FOR 517: Dendroecology
Syllabus
Fall Semester, 2011
Meeting time and place:
T Th 75 minutes each, Forestry 034
Instructor:
Amanda Stan (Forestry room 243, 523-6680, Amanda.Stan@nau.edu). Office hours:
Thursdays 11-1 or by appointment.
Pete Fulé (Forestry room 246C, 523-1463, Pete.Fule@nau.edu). Office hours:
Mondays 11-1 or by appointment.
Textbook:
Stokes, M.A., and T.L. Smiley. 1968. An introduction to tree-ring dating. The
University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
COURSE DESCRIPTION
“[Tree rings] show the age of the tree and record the vicissitudes of its life.”
-- Harold Weaver, 1943, Journal of Forestry 41(1):7-14
Tree rings give us a way to look into the past. The answers to many important ecological
questions depend on our knowledge of past events and the responses of living organisms. Has the
climate changed in this region? How often did wildfires occur? Are the patterns of forest density,
growth rates, and species mix we find today characteristic of long-term patterns or have there been
large changes? Understanding how the past environment has changed and led to present conditions
will help us evaluate ecological theories, formulate new questions, and design ways to test them.
Developing sound management plans for ecosystems requires this ecological understanding as well.
The goal of this course is to present concepts and methods of dendroecology--the application
of dated tree-ring information to ecological investigations. We will cover the principles of
dendrochronology, the crossdating of tree-ring patterns, and examine how these methods have been
applied to study climate, hydrology, forest disturbances such as fires, insect outbreaks, and
avalanches, and reconstruction of past forest composition and growth. We will work with samples that
we collect as well as from graduate student research projects throughout the semester.
By the end of the course, you will have an understanding of dendrochronological principles,
know how to collect samples in the field, be able to crossdate samples with a master chronology and
check your results with computerized and graphical techniques, and interpret dendrochronological
data. You will have a broad introduction to dendroecological applications and you will have broadened
your skill set by working on a detailed study.
PREREQUISITES
Graduate standing, with at least one graduate or undergraduate course in plant ecology, physical
geography (e.g., biogeography), or consent of instructor.
CLASS FORMAT
The class is a seminar. We will include elements of practical exercises and computer work related to
dendroecology. Once per semester and with the assistance of the instructors, each student will be
responsible for selecting and leading a discussion of peer-reviewed papers focused on applications of
dendrochronology. Students will work with instructors on learning specific software and techniques
used in tree-ring research. Students will also complete a semester project, which will require a
considerable amount of out-of-class time, and present the results in class.
PERFORMANCE EVALUATION
Students will be graded on discussion leadership (30%), discussion participation (10%), final project
(30%), and project presentation (30%).
UNIVERSITY POLICIES
University policy statements are available at http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/academicadmin/policy1.html.
Please read them.
Attendance: While class attendance is required, please be cautious about attending class if you are
feeling ill. Please inform us by phone or email if you are feeling unwell; if you are experiencing flu-like
symptoms, you should not attend class; please take precautions not to infect others, and seek medical
attention if your symptoms worsen.
DISCUSSION ASSIGNMENT
Periodically we will have seminar-style discussions. Discussion leaders will choose papers (1-3 per
topic) and give an introduction (2-5 minutes) to the topic in class. Papers should be reader-friendly
(i.e., 1 short/general access, 1 more technical). Paper choices should be discussed with the instructors
and submitted at least 2 weeks prior to the day they will be discussed. We have suggestions for
papers.
Please refer to the document entitled “Leading Discussion of a Scientific Journal Article” by T. W.
Sherry. This document is included in the syllabus. The discussion you lead should be based around
thought-provoking questions that arise from the readings.
CLASS PROJECT
Students will develop and present a project using techniques of dendrochronology to address an
ecological question.
Students can work on projects individually or in groups of two. The project can be related to your own
project but should incorporate new methods, new ideas, or a new angle. If you already have data, you
may use it, but you should do something new or different with it. Alternatively, you can do something
entirely from scratch or use data from the International Tree-Ring Data Bank
(http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/paleo/treering.html). If a literature review on a tree-ring topic would be
useful for you, please talk to the instructors.
Presentations should have a special focus on methods. Final reports will be in the format of an
extended outline, with key findings and bullet points. If you choose to write a literature review, it should
be written as a standard scientific review, approximately 15 pages, and a presentation is still required.
