine: 1808–1978 Life Sciences and Agriculture Experiment Station Bull 771 University of Maine Orono Google Scholar
Bowers, L.J.(1981).Tree-Ring Characteristics of Baldcypress Growing in Varying Floodplain Regimes in the Barataria Basin, Louisiana Ph.D. dissertation Louisiana State University Baton Rouge Google Scholar
Brix, H. Mitchell, A.K.(1980).Effects of thinning and nitrogen fertilization on xylem development in Douglas-fir Canadian Journal of Forest Research 10 121 128 Google Scholar
Cleaveland, M.K.(1983).X-Ray Densitometric Measurement of Climatic Influence on the Intra-Annual Characteristics of Southwestern Semiarid Conifer Tree Rings Ph.D. dissertation University of Arizona Tucson Google Scholar
Conkey, L.E.(1979).Response of tree-ring density to climate in Maine. U.S.A. Tree-Ring Bulletin 39 29 38 Google Scholar
Conkey, L.E.(1982a).Eastern U.S. Tree-Ring Widths and Densities as Indicators of Past Climate Ph.D. dissertation University of Arizona Tucson Google Scholar
Conkey, L.E.(1982b).Temperature reconstructions in the northeastern United States Hughes, M.K. Kelly, P.M. Pilcher, J.R. Lamarche, V.C. Jr. Climate From Tree Rings Cambridge Univ. Press Cambridge 165 168 Google Scholar
Conkey, L.E.(1984a).Dendrochronology and forest productivity: Red spruce wood density and ring width in Maine Harris, M.M. Spearing, A.M. Research in Forest Productivity, Use, and Pest Control. USDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Report NE-90.69 75 Google Scholar
Conkey, L.E.(1984b).X-ray densitometry: Wood density as a measure of forest productivity and disturbance Davis, D.D. Air Pollution and the Productivity of the Forest Izaak Walton League of America Washington, D.C 287 296 Google Scholar
Cook, E.R. Jacoby, G.C. Jr.(1977).Tree-ring-drought relationships in the Hudson Valley, New York Science 198 399 401 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Denne, M.P.(1974).Effects of light intensity on tracheid dimensions in Picea sitchensis Annals of Botany 38 337 345 Google Scholar
Denne, M.P.(1976).Effects of environmental change on wood production and wood structure in Picea sitchensis seedlings Annals of Botany 40 1017 1028 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Denne, M.P.(1979).Wood structure and production within the trunk and branches of Picea sitchensis in relation to canopy formation Canadian Journal of Forest Research 9 406 427 Google Scholar
Egierszdorff, S.(1981).The role of auxin stored in Scots pine trunk during spring activation of cambial activity Biologia Plantarum 23 110 115 Google Scholar
Fritts, H.C.(1976).Tree Rings and Climate Academic Press New York Google Scholar
Gordon, G.A. LeDuc, S.K.(1981).Verification statistics for regression models Proceedings, Conference on Probability and Statistics in Atmospheric Science November 1981, Monterey, Calif 129 133 Google Scholar
Gordon, J.C. Larson, P.R.(1968).Seasonal course of photosynthesis, respiration, and distribution of C-14 in young Pinus resinosa trees as related to wood formation Plant Physiology 43 1617 1624 Google Scholar
Gregory, R.A. Wilson, B.F.(1968).A comparison of cambial activity of white spruce in Alaska and New England Canadian Journal of Botany 46 733 734 Google Scholar
Heger, L. Parker, M.L. Kennedy, R.L.(1974).X-ray densitometry: A technique and an example of application Wood Science 7 140 148 Google Scholar
Hughes, M.K. Kelly, P.M. Pilcher, J.R. LaMarche, V.C. Jr.(1982).Climate from Tree Rings Cambridge Univ. Press Cambridge Google Scholar
Hughes, M.K. Schweingruber, F.H. Cartwright, D. Kelly, P.M.(1984).July–August temperature at Edinburgh between 1721 and 1975 from treering density and width data Nature (London) 308 341 344 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jacoby, G.C. Jr.(1980).X-ray densitometry in treering studies Feret, P.P. Sharik, T.L. Dendrology in the Eastern Deciduous Forest Biome. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University School of Forestry and Wildlife Resources Publication FWS-2-80.125 132 Google Scholar
