The goal of this project is to evaluate the effects of microclimate variations on tree ring growth. The collaborative project includes researchers from the University of Arizona Tree Ring Laboratory and Western Washington University. Based on previous work, the researchers documented that tree ring growth can be affected by climate variability passing certain thresholds related to elevation and fine scale topography. To further analyze these thresholds, the PIs will deploy a set of microclimate recording systems, set up to record important physical variables, in a variety of locations in the western United States, including the Sierra Nevada mountains, the dry mountain ranges in the Great Basin, and the lower and central Rocky Mountains. High elevation pine trees will be studied because they play an important role in the reconstructions of past climate in the region using tree rings. By quantifying the effects of the microclimates on tree ring growth, and determining the geographical extent over which the effects are recorded by the pine trees, the investigators will attempt to improve the paleoclimate reconstructions for the region. The revised reconstructions will then be used to test late Holocene general circulation model (GCM) reconstructions for the same region.
The results of this project should lead to better understanding of the recent history of climate in the western United States and also better projections of the future impacts of climate changes on the high elevation trees. The project also includes undergraduate and graduate student training and research experience.
