Dendrochronology: Biological Basis and Applications
Ever been annoyed by those physics types who think tree rings are nothing but
organic barcodes? Come along to GEOS/WSM 595f and get lots of ammunition to
shoot them down! Tree rings are a biological phenomenon, and every
dendrochronologist should know how they are formed. We will deal with
questions like:
What is wood?......How is it formed?
What are tree rings?.....How are they formed?......
What controls tree-ring properties?.....
How do they reflect environment?.....
THE CLASS: GEOS/WS M 595F Dendrochronology: Biological basis and applications
(3 credit hours)
FALL 1996
This course will address qualitative and quantitative aspects of wood and
tree-ring formation including their growth and structure as determined by
fundamental influences of water, nutrients and energy. Particular emphasis
will be given to the nature of and influences on interannual variability in
the structural, physical and chemical properties of tree rings. Such
properties include ring widths, cell types, dimensions and numbers, wood
density, and the optical and chemical properties of xylem including isotopic
composition and trace chemistry. We will additionally examine the use of
measurements of these properties in the context of dendrochronology applied
to environmental and other sciences. Relevant material will be covered
through lectures, readings and student presentations. There will be a
mid-term exam and term paper.
GEOS 595F Call No. 29067; WSM 595F Call No. 32363.
Meeting time: TBA
Instructors: Malcolm Hughes and Steve Leavitt, Laboratory of Tree-Ring
Research; phone 621-6469; e-mail mhughes@ltrr.arizona.edu and
sleavitt@ltrr.arizona.edu
Malcolm K. Hughes, Director
Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research
University of Arizona
Tucson, AZ 85721
Telephone 520 621-6470
fax 520 621-8229
e-mail mhughes@ltrr.arizona.edu