3. Hypothesis
Dendroclimatology is a field that correlates
tree ring width with climatic change.
Previous studies have shown that the white
oak (Quercus alba) is sensitive to climatic
change due to its longevity and slow
growth. Based on these characteristics of
the white oak, we believe that by analyzing
the tree rings of a similar species, the red
oak (Quercus rubra), we can examine the
evidence of climate change in Putnam
County.
4. Stages of Project
• Background Research (Understanding the subject
and look for previous work)
• Design ( Figuring out a timeline and setting a final
goal along with steps to achieve it)
• Data Gathering ( Coring the red oak in the Nature
Park, and gathering climatic data)
• Analysis ( Getting data from the cores, analyzing
our previous researched data with the data we
collected)
• Conclusion ( Drawing together all the conclusions
and looking for interesting patterns and preparing a
final presentation)
5. Background Research
• Reading articles about tree rings
• Understanding climate patterns
• Finding weather data for over a hundred
years
• Figuring out game plan
• Creating a program to manipulate the
climate data
• Learning how to core
6. Factors that Typically Make a Good
Stand
• sensitivity to climate
o at the edge of a range
• same species that is dominant, plentiful in
the area
• slow growing tree
o more sensitive to changes in climate
• easy to core and to hit the center
7. Why the Red Oak ?
• White Oak
o commonly use in dendroclimatic studies because of
its various properties
o not available in Nature Park
o White Oak is close relative to Red Oak
WHY ?
• Slow growing
• Distinct Tree Rings-Ring Porous
• Populous in the nature park local to Indiana
• Low Drought Tolerance
9. Practical Example of Tree Ring
http://www.beringia.com/climate/images/treerings-cutout.jpg
10. Factors that Affect Tree Growth
• Water-reflected by precipitation data (most
important)
• Temperature
• High Growth Season-Spring and Summer
• Low Growth Season-Winter
• Tree Stresses
o Summer Drought (high temperature, low precipitation)
o Warm Winters-tree pathogens and parasites do not die
11. Strengths and Challenges
Challenges :
• No one had prior background in geoscience
• Understanding the focus of the project and
technical details we knew
Strengths:
• resource of Professor Jim Mills and 2011
SRF students
• unique individual set skills: holistic project
• Enthusiasm
12. Process of Tree Coring
• Get equipment ready.
o Dr. Vanessa Fox as a resource.
• Insert core in tree and rotate clockwise til
you hit the center.
• Pull core out by rotating core in the opposite
direction.
• Put the core into two joined straws.
• Seal and write location of tree and direction
in which cored.
• Once in lab, remove core gently and place in
core trays, glue it and tape it on top.
16. Preparing the Cores for Analysis
• Take the tree core tray.
• Peel of the tape and
see if it is firmly glued.
• Slice of a thin layer of
the top of core using a
razor blade.
• Sand down with
sandpaper until smooth.
18. Reading the Rings
The ring porous tree rings of
the red oak made it easier
for us to read the rings.
http://woodgears.ca/wood_grain/r
inged.html
19. Process of plotting Tree Rings
• First measure maximum
and minimum tree ring
length.
• Create a scale (make it
uniform for all tree cores)
• Measure the distance
between tree rings
through stereoscopes.
• Record the data through
scale and plot them on
the skeleton graph.
• Run this process for all
the cores.
22. Collecting and Analyzing Climate Data
• National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration- Source for climate data in
Putnam County.
• Analyzing and correlating our tree ring data
with climatic factors such as:
o El Nino and La Nina
o Volcano Eruption
o Sunspots
• Graphed data
26. Temperature with Respect to Sunspot
and Major Volcanic Eruptions
Temperature & Sunspot Major Volcanic Eruptions
Y Axis: Temperature
(Fahrenheit)
X Axis: Year
27. Average Length of Tree Ring Based On
Skeleton Plot
Y Axis: Length of Tree Ring (the shorter the
bar on the graph, the longer the tree ring)
X Axis: Years since 1891
1890 1910 1930 1950 1970 2000 2010
28. Straight Average of Tree Ring Length Based on
Skeleton Plots with First Ten Years of
Accelerated Growth Removed
Y Axis: Length of Tree Ring (the shorter
the bar on the graph, the longer the tree
ring)
X Axis: Years starting from 1901
1900 1920 1940 1960 1980 2000 2010 Date
29. Average Data Superimposed by Data Available
Y Axis (Blue): Length of Tree Ring (the shorter
the bar on the graph, the longer the tree ring)
(Red) Amount of Data Available
X Axis: Years since 1891
1890 1910 1930 1950 1970 2000 2010
30. Additional Skills Acquired
• Map Reading
• Using Microscopes
• Knowledge about trees in general
• Research tricks
• Knowledge about rocks
31. Conclusion
Thus we have come to conclude the following:
• Red Oaks can be used as proxy to show
evidence of climate change.
