Abstract
The contribution of tree-ring analysis to other fields of scientific inquiry with overlapping interests, such as forestry and plant population biology, is often hampered by the different parameters and methods that are used for measuring growth. Here I present relatively simple graphical, numerical, and mathematical considerations aimed at bridging these fields, highlighting the value of crossdating. Lack of temporal control prevents accurate identification of factors that drive wood formation, thus crossdating becomes crucial for any type of tree growth study at inter-annual and longer time scales. In particular, exactly dated tree rings, and their measurements, are crucial contributors to the testing and betterment of allometric relationships.
Highlights
Dendrochronology can be defined as the study and reconstruction of past changes that impacted tree growth
Years ago a figure appeared in a publication on the use of crossdating for stem analysis, i.e., the quantitative description of tree growth at various heights along the trunk
When growth acceleration is computed from log-transformed increments (∆lt ), it becomes a log-transformed relative growth change
Summary
Dendrochronology can be defined as the study and reconstruction of past changes that impacted tree growth. As a tool, crossdating had been used at various times in the 1800s, prior to Douglass’s discovery [7], and at least one publication on identifying “characteristic tree-rings” for comparing wood samples had already appeared in the Austro-Hungarian empire [8]. It was Douglass, who fully developed the technique and made it popular by applying it to high-profile investigations in archaeology, climatology, and ecology. While the writing style is purposely nonstandard, it follows a logical progression from premises to conclusions
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