Using an open-access tree ring database to evaluate the growth potential of eight tree species in Vermont

Abstract

Tree rings provide detailed information on the age, annual wood production and growth trends of trees over time. Furthermore, by relating tree ring information to spatially and temporally specific environmental (e.g., precipitation, temperature, pollutant input) data, factors that modulate radial growth over time can be identified (e.g., Stern et al. 2021; Stern et al. 2022). Despite the great power of using tree ring measurements to help understand tree health, productivity and responses to the environment, this broad utility is limited by the need for expensive specialized instrumentation, familiarity with sophisticated statistical analyses to verify ring dates, and the overall time-intensive nature of conducting tree ring measurements. One way of circumventing the time, expertise and expense of collecting new tree ring data is to access previously collected data that is available from open access databases. For example, the well-known International Tree Ring Data Bank (ITRDB; Grissino-Mayer and Fritts 1997) is a repository for tree-ring data from hundreds of tree species and more than 4000 sites spanning six continents (Sullivan and Csank 2016). However comprehensive, the ITRDB does not collect key ancillary data useful for ecological investigations and management such as information on sampling protocols (Sullivan and Csank 2016) or biometric measurements such as the diameter at breast height (DBH) of trees – a measurement that is needed to convert linear ring measurements into basal area increment (BAI) measurements that are a staple to land managers and ecologists assessing forest health and productivity.

Citation

Schaberg, Paul; Murakami, Paula; Hansen, Christopher F.; Hawley, Gary J. 2023. Using an open-access tree ring database to evaluate the growth potential of eight tree species in Vermont. New England Society of American Foresters News Quarterly. 84(4): 8-10.