Class Schedule
Week
1
2
Date
Lecture topic
Aug 29
Overview, introductions, syllabus
and class projects, sample
selection
Aug 31
Principles of dendro, history of
dendro, dendro labs around the
world
How trees grow
Sept 5
Reading, article discussion, or
in-class activity
In-class activities: Student
survey, coring trees/sampling
design
Reading: Grissino-Mayer 2003
Reading: Stokes and Smiley
book
Reading: Hoadley chapters 2-4
(optional)
Sept 7
Sample preparation: mount,
sand, razor blade; introduction to
crossdating (Guest speaker:
Don Normandin, Ecological
Restoration Institute)
3
Sept 12
Due: Initial project idea
In-class activity: Crossdating
(visual pattern recognition,
skeleton plotting, list method,
comparing with a master
chronology)
Sept 14
In-class activity: Tree-ring
measurement – i.e.,
MeasureJ2X, WinDendro
(Guest Speaker: Jeff Kane,
NAU School of Forestry)
4
Sept 19
Sept 21
Crossdating statistics
Due: Final project idea
5
Sept 26
Chronology
development/standardization
In-class activity: Using
ARSTAN, Proglib
Sept 28
6
7
Oct 3
Oct 5
Dendroclimatology
Oct 10
Forest dynamics: competition,
succession, mortality
Article discussion: climate
trends
Article discussion: forest
dynamics
Oct 12
8
Oct 17
Oct 19
Reading: Grissino-Mayer 2001
In-class activity: Using
Cofecha (look at data, fix
problems)
Disturbances (Guest speaker:
Larissa Yocom, NAU School of
Forestry)
Article discussion: fire history
methods and critiques
9
Oct 24
Dendroarchaeology (Guest
Speaker: Chris Downum, NAU
Anthropology
Article discussion: other
disturbances – e.g., landslides,
floods, herbivory
Oct 26
10
Oct 31
Dendrochemistry (Guest
Speaker: Michael Ort, NAU
Geology)
Article discussion: beyond ring
width - e.g., isotopes, density,
false rings
Nov 2
11
Nov 7
Tree growth and drought (Guest
Speaker: Tom Kolb, NAU
School of Forestry)
Article discussion: changing
response of tree growth to
climate
Nov 9
12
Nov 14
Nov 16
Presentations
Presentations
13
Nov 21
No class Nov
23 (day before
Thanksgiving)
Nov 28
Nov 30
Presentations
No class
Dec 5
Dec 7 (reading
week)
Human dimensions
Due: Final project report
14
15
No class
Dendrogeomorphology
Article discussion: glacial
fluctuations, fluvial processes
Article discussion: studies with
big impacts for society (water,
earthquakes)
Adapted from “Leading Discussion of a Scientific Journal Article” by T. W. Sherry
Leading a discussion of a scientific work is a hybrid of several kinds of skills — leading a discussion
group, reading a scientific paper at a meeting, public speaking — but it is different from all of these in
interesting ways, which is why I have put together these comments.
Preparation
The most important prerequisite to leading a successful discussion or giving a presentation is
preparation. Focus any such questions or preparatory material on the key points or issues. Next,
review the material, and supplementary material, so as to be sure to understand the content. Read the
article multiple times, if necessary, to grasp the concepts and be familiar with content. Seek help with
ideas you do not understand. Consult literature that is cited, or other material that will enhance
understanding of the topic. Look for material or examples that help expand the applicability or
generality of the ideas or system under consideration.
Presentation
Introduce the topic with reference to the general conceptual context, but plan to keep the introduction
very brief, because you will want to reserve the bulk of the time for discussion. Try to see the forest for
the trees, in providing background information, for example by thinking about where the topic might fit
in an introductory textbook on the topic. This also helps establish the importance of the topic. Avoid
the common mistake of giving too much background: You do not have to go back to Darwin for every
talk on the subject of Evolution. Again, think of your group and its needs when deciding how much
background or explanatory information to provide. Review key methods, findings, and interpretations.
Provide perspective by giving some history underlying the work, by discussing its scope or
applicability, and by asking what are the advances (e.g., technical, conceptual, or analytical).
Leading a Discussion
Coming prepared with a list of provocative questions is an excellent way to get a discussion going.
Often good questions are open- ended questions, such as why? How? Which? Consider having a list
of questions that invites the group to participate, and that helps lead the group towards the core issues
for consideration. Consider dealing with the core issues first, because this guarantees that the most
important issues will get discussed, leaving less important ones for any remaining time. Use silence
effectively, and resist the temptation to answer your own questions after too little time, which has the
effect of taking the discussion away from other participants. Encourage other participants to clarify or
elaborate. Focus any dissension on issues rather than participants. Differences of opinion should be
encouraged, and can certainly make any discussion more lively and memorable. Use disagreements
to encourage critical, independent thinking.
Test information for reliability. For example, is it relevant (how does it apply?), is it valid (what's the
source of information), and is it credible (is there contradictory information or interpretation?)? Help
with clarity, e.g., by reviewing your own understanding or asking others to clarify issues. Invite criticism
of too much generalization or "over analysis", incorrect interpretation, inappropriate design or
statistical analysis, lack of consideration of alternative plausible hypotheses, untested (and
unidentified) assumptions, and so on. The criticism will be more useful if it is constructive, i.e.,
designed to identify improvements or avenues for future, clarifying studies. You as the discussion
leader may wish to suggest for consideration your own novel interpretations, deductions, or syntheses.
Look for closure and summarization, both during and at the end of the discussion. Use clear
transitions both to keep the discussion moving and to provide closure on issues that are already
adequately considered. Allow time at the end to seek consensus, conclusions, and/or assessment,
and encourage members of the group to help provide closure.
Whole article available at: http://eebio.tulane.edu/graduate/scientific-journal.php