Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-gxg78 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-25T19:16:05.408Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Light Rings in Subarctic Conifers as a Dendrochronological Tool

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Louise Filion ,
Serge Payette ,
Line Gauthier  and
Yves Boutin
Louise Filion
Affiliation:
Centre d'études nordiques, Université Laval, Sainte-Foy, Québec, Canada G1K 7P4
Serge Payette
Affiliation:
Centre d'études nordiques, Université Laval, Sainte-Foy, Québec, Canada G1K 7P4
Line Gauthier
Affiliation:
Centre d'études nordiques, Université Laval, Sainte-Foy, Québec, Canada G1K 7P4
Yves Boutin
Affiliation:
Centre d'études nordiques, Université Laval, Sainte-Foy, Québec, Canada G1K 7P4
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Light rings are characterized by one or a very few latewood-cell layers, an indication of shortened growing seasons, and are particularly frequent in black spruce (Picea mariana (Mill.) BSP) at the treeline in Québec. The construction of a light-ring chronology spanning the period AD 1398–1982 showed that the highest frequency (>25%) of light rings among 160 trees and krummholz occurred in 1593, 1620, 1634, 1784, 1816, 1817, 1853, 1969, and 1972. These diagnostic rings be a useful cross-dating tool for dendroecologists working with living and dead krummholz with a low-growth variability. About two-thirds of the 65 light-ring years coincide with years (or triads) of major volcanic eruptions. The climatic conditions (low temperature) occurring at the end of the growing season, in part induced by the climatic effect of volcanism, seem to initiate light rings.

Type
Research Article
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 26 , Issue 2 , September 1986 , pp. 272 - 279
Copyright
University of Washington

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Brubaker, L.B.(1980).Spatial patterns of tree-growth anomalies in the Pacific Northwest Ecology 61 798 807 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cropper, J.P.(1979).Tree-ring skeleton plotting by computer Tree-Ring Bulletin 39 47 59 Google Scholar
Cropper, J.P.(1982).Climate reconstructions (1801 to 1938) inferred from tree-ring width chronologies of the North American Arctic Arctic and Alpine Research 14 223 241 Google Scholar
Cropper, J.P.(1984).Relationships among tree-ring width chronologies from Alaska and the Yukon Arctic and Alpine Research 16 245 254 Google Scholar
Cropper, J.P. Fritts, H.C.(1981).Tree-ring width chronologies from the North American Arctic Arctic and Alpine Research 13 245 260 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Filion, L. Payette, S. Gauthier, L.(1985).Analyse dendroclimatique d'un krummholz à la limite des arbres, Lac Bush, Québec nordique Géographie physique et Quaternaire 39 221 226 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fritts, H.C.(1971).Dendroclimatology and dendroecology Quaternary Research 1 419 449 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fritts, H.C.(1974).Relationship of ring widths in arid site conifers to variations in monthly temperature and precipitations Ecological Monographs 44 411 440 Google Scholar
Fritts, H.C.(1976).Tree Rings and Climate Academic Press London/Orlando Google Scholar
Hughes, M.K. Kelly, P.M. Pilcher, J.R. LaMarche, V.C. Jr.(1982).Climate from Tree Rings Cambridge Univ. Press Cambridge Google Scholar
Hughes, M.K. Schweingruber, F.H. Cartwright, D. Kelly, P.M.(1984).July–August temperature at Edinburgh between 1721 and 1975 from tree-ring density and width data Nature (London) 308 341 344 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jacoby, G.C. Ulan, L.D.(1980).Review of dendroclimatology in the forest-tundra ecotone of Alaska and Canada Harington, C.R. Climatic Change in Canada. Syllogeus. 2 National Museums of Canada Ottawa 97 128 Google Scholar
LaMarche, V.C. Jr.(1974).Paleoclimatic inferences from long tree-ring records Science 183 1043 1048 Google Scholar
LaMarche, V.C. Jr. Hirschboeck, K.(1984).Frost rings in trees as records of major volcanic eruptions Nature (London) 307 121 126 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lamb, H.H.(1970).Volcanic dust in the atmosphere: With a chronology and assessment of its meteorological significance Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London Series A 266 425 533 Google Scholar
Newhall, C.G. Self, S.(1982).The Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI): An estimate of explosive magnitude of historic eruptions Journal of Geophysical Research 87 1231 1238 Google Scholar
Payette, S. Filion, L. Gauthier, L. Boutin, Y.(1985).Secular climate change in old-growth tree-line vegetation of northern Québec Nature (London) 315 135 138 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rampino, M.R. Self, S.(1982).Historic eruptions of Tambora (1815), Krakatau (1883), and Agung (1963), their stratospheric aerosols, and climatic impact Quaternary Research 18 127 143 Google Scholar
Schweingruber, F.J. Bräker, O.U. Schär, E.(1979).Dendroclimatic studies on conifers from central Europe and Great Britain Boreas 8 427 452 Google Scholar
Simkin, T. Siebert, L. McClelland, L. Bridge, D. Newhall, C. Latter, J.H.(1981).Volcanoes of the World Hutchinson Ross Stroudsburg, Penn Google Scholar
Stokes, M.A. Smiley, T.L.(1968).An Introduction to Tree-Ring Dating Univ. of Chicago Press Chicago Google Scholar
Stothers, R.B.(1984).The great Tambora eruption in 1815 and its aftermath Science 224 1191 1198 Google Scholar
Yamaguchi, D.K.(1983).New tree-ring dates for recent eruptions of Mount St. Helens Quaternary Research 20 246 250 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yamamoto, R. Iwashima, T. Hoshiai, M.(1975).Change of the surface air temperature averaged over the Northern Hemisphere and large volcanic eruptions during the year 1951–1972 Journal of the Meteorological Society of Japan 53 482 486 Google Scholar