Class 8, Sampling strategies

KEVIN ANCHUKAITISCOLUMBIA UNIVERSITY

A THOUSAND YEARS OF HUMAN HISTORY AND THE ASIAN MONSOON FROM TROPICAL TREE RINGS

FRI MAR 4, 2011BLEGEN 445

3:30 PM

THE PRINCIPLE OF

AGGREGATE TREE GROWTH

THE PRINCIPLE OF

REPLICATION

STANDARDIZATION

TREE-RING WIDTH DATApith

bark

Photograph: Neil Pederson

S A M P L I N G S T R AT E G I E S

h!p://esp.cr.usgs.gov/data/atlas/li!le/

http://esp.cr.usgs.gov/data/atlas/little/








THE PRINCIPLE OF ECOLOGICAL AMPLITUDEA tree species may grow and reproduce over a certain range of habitats; that range is described as its ecological amplitude. Trees that grow near the margins or limits of their ecological amplitude are o!en sensitive to changes in their environment.




Photograph: Phil Camill

Average temperatures are remarkably consistent at treeline locations around the world

Source: Körner and Paulsen, Journal of Biogeography, 2004

Photograph: Greg Brooks

Photograph: a rancid amoeba

MORE DAYS WHERE MOISTURE IS LIMITING TO PROCESSES IN TREE

INCREASING VARIABILITY IN ANNUAL PRECIPITATION

DECREASING EFFECTIVE PRECIPITATION

Low

High

Forest interior Semiarid forest border

c.f. Fri!s, 1976




Low

High


Average ring-widthArborial dominance

c.f. Fri!s, 1976




Low

High


PERCENT ABSENT

RINGS

c.f. Fri!s, 1976




Low

High


CORRELATION

BETWEEN

TREES

c.f. Fri!s, 1976

‘Complacent’

‘Sensitive’



COMPLACENT

Low

High


CORRELATION

BETWEEN

TREES

SENSITIVE


c.f. Fri!s, 1976

Complacent SensitiveFri!s, 1976

THE PRINCIPLE OF SITE SELECTION

Dendrochronologists should apply the principles of limiting factors and ecological amplitude to determine which trees are most likely to provide information about a specific environmental signal.

Rt = At + Ct + δD1t + δD2t + Et

THE PRINCIPLE OF AGGREGATE TREE GROWTH




Photograph: Phil Camill

ecotone a transitional area where one plant community changes into another, usually caused by changes in the environment such as changes in elevation or soil characteristics.

TARGETED vs. RANDOM

Photograph: mullica

where do we find old trees?

OLDLIST h!p://www.rmtrr.org/oldlist.htm

http://www.rmtrr.org/oldlist.htm

http://www.rmtrr.org/oldlist.htm

Eastern OLDLIST h!p://www.ldeo.columbia.edu/~adk/oldlisteast/

http://www.ldeo.columbia.edu/~adk/oldlisteast/

http://www.ldeo.columbia.edu/~adk/oldlisteast/

Trees can grow anywhere!

Photograph: Tom Harlan

Intermountain bristlecone pine 4,844 years




Methuselah Ridge


Bristlecone comparison photos

Wind erosion on bristlecone tag


Bristlecone vista

Alerce 3,622 years

Photograph: Tim Waters

distribution map ofFITZROYA CUPRESSOIDES

Giant sequoia 3,266 years

Photograph: Julie Jordan Sco!




Photograph: Byron Hetrick

Bristlecone vista

Coast redwood 2,200 years

Photograph:hoppinjonn




Photograph: Brandi Korte

Photograph: Ralph Sievert

The Seward oak 330 yr?

White pine 1714

Photograph: Kurt Kipfmueller

Photograph: Danny Margoles

White cedar 1452

Leonardo da Vincib. 1452 d. 1519

IDENTIFYING CHARACTERISTICS OF PONDEROSA PINE TREES AT DIFFERENT LIFE STAGES

Old trees(>200 yr)

Young trees(<150 yr)

Crown shape Live crown ratio Branches Trunk

shape Bark Likely injuries

fla!ened, ‘bonsai’ shape, sparse and open, may be lopsided.

pointed top, ‘teardrop’ or ‘Christmas tree’ shape, dense foliage

small; o"en fire-pruned

large

few but large

many fine branches, dense foliage near the trunk

columnar

tapered

smooth, small flakes, pale orange or grey

large, coarse flakes, deep fissures, dark gray or black with dark orange

fire scars, dead tops, broken branches, lightning scars, rot, burls, exposed roots

very few, possible mistletoe or lightening scars

Source: Huckaby et al., 2003

Crown shapefla!ened, ‘bonsai’ shape, sparse and open, may be lopsided.

Branchesfew but large

Trunk shapecolumnar

youngest

middle

oldest

good sites poor sites

IDEALIZED SILHOUETTES OF PONDEROSA PINES

Source: Huckaby et al., 2003

Dr. Neil Pederson Lamont-Doherty Earth Observation

Pederson, N. 2010. External characteristics of old trees in the Eastern Deciduous Forest. Natural Areas Journal 30, 396:407.

SIX CHARACTERISTICS OF OLD TREES

smooth bark

low stem taper

high stem sinuosity

crowns with few, thick, twisting limbs

low crown volume

low ratio of leaf area to trunk volume

Quercus alba <150 yr, with flaky bark


Quercus alba >250 yr, with low ridging


Liriodendron tulipifera ca. 80 yr


Liriodendron tulipifera ca. 500 yr


Quercus muehlenbergii ca. 399 yr, with a low stem taper

Photograph: A. Wiggs

Lirodendron tulipifera showing serpentine bole and characteristic crown architecture

Photographs: Neil Pederson

Quercus muehlenbergii ca. 348 yr, with a few large branches in its crown


Photograph: Diane Main

L. tulipifera with broken crown (le") and a celery top crown (right)


Yoda

Size ma!ers not. Look at me. Judge me by my size, do you? Hm? Mmmm.

“”

Q. montana 250 to 350+ yrs, U!ertown NJ


Photograph:s Neil Pederson

Quercus montana 428 yr



where do we find tree-ring data?

INTERNATIONAL

TREE-RING DATABANK

h!p://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/paleo/treering.html

http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/paleo/treering.html

http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/paleo/treering.html

Exercise!Use Google Earth to review the global distribution of tree-ring data.

Education

Class 8, Sampling strategies