Sensitivity-Complacency


sensitive and complacent samples

sensitive tree site "Sensitive" tree growth:
  • High degree of annual variation
  • Example: wide and narrow rings intermixed through time
  • Typical of many pine species growing in semi-arid environments
    • Example: ponderosa pine of the North American Southwest
    • Limiting growth factor (e.g., rainfall) is highly variable year to year
    • Especially true for harsh (steep, rocky) sites
  • Reasonably sensitive ring growth is good:
    • Matching patterns of relatively wide and narrows rings across trees is easier when ample variation exists
complacent tree site "Complacent" tree growth:
  • Low degree of annual variation
  • Example: rings are roughly the same for many years consecutively
  • Typical of many tree species growing in relatively mesic environments
    • Example: Giant Sequoia of the Sierra Nevada of California and many species in the eastern US
    • limiting growth factor is not variable from year to year
    • Especially true for benign (flat, deep soil) sites
  • Complacent ring growth can be difficult to crossdate:
    • matching patterns of relatively wide and narrows rings is hard when not much variation exists

Pattern Matching | Sensitivity | Example Application | Master Chronology | Introduction | Relative Scale