Trait plasticity supports tree growth and survival in multiple environments and is important at the edges of species ranges, with limited tree growth. Xylem anatomical traits determine sap, nutrient flow and mechanical strength. Trait analysis can provide information on species adaptation to extreme climatic conditions. My project studies xylem anatomical traits over the distribution range of the sugar maple in Quebec, where it finds its northern limit. We intend to understand the links be...

Free, in person and onlineWe will hold a practical, skills-based workshop introducing openDendro -- an open-source framework of the base analytic software tools used in dendrochronology in both the R and Python programming languages. openDendro is a new unified set of tree-ring analysis tools in open-source environments that provides the necessary baseline for dendro...

Tree-ring time series provide long-term, annually resolved information on the growth of individual trees. However, public tree-ring archives contain a considerable portion of data collected from trees that have been selected with specific research questions in mind (e.g., for climate reconstruction).  This makes these archives a biased representation of the sensitivity of forest ecosystems to ongoing climate variation (e.g. temperature, precipitation), including non-stationarity (i.e....

Annually resolved subfossil kauri (Agathis australis) trees, recovered from bogs in northern New Zealand, provide unique insights into past climate events over multi-millennial timescales. Their tree-rings faithfully capture annually resolved information about climate and carbon dynamics occurring during their lifespan. Preserved material has contributed tree-ring chronologies spanning much of the Holocene and extending into the late Pleistocene (i.e. the last 50,000 years). A recently dis...

Dendrochronology is considered one the most precise of all the scientific dating techniques. However, it requires long sequences of tree rings and a master record for both the species and region in question. At the University of Groningen, we have been pioneering a new approach to dating that combines the precision of dendrochronology with the versatility of radiocarbon dating. It relies on the detection of spikes in the annual radiocarbon record, thought to b...

Current and projected changes in climate are estimated to be from 10 to 100 times faster than the natural adaptive capacity of trees whose generation times are long. As extreme climatic events are becoming more frequent and exert a strong selection pressure on tree populations, there is an urgent need to better characterize the genetic variability involved in the response of trees to climate. There is currently a lack of knowledge on the role of genetic variability in tolerance to climatic...

Information garnered from historical timbers and wooden artifacts (e.g. houses, barns, ships) can greatly enhance our understanding of human, ecological, and climate history, especially in regions where few old-growth forests and trees remain, tree longevity is relatively short (less than 300-400 years), and environmental conditions break down wood rather quickly, like in mesic to wet regions Over the last decade plus, the application of tree-ring techniques on woo...

Forest carbon (C) balance projections rely on models describing tree physiological processes to assess forest growth. The representation of C allocation and xylogenesis is still a source of uncertainty in these projections. The objective of this project is to improve boreal C balance projections by including explicitly tree C allocation and wood formation processes in modeling.We will use xylogenesis monitoring data from micro-cores and dendrometers over two gradients. A longitudinal g...

How old are tropical trees? This fundamental question has long driven the curiosity of laymen and scientists. But only recently, a great number of studies conducted by many brave dendrochronologists resulted in a significant tree-ring-based knowledge that allows us to start accurately estimating tree ages across the globe. As science goes, not only knowing the longevity of tropical trees is essential to understanding forest dynamics and its role in biogeochemical cycles, but one must also ...

Dendrochronological archives in the tropics of the Americas have been under-studied for a long time. Some of the challenges include the Identification of tree-ring boundaries in certain tree species, absence of winter dormancy associated to low temperatures in most of the cases, and logistic difficulties of fieldwork in remote sites. However, part of the slow progress is also related to the fact that historically much less resources have been inv...

A gap of millennial tree-ring data suitable for dendroclimatology has long been evident in the North American boreal forest. In my talk, I will describe the adaptive approach we have developed to build and improve a data network for millennial dendroclimatology in the eastern Canadian taiga. Recurrence of stand replacing wildfires is the most important constrain to the elaboration of long tree ring chronologies, which can only be developed away from regions ...

Allies have emerged as key enablers of diversity and inclusivity initiatives in the workplace, in professional associations, and in everyday life. But what is an ally? What skills are required to be an effective ally? How do we hold ourselves and our community members accountable for being effective allies? This symposium will provide a deeper understanding of what it means to be an ally and the skills to help advance allyship as individuals and as a community. Fur...

(by bus, max 92 people)Designed for visitors and newcomers, the tour is based on the pleasure...