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ABOUT THE COLLECTION

Tree-Ring Research is the peer-reviewed journal of the Tree-Ring Society. The journal was first published in 1934 under the title Tree-Ring Bulletin. In 2001, the title changed to Tree-Ring Research.

The Tree-Ring Society and the Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research at the University of Arizona partnered with the University Libraries to digitize back issues for improved searching capabilities and long-term preservation. New issues are added on an annual basis, with a rolling wall of five years.

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Contact the Editor of Tree-Ring Research at editor@treeringsociety.org.

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Recent Submissions

  • Tree Rings and the chronology of ancient Egypt

    Creasman, P.P. (Tree-Ring Society, 2014)
    A fundamental aspect of ancient Egyptian history remains unresolved: chronology. Egyptologists (and researchers in related fields that synchronize their studies with Egypt) currently rely on a variety of insufficiently precise methodologies (king lists, radiocarbon dating, etc.) from which to derive seemingly “absolute” dates. The need for genuine precision has been recognized for a century, as has the potential solution: dendrochronology. This manuscript presents a case for further progress toward the construction of a tree-ring chronology for ancient Egypt.
  • Dendrochronological dating in Egypt: Work accomplished and future prospects

    Kuniholm, P.I.; Newton, M.; Sherbiny, H.; Bassir, H. (Tree-Ring Society, 2014)
    We assess the state of and potential for expansion of dendroarchaeological research in Egypt. We also report previously unpublished findings, which we hope will assist with the new effort in constructing tree-ring chronologies in Egypt. In doing so, we explain briefly some of the problems and potential of the future enterprise.
  • A tree-ring based late summer temperature reconstruction (AD 1675–1980) for the northeastern Mediterranean

    Trouet, V. (Tree-Ring Society, 2014)
    This article presents a late summer temperature reconstruction (AD 1675–1980) for the northeastern Mediterranean (NEMED) that is based on a compilation of maximum latewood density tree-ring data from 21 high-elevation sites. This study applied a novel approach by combining individual series from all sites into one NEMED master chronology. This approach retains only the series with a strong and temporally robust common signal and it improves reconstruction length. It further improved the regional character of the reconstruction by using as a target averaged gridded instrumental temperature data from a broad NEMED region (38–45°N, 15–25°E). Cold (e.g. 1740) and warm (e.g. 1945) extreme years and decades in the reconstruction correspond to regional instrumental and reconstructed temperature records. Some extreme periods (e.g. cold 1810s) reflect European-wide or global-scale climate conditions and can be explained by volcanic and solar forcing. Other extremes are strictly regional in scope. For example, 1976 was the coldest NEMED summer over the last 350 years, but was anomalously dry and hot in northwestern Europe and is a strong manifestation of the summer North Atlantic Oscillation (sNAO). The regional NEMED summer reconstruction thus contributes to an improved understanding of regional (e.g. sNAO) vs. global-scale (i.e. external) drivers of past climate variability.
  • Data management in dendroarchaeology using Tellervo

    Brewer, P.W. (Tree-Ring Society, 2014)
    The Tellervo dendrochronological software builds upon the Tree-Ring Data Standard (TRiDaS) to provide a tool for recording and managing all manner of dendrochronological data. However, Tellervo is especially useful for dendroarchaeological research. The traditional file formats used in dendrochronology—and by association the applications that use them—have very limited and nonstandard methods for recording rich information about dendro samples and their context. Such information is especially important in dendroarchaeological research to ensure accurate conclusions are made. Tellervo is described here in the context of research carried out as part of the excavations of the Theodosian Harbor at Yenikapı, Istanbul.
  • Dendroclimatology in the Eastern Mediterranean

