Tree Ring Assessment of Acer rubrum Climate Response

Keywords: Dendrochronology, climate, red maple
Abstract Type: Poster Abstract

Abstract

Anthropogenic warming has caused unprecedented increases in precipitation and temperature variability, and the frequency and intensity of droughts in many regions has also increased in recent decades. Dendrochronology offers long-term records with annual-scale temporal resolution of historical climate and tree-ring growth responses, making it a valuable tool for studying responses to a changing climate. Acer rubrum (red maple) is an abundant tree species across the Northeastern United States, but to date, a species regional chronology does not exist. Constructing a red maple chronology will allow assessment of its climatic controls throughout the region. I expect red maple to respond to climate variation, and that there will be a transition between temperature limited growth and precipitation limited growth from North to South across the region. I created red maple chronologies for 16 sites across the Northeastern United States, ranging from northern New England to the Mid-Atlantic. Within each site, I collected cores from 5-20 trees, measured ring widths, and crossdated site-level chronologies using COFECHA. I aimed to assess the stand’s climate response and the species’ ability to function as a temperature and precipitation proxy. Preliminary results suggest that red maple in the southern region do indeed respond positively to variation in summer precipitation and negatively to summer temperature, suggesting drought sensitivity in this portion of the range.