Tree ring-series - A valuable source of ecological and environmental information.

Abstract

Uniform tree ring patterns are observed in particular sites or regions where tree growth is limited by a single factor or factors. The most obvious and readily measureable feature of such ring patterns is variable radial width. Such measures are used in the science of dendrochronology or tree ring analysis. The fundamental object of this approach is to place a time sequence on the ringseries, enabling us to place a calendar date on any particular ring. If it is possible to correlate wide or narrow rings with some limiting factor, by experiment or by statistical analysis of measured environmental parameters, the tree ring-series becomes a valuable source of environmental and ecological information.