    Touchan, R.; Meko, D.M.; Anchukaitis, K.J. (Tree-Ring Society, 2014)
    Dendroclimatology in the Eastern Mediterranean (EM) region has made important contributions to the understanding of climate variability on timescales of decades to centuries. These contributions, beginning in the mid-20th century, have value for resource management, archaeology, and climatology. A gradually expanding tree-ring network developed by the first author over the past 15 years has been the framework for some of the most important recent advances in EM dendroclimatology. The network, now consisting of 79 sites, has been widely applied in large-scale climatic reconstruction and in helping to identify drivers of climatic variation on regional to global spatial scales. This article reviews EM dendroclimatology and highlights contributions on the national and international scale.
  • Potential for a new multimillennial tree-ring chronology from subfossil Balkan River oaks

    Pearson, C.L.; Ważny, T.; Kuniholm, P.I.; Botić, K.; Durman, A.; Seufer, K. (Tree-Ring Society, 2014)
    A total of 272 oak (Quercus sp.) samples have been collected from large subfossil trees dredged from sediment deposited by the Sava and various tributary rivers in the Zagreb region of northwestern Croatia, and in northern Bosnia and Herzegovina. Measurement series of tree-ring widths from these samples produced 12 groups, totaling 3456 years of floating tree-ring chronologies spread through the last ca. 8000 years. This work represents the first step in creating a new, high-resolution resource for dating and paleoenvironmental reconstruction in the Balkan region and potentially a means to bridge between the floating tree-ring chronologies of the wider Mediterranean region and the continuous long chronologies from central Europe.
  • An archaeometric and archaeological approach to Hellenistic–Early Roman ceramic workshops in Greece: Contribution to dating

    Kondopoulou, D.; Zananiri, I.; Rathossi, C.; de Marco, E.; Spatharas, V.; Hasaki, E. (Tree-Ring Society, 2014)
    The present article comprises a multidisciplinary archaeometric approach for the study of Hellenistic and Early Roman kilns in Greece. A collection of previously published and new archaeomagnetic data are combined with new results from mineralogical analytical experiments. The sampled material came from four areas, covering different geological contexts: Katerini, Olympiada, and Polymylos in mainland Greece, and the island of Paros. Extensive rock-magnetic experiments, including identification of the dominant ferromagnetic minerals present, their domain state, and mineralogical alterations during laboratory treatments, have been carried out in order to examine the magnetic properties of the studied materials and prove their suitability for reliable archaeomagnetic determinations. Magnetic cleaning provided well-defined archaeomagnetic directions, and archaeointensity measurements were carried out using both the Thellier-Thellier and Triaxe protocols. Information from both magnetic and mineralogical properties referring to firing conditions is further discussed along with archaeological information. Finally, a new dating of the four sites together with other structures of similar age was carried out using the Pavón-Carrasco model.
  • Bridging the gaps in tree-ring records: Creating a high-resolution dendrochronological network for southeastern Europe

    Ważny, T.; Lorentzen, B.; Köse, N.; Akkemik, Ü.; Boltryk, Y.; Güner, T.; Kyncl, J.; Kyncl, T.; Nechita, C.; Sagaydak, S.; et al. (Tree-Ring Society, 2014)
    Dendrochronological research in North-Central Europe and the East Mediterranean has produced networks of long regional oak (Quercus sp.) reference chronologies that have been instrumental in dating, provenancing, and paleoclimate research applications. However, until now these two important tree-ring networks have not been successfully linked. Oak forests and historical/archaeological sites in southeastern Europe provide the key for linking the North-Central European and East Mediterranean tree-ring networks, but previous dendrochronological research in this region has been largely absent. This article presents the initial results of a project, in which we have built oak tree-ring chronologies from forest sites and historical/archaeological sites along a north-south transect between Poland and northwestern Turkey, with the aim of linking the North-Central European and East Mediterranean tree-ring networks and creating a new pan-European oak data set for dendrochronological dating and paleoclimatic reconstruction. Correlation among tree-ring chronologies and the spatial distribution of their teleconnections are evaluated. The southeastern European chronologies provide a solid bridge between both major European dendrochronological networks. The results indicate that a dense network of chronologies is the key for bridging spatial and temporal gaps in tree-ring records. Dendrochronological sampling should be intensively continued in southeastern Europe because resources for building long oak chronologies in the region are rapidly disappearing.
  • Radiocarbon dating, mineralogy, and isotopic composition of hackberry endocarps from the Neolithic site of Aşıklı Höyük, central Turkey

