Using dendrochronology to obtain annual data for modelling stand development: A supplement to permanent sample plots

Abstract

Permanent sample plots (PSPs), measured at 5- to 10-year intervals, are presently used to monitor stand development in boreal forests in Canada. These data cannot easily be used to study inter-annual variability in stand development processes nor can they monitor the effects of transient factors affecting stands annually because of their coarse temporal resolution. It also takes a considerable period of time to obtain time series of data for regions without PSPs. Long re-measurement intervals are necessary because instruments like diameter tapes, calipers and clinometers cannot discern annual growth in these slow-growing forests. Dendrochronological stand reconstruction techniques are a method that can be used to obtain annual data on forest growth and stand development. We show that these techniques can provide annual information on stand development patterns while periodic measurements of PSPs cannot, and that these data can be obtained in a short period of time, relative to waiting to obtain data from PSPs established today. Detailed, annual data will become more important in the future, as climate change will affect both forest growth and stand dynamics. Annual resolution data on these processes will be required to describe and account for these effects.© Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Institute of Chartered Foresters, 2009.