Growth Dynamics of Conifer Tree Rings

• Description
• Contents

Each tree ring contains an image of the time when the ring formed, projected onto the ring's size, structure, and composition. Tree rings thus are natural archives of past climates. While dendrochronologists have investigated the impact of climate on tree-ring growth by empirical-statistical methods, this volume presents a process-based model complementing previous approaches. Basic ideas concerning the physiology of tree growth and its control by environmental factors are treated, especially for conifers. The use of the model is illustrated by means of several examples from widely differing environments, and possible future directions for model development and application are discussed. The volume advances process understanding of the large-scale environmental control of wood growth. As forests are the main carbon sink on land, the results are of great importance for all global change studies.