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Incorporating Climatological Techniques To Improve Tree-Ring Site Selection In Complex Terrain

Dendroclimatologists often approach field work with the intent of reconstructing a particular climate variable (e.g. temperature, streamflow, precipitation). Although guidelines exist for species and site selection, isolating the signal of interest is difficult in areas with complex terrain or a lack of ideal sites. In this case study, I suggest climatological techniques for a more efficient sampling scheme and apply these techniques to identify criteria for selecting sites sensitive to winter precipitation in the north-central Rocky Mountains. These techniques include examining factors influencing the regional response of tree growth to climate by utilizing the International Tree-Ring Databank (ITRDB), using eigenvector analyses to identify modes of variability between sites, and delineating climate regions based on the variable of interest through climate regionalization. Results suggest that low- or mid-elevation Pseudotsuga menziesii sites should be targeted for maximizing the winter precipitation signal in the case study area. The season of precipitation impacting growth was found to be a major component of the overall variability between sites.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:arizona.edu/oai:arizona.openrepository.com:10150/622637
Date01 1900
CreatorsWise, Erika K.
ContributorsDepartment of Geography, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
PublisherTree-Ring Society
Source SetsUniversity of Arizona
Languageen_US
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeArticle, text
RightsCopyright © Tree-Ring Society. All rights reserved.
Relationhttp://www.treeringsociety.org

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