2016AFA

Teachers Conservation Tour

Tree CookiesReading Increment cores

Tamara Walkingstick AFRCCaroll Guffey AFRC

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dL5loAe1wpk

Move over, Methuselah! There’s a new girl in town!

What is Dendrochronology?

Dendrochronology is the dating and study of annual rings in trees.The word comes from these roots: ology = the study of chronos = time; more specifically, events and

processes in the past dendros = using trees; more specifically, the

growth rings of trees

Besides the age of the tree, we can use them to: Put the present in proper historical context Better understand current environmental

processes and conditions Improve understanding of possible future

environmental issues

What Do Tree Rings Tell Us?

Historical Events

Past & Present conditions

Project the Future & Climate

Cookie Parts

Increment Borers

Reading a Tree Core Sample

What story does your cookie tell? How old was your tree? What type of drought conditions

did it face when it was 5 years old? What type of conditions did it face

when YOU were 5 years old? How many “bad” years has it had? When was the latest good year of

growth?

Questions?

twalkingstick@uaex.eduguffey@uamont.edu