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Investigating Forest Inventory and Analysis-collected tree-ring data from Utah as a proxy for historical climate

Informally Refereed

Abstract

Increment cores collected as part of the periodic inventory in the Intermountain West were examined for their potential to represent growth and be a proxy for climate (precipitation) over a large region (Utah). Standardized and crossdated time-series created from pinyon pine (n=249) and Douglas-fir (n=274) increment cores displayed spatiotemporal patterns in growth differences both between species and by region within Utah. However, the between-species interrelationship of growth was strong over much of the state and indicated both species respond similarly to climate variations. Indeed, pinyon pine and Douglas-fir exhibited a significant and spatially coherent response to instrumental precipitation data. Previous water year (5-month lag) exhibited the strongest relationship to tree-ring increment for both species. Results suggest increment cores collected by Forest Inventory and Analysis are excellent proxies for historical precipitation.

Parent Publication

Keywords

statistics, estimation, sampling, modeling, remote sensing, forest health, data integrity, environmental monitoring, cover estimation, international forest monitoring

Citation

DeRose, R. Justin; Wang, W. Shih-Yu (Simon); Shaw, John D. 2012. Investigating Forest Inventory and Analysis-collected tree-ring data from Utah as a proxy for historical climate. In: Morin, Randall S.; Liknes, Greg C., comps. Moving from status to trends: Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) symposium 2012; 2012 December 4-6; Baltimore, MD. Gen. Tech. Rep. NRS-P-105. Newtown Square, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Research Station. [CD-ROM]: 92-98.
https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/treesearch/42679