Kramer, P.J.(1964).The role of water in wood formation Zimmermann, M.H. The Formation of Wood in Forest Trees Academic Press New York 519 532 Google Scholar
Larson, P.R.(1969).Wood formation and the concept of wood quality Yale University School of Forestry Bulletin 74 Google Scholar
Lenz, O. Schaer, E. Schweingruber, F.H.(1976).Methodische Probleme bei der radiographisch-densitometrischen Bestimmung der Dichte und der Jahrringbreiten von Holz Holzforschung 30 114 123 Google Scholar
Little, C.H.A. Wareing, P.F.(1981).Control of cambial activity and dormancy in Picea sitchensis by indol-3-ylacetic and abscisic acids Canadian Journal of Botany 59 1480 1493 Google Scholar
Ludlum, D.(1976).The Country Journal New England Weather Book Houghton Mifflin Boston Google Scholar
McCord, V.A.S.(1984).A New Computerized X-Ray Densitometric System for Tree-Ring Analysis M.S. thesis University of Arizona Tucson Google Scholar
Parker, M.L.(1976).Improving tree-ring dating in northern Canada by x-ray densitometry Syesis 9 163 172 Google Scholar
Parker, M.L. Henoch, W.E.S.(1971).The use of Engelmann spruce latewood density for dendrochronological purposes Canadian Journal of Forest Research 1 90 98 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Phipps, R.L.(1972).Tree rings, stream runoff, and precipitation in central New York—A reevaluation U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 800B 259 264 Google Scholar
Polge, H.(1965).The use of curves of density variation for the study of environmental factors and in particular of climatic factors International Union of Forestry Research Organizations Proceedings 2 1 8 Google Scholar
Polge, H.(1970).The use of x-ray densitometric methods in dendroclimatology Tree-Ring Bulletin 30 1 10 Google Scholar
Roethlisberger, F.(1980).Tree rings and climate—A retrospective survey and new results World Meteorological Organization Bulletin 29 170 177 Google Scholar
Savidge, R.A.(1983).The role of plant hormones in higher plant cellular differentiation. II. Experiments with the vascular cambium, and sclerid and tracheid differentiation in the pine, Pinus contorta Histochemical Journal 15 447 466 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Savidge, R.A. Wareing, P.F.(1981).A tracheid-differentiation factor from pine needles Planta 153 395 404 Google Scholar
Savidge, R.A. Wareing, P.F.(1982).Apparent auxin production and transport during winter in the nongrowing pine tree Canadian Journal of Botany 60 681 691 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Savidge, R.A. Wareing, P.F.(1984).Seasonal cambial activity and xylem development in Pinus contorta in relation to endogenous indol-3-yl-acetic and (S)-abscisic acid levels Canadian Journal of Forest Research 14 676 682 Google Scholar
Schweingruber, F.H. Fritts, H.C. Braeker, O.U. Drew, L.G. Schaer, E.(1978).The x-ray technique as applied to dendroclimatology Tree-Ring Bulletin 38 61 91 Google Scholar
Skene, D.S.(1969).The period of time taken by cambial derivatives to grow and differentiate into tracheids in Pinus radiata D. Don Annals of Botany 33 253 262 Google Scholar
Wilson, B.F.(1964).A model for cell production by the cambium of conifers Zimmermann, M.H. The Formation of Wood in Forest Trees Academic Press New York 19 36 Google Scholar
Wodzicki, T.J.(1971).Mechanism of xylem differentiation in Pinus silvestris L. Journal of Experimental Botany 22 670 687 Google Scholar
Zahner, R.(1968).Water deficits and growth of trees Kozlowski, T.T. Water Deficits and Plant Growth Vol. 2 Academic Press New York 191 254 Google Scholar