Tree-ring research
Tree rings offer a unique archive for addressing research questions in scientific fields ranging from archaeology to ecology. In tree-ring research, also referred to as dendrochronology (from Greek: dendron = wood, chronos = time, logos = the study of), one makes use of the fact that trees record environmental changes in their tree-ring structure. Tree-ring width, for example, varies from year-to-year depending upon the environmental conditions and (or) disturbances in each year.
At DendroLab, we mainly exploit the tree-ring archive for studying how diverse environmental processes and conditions affect tree growth and vitality. Obtained insights are of crucial importance in assessing how future forests may be affected by global change, and how forest management may counteract possible adverse effects. The analysis of historical wood and charcoal remains gives us insight in past tree species composition, human use and tree growth.
Historic charcoal, Fagus sylvatica L. (200x magnification)
Besides infrastructure for ring-width measurements, state-of-the-art facilities for quantitative wood anatomical analyses are available at DendroLab. In quantitative wood anatomy, diverse xylem anatomical features are studied, like tracheid or vessel size, cell number, or cell wall thickness, to get in-depth insight in tree functioning and intra-annual growth responses of trees to environmental conditions. Wood anatomical measurements are primarily done on microscopic photos of thin sections cut with a rotary microtome.