To address my research questions, I am using a method called dendrochronology , the study of tree rings. Dendrochronology has been used to study ecosystems, climate, and even in the field of archaeology. In the fall of 2020, I collected tree cores from upland red pine (Pinus resinosa) and lowland black spruce (Picea mariana) trees growing at the Cloquet Forestry Center. Coring trees is a method of extracting thin samples of wood from living trees in a way that does not harm the tree (Fig. 2). In addition to coring, I was able to collect cross sections (also called “cookies”) from dead black spruce trees growing at the lowland site (title image). Tree cores and cookies with well-polished surfaces expose the rings of trees going back hundreds of years into the past. In the winter of 2020–21, I have been working to date, measure, and analyze the wood samples from CFC trees.
Why this project?
Figure 6 - Two study area maps for this project show the different landscape positions of sample sites in adjacent upland and lowland forest stands at the USDA Marcell Experimental Forest (left) and UMN Cloquet Forestry Center (right). For the CFC study area, notice the distinction in landscape position between the upland Camp 8 red pine site (red), and the lowland black spruce site (green). Contour lines mapped in brown fall at 10ft intervals (left; MEF) and 2ft intervals (right; CFC). Elevation data sourced from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. Maps by: Mara McPartland.
Project Feature Author: Mara McPartland, M.S., PhD Candidate, Department of Geography, Environment and Society, University of Minnesota. Email: mcpar046@umn.edu ; Twitter: @ maramcpartland ; Website: maraymcpartland.wordpress.com .
Jarvis, P., & Linder, S. (2000). Constraints to growth of boreal forests. Nature, 405(6789), 904–905. doi.org/10.1038/35016154