• We saw a steady growth in precipitation
since 1930’s and this was reflected in
greater growth in tree rings.
• We also saw a correlation between less
precipitation during periods of La Niña and
narrower tree ring growth.
32. Future Research
• Regression Analysis of Tree Ring Data and
Climate Data
• Different Species to compare to the Red Oak
Stand
• Stand of trees of similar age, size, position
• Use more cookies to improve quality of the
analysis
• Why is average precipitation in Putnam
County increasing?
33. Acknowledgements
We would like to thank the Science Research Fellows
Program(SRF) for the opportunity and funding to carry
out this project.We would also like to thank Dr. Vanessa
Fox, Chair, Biology Dept., for providing us with the tree
coring tools , location maps of trees in the Nature Park,
and general information on trees in the Nature Park.
Further, we would like to express gratitude to the SRF
group that worked on this project in 2011 for their
guidance. And lastly, we would also like to thank
Professor Mills for the time, ideas, and support during
this project.
34. References
• Speer, James H. Fundamentals of Tree-Ring Research. Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 2010. Print.
• USDA, NRCS. 2012. The PLANTS Database (http://plants.usda.gov, 29 November 2012). National Plant Data Team, Greensboro, NC
27401-4901 USA.
• David Goldblum, The geography of white oak's (Quercus alba L.) response to climatic variables in North America and speculation on its
sensitivity to climate change across its range, Dendrochronologia, Volume 28, Issue 2, 2010, Pages 73-83, ISSN 1125-7865,
10.1016/j.dendro.2009.07.001.
(http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1125786509000630)
Keywords: Climate change; Dendrochronology; Correlation analysis; Dendroclimatology
• J.C. Tardif, F. Conciatori, A comparison of ring-width and event-year chronologies derived from white oak (Quercus alba) and northern
red oak (Quercus rubra), southwestern Quebec, Canada, Dendrochronologia, Volume 23, Issue 3, 24 February 2006, Pages 133-138,
ISSN 1125-7865, 10.1016/j.dendro.2005.10.001.
(http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1125786505000883)
Keywords: Ring width; Event years; Principal components analysis; Redundancy analysis; Radial growth–climate association
• Title: Dendroclimatological Analysis of White Oak (Quercus alba L., Fagaceae) from an Old-Growth Forest of Southeastern Ohio, USA
Author(s): Darrin L. Rubino and Brian C. McCarthy
Source: Journal of the Torrey Botanical Society, Vol. 127, No. 3 (Jul. - Sep., 2000), pp. 240-250
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3088761
Abstract: Dendrochronological techniques were applied to white oak (Quercus alba L., Fagaceae) from an old-growth, mixed
mesophytic forest in southeastern Ohio (Belmont County) in order to determine the relationship between climate and radial-growth rates.
Using increment cores and slabs, we created both master ring-width and basal area increment chronologies spanning 374 years (1625-
1998). Both ring widths and basal area increments were significantly (P ≤ 0.05) correlated with growing season (April-July) precipitation
and drought severity. Additionally, numerous current growth year and previous growth year monthly climatic conditions (precipitation,
temperature, and drought severity) were significantly correlated with radial-growth rates. Analysis of extreme climatic events such as
droughts revealed that significant (P ≤ 0.05) declines in radial-growth rate can be expected and may result in sustained (5 years) growth
declines. We conclude that climate signals are sufficiently strong to be detected even in old-growth white oak trees growing under the
complacent conditions typical of upland, mesophytic forests of the Ohio Valley.
Editor's Notes
Rudra
Rudra
Rudra DO NOT READ FROM SLIDES! WALL OF TEXT!
Rudra
Julia
Julia
Peter
Peter – explain different tree lengths, early growth pattern, different tree rings.
Peter – explain different tree lengths, early growth pattern, different tree rings.