    Quade, J.; Li, S.; Stiner, M.C.; Clark, A.E.; Mentzer, S.M.; Özbaşaran, M. (Tree-Ring Society, 2014)
    Carbonate is abundant in many Neolithic tells and is a potentially useful archive for dating and climate reconstruction. In this paper, we focus on the mineralogy, radiocarbon dating, and stable isotope systematics of carbonate in hackberry endocarps. Hackberry fruits and seeds are edible in fresh and stored forms, and they were consumed in large quantities in many Neolithic sites in the Near East, including the site of our study, Aşıkli Höyük in central Anatolia, an Aceramic Neolithic tell occupied from about 9.4 to > 10.3 BP (7.4 to > 8.3 BCE). Detailed 14C age control provided by archaeological charcoal permits a test of the fidelity in 14C dating of hackberry endocarps. Modern endocarps and leaves yield fraction modern 14C values of 1.050–1.066, consistent with levels present in the atmosphere when sampled in 2009. On the other hand, archaeological endocarps yield consistently younger ages than associated charcoal by ca. 130 14C years (ca. 220 calendar years) for samples about 10,000 years old. We speculate this is caused by the slight addition of calcite or recrystallization to calcite in the endocarp, as detected by scanning electron microscopy. Subtle addition or replacement of calcite by primary aragonite is not widely recognized in the 14C community, even though similar effects are reported from other natural carbonates such as shell carbonate. This small (but consistent) level of contamination supports the usefulness of endocarps in dating where other materials like charcoal are lacking. Before dating, however, hackberries should be carefully screened for mineralogical preservation and context. We examined the carbon and oxygen isotopic systematics of the fossil endocarps to try to establish potential source areas for harvesting. Most of the hackberries are enriched in 18O compared to local water sources, indicating that they were drawing on highly evaporated soil water, rather than the local (perched and regional) water table sampled in our study. Isotopic evidence therefore suggests that most but not all of the hackberries were harvested from nearby mesas well above the local streams and seeps fed by the water table.
  • The Interaction of Climate Change and Agency in the Collapse of Civilizations c. 2300–2000 BC

    Wiener, M.H. (Tree-Ring Society, 2014)
    Human history has been marked by major episodes of climate change and human response, sometimes accompanied by independent innovations. In the Bronze Age, the sequencing of causes and reactions is dependent in part on dendrochronology and radiocarbon dating. This paper explores the interaction of a major, prolonged desiccation event between c. 2300 and 2000 BC and human agency including migrations, the displacement of trading networks, warfare, the appearance of weapons made of bronze, and the first appearance of sailing vessels in the Mediterranean.
  • Editors' Note

    Jull, A.J.T.; Leavitt, S.W. (Tree-Ring Society, 2014)
  • IN MEMORIAM—Elsie Winnifred Downey

    Tree-Ring Society, 2014-07
  • IN MEMORIAM—James R. McClenahen

    Tree-Ring Society, 2014-07
  • An extractor device for stuck or broken increment borers

    Loader, N.J.; Waterhouse, J.S. (Tree-Ring Society, 2014-07)
    A lightweight, portable device for extracting stuck or broken increment borers is presented and its operation described. The “Decorum” extractor is compact and weighs less than 400 g. It is easily carried in a belt pouch or pocket and is both reliable and easy to operate. The extractor does not require fixed tie points nor does it damage the tree. It offers an effective solution to a widely occurring problem in dendrochronology and forest research.
  • IN MEMORIAM—Won-Kyu Park

    Tree-Ring Society, 2014-07
  • Site and age condition the growth responses to climate and drought of relict Pinus nigrasubsp. salzmanniipopulations in southern Spain

