Project Leader:
Dr. Rosanne DArrigo
Earth Institute Contact: Dr. Rosanne DArrigo
EI Collaborators:
Gordon Jacoby
Brendan Buckley
Locations: United States of America, United States of America - Alaska
Special Locations:
Pacific Northwest
Description:
This study builds on prior studies of forest growth changes with detailed analyses of how pervasive and synchronous any recent growth changes have been, how long they have been going on, and how response has varied due to site differences and other factors at the various locations. This study is using tree-ring analysis to systematically evaluate forest growth response to climate for representative areas and species in the Pacific Northwest temperate rainforests and Alaskan boreal forests. The study is sampling old growth as well as young and medium age classes of trees at the Wind River site in southwestern Washington and additional Pacific Northwest sites, and new and existing tree-ring records for interior Alaska (e.g. the Bonanza Creek LTER site), and northern treeline and coastal locations in Alaska. The Pacific Northwest and Alaskan tree-ring series will be compared to instrumental climate data to identify any recent shifts in growth response (e.g. due to loss of temperature sensitivity) over time and their likely causes.
EI Unit:
Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory (LDEO)
Cross Cutting Themes:
Climate and Society
Core Disciplines:
Biology
Collaborating Institutions:
University of Alaska
Funding Agency:
National Institute for Global Environmental Change (WESTGEC)
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