A comprehensive assessment of the tree growth/climate relationship was undertaken to better understand the potential impacts of climate change on the growth dynamics of four widespread and common boreal tree species, namely jack pine (Pinus banksiana), black spruce (Picea mariana), eastern larch (...

The study of tree rings can reveal long-term records of a tree's response to the environment. This dendroecological approach, when supplemented with finer-scale observations of the xylem anatomy, can provide novel information about a tree's year-to-year anatomical and hydraulic adjustments. Here we ...

Understanding the magnitude and cause of variation in tree growth and forest productivity is central to sustainable forest management. Measurements of annual growth rings allow assessments of individual-tree, tree population, and forest ecosystem vulnerabilities to drought stress or other changing...

Tree and stand age are critical information needed for understanding forest ecosystems. Tree age estimates are usually derived from ring counts, but these are not dendrochronological estimates unless procedures like ring measurement and cross-dating are used. Stand age is usually estimated from the ...

The boreal biome represents approximately one third of the world's forested area and plays an important role in global biogeochemical and energy cycles. Numerous studies in boreal Alaska have concluded that growth of black and white spruce is declining as a result of temperature-induced drought...

Defoliating insects are a major factor impacting tree growth in temperate and boreal forests, but the effects of climate change on the severity and frequency of outbreaks of these insects are not well understood. Dendrochronological reconstruction of forest tent caterpillar (Malacosoma disstria)...

Recent climate warming has intensified efforts to understand patterns of vegetation productivity at northern high latitudes. Remotely-sensed and dendrochronological measurements have indicated significant changes in aboveground vegetation production in these regions, but the relationship between...

Two ends of the fire regime spectrum are a frequent low-intensity fire regime and an infrequent high-intensity fire regime, but intermediate fire regimes combine high- and low-severity fire over space and time. We used fire-scar and tree-age data to reconstruct fire regime attributes of...

Mammalian herbivory on palatable trees affects tree growth, forest composition, and forest succession. Antecedent effects of herbivores can be identified through remnants of dead stems and altered tree morphology as well as changes in tree ring patterns and growth. Increases in fire severity,...

In trees experiencing stress prior to death, growth may be partially or totally suppressed, or may occur only in the upper part of the boles. This may induce inaccuracies when retrospectively crossdating dead trees. In this study, we investigated the occurrence and range of time lags between year...