    Navarro-Cerrillo, R.M.; Sánchez-Salguero, R.; Manzanedo, R.D.; Camarero, J.J.; Fernández-Cancio, A. (Tree-Ring Society, 2014-07)
    To assess if tree age may modulate the main climatic drivers of radial growth, two relict Pinus nigra subsp. salzmannii populations (María, most xeric site; Mágina, least xeric site) were sampled in southern Spain near the limits of the species range. Tree-ring width residual chronologies for two age groups (mature trees, age ≤ 100 years (minimum 40 years); old trees, age > 100 years) were built to evaluate their responses to climate by relating them to monthly precipitation and temperature and a drought index (DRI) using correlation and response functions. We found that drought is the main driver of growth of relict P. nigra populations, but differences between sites and age classes were also observed. First, growth in the most xeric site depends on the drought severity during the previous autumn and the spring of the year of tree-ring formation, whereas in the relatively more mesic site growth is mainly enhanced by warm and wet conditions in spring. Second, growth of mature trees responded more to drought severity than that of old trees. Our findings indicate that drought severity will mainly affect growth of relict P. nigra populations dominated by mature trees in xeric sites. This conclusion may also apply to similar mountain Mediterranean conifer relicts.
  • Longitudinal variation of ring width, wood density and basal area increment in 26-year-old loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) trees

    Yu, M.; Cheng, X.; He, Z.; Wu, T.; Yin, Z. (Tree-Ring Society, 2014-07)
    Longitudinal variations in select wood quality parameters were examined in 26-year-old loblolly pine trees planted in Anhui Province, China. Wood density and ring width were measured from cross-sections of different heights of merchantable stems. The average ring width decreased from the base to 1.3 m, then increased to the maximum at 7.6 m, and thereafter reduced with stem height. The longitudinal patterns varied with cambial age in ring width. The coefficient of variation in ring widths along the stem height was greater than 21% at the cambial age 5–8 years and 9–12 years, and small variations were observed in other cambial age groups. The average wood density declined from 1.3 m to 7.6 m and then slightly increased with increasing stem height. The wood density showed great variation at different growth stages below 7.6 m, but varied less above 7.6 m. Basal area increment (BAI) gradually increased with increasing ring number (from the pith to the bark) at different stem heights, and markedly reduced after the 22nd ring. These results indicate that the longitudinal variations of wood density, ring width and BAI in loblolly pine are greatly affected by cambial age. The detailed information of the wood properties along stem heights could be useful to wood utilization of loblolly pine.
  • Dendrochronological potential and productivity of tropical tree species in Western Kenya

    David, E.T.; Chhin, S.; Skole, D. (Tree-Ring Society, 2014-07)
    This study focuses on tropical tree growth rates in Western Kenya. The dendrochronological potential of each study species was determined by visual examination of rings, and then cumulative growth trajectories for diameter were synthesized for species of sufficient sample size (n ≥ 3), based on ring-width chronologies. The 14 tree species considered were: Acacia mearnsii, Bridelia micrantha, Combretum molle, Croton macrostachyus, Cupressus lustianica, Eucalyptus camaldulensis, Eucalyptus grandis, Eucalyptus saligna, Grevillea robusta, Mangifera indica, Markhamia lutea, Persia Americana, Syzygium cumini, and Trilepisium madagascariensis. The species with the highest dendrochronological potential included Acacia mearnsii, Cupressus lusitanica, the Eucalyptus spp. and Mangifera indica, which are all non-native species that successfully crossdated. The results also indicated that the species with highest dendrochronological potential had strong radial growth synchrony, which was reflected in high inter-tree correlation and (or) high growth variance explained by the first principal component axis. Furthermore, A. mearnsii and E. camaldulensis were sensitive to annual precipitation and moisture index. The species with the lowest dendrochronological potential were Grevillea robusta and Markhamia lutea. In terms of productivity, the three fastest growing species in the study, based on annual diameter increment, were Eucalyptus camaldulensis, Eucalyptus grandis, and Acacia mearnsii. This study also has great potential to extrapolate historical patterns of diameter growth to understanding annual aboveground biomass and carbon dynamics in Western Kenya.

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