A simple, quick, and inexpensive technique to improve visualization of aspen (Populus tremuloides) tree rings under the microscope, the ‘shadow technique’, is described. The technique assumes appropriate preparation of increment cores or cross-sections and works well on the lighter portions of the sample with fungus- and bacteria-free wood. The shadow technique was used successfully to elucidate tree-ring boundaries in small diameter (<5 cm DBH) aspen from northern Utah that commonly had >100 annual rings. Crossdating verified whether the elusive rings were missing or false rings. Aspen tree-ring measurement will be greatly enhanced with the shadow technique and preliminary investigation suggests it could be used on other species such as curlleaf mountain mahogany (Cercocarpus ledifolius).
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:arizona.edu/oai:arizona.openrepository.com:10150/622613 |
| Date | 01 1900 |
| Creators | DeRose, R. Justin, Gardner, Richard S. |
| Contributors | Department of Wildland Resources and Ecology Center, Utah State University, Department of Wildland Resources, Utah State University |
| Publisher | Tree-Ring Society |
| Source Sets | University of Arizona |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Article, text |
| Rights | Copyright © Tree-Ring Society. All rights reserved. |
| Relation | http://www.treeringsociety.org |
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