NOAA/WDS Paleoclimatology - Copenheaver - Zoar State Forest (terrace) - FAGR - ITRDB VA030

Successful dendroclimatic reconstructions require separating trees with strong climate records in their tree rings (sensitive trees) from those with weak climate signals (complacent trees). Traditionally, dendroclimatologists identify sensitive trees based on their growing site and favor trees from high elevation or xeric sites; however, recently dendroclimatologists have explored the potential of bottomland hardwood sites because they harbor some of the oldest trees in the eastern United States. The objective of this study was to contrast the dendroclimatic sensitivity of Fagus grandifolia Ehrh. growing on a floodplain vs. a river terrace. Although the difference in elevation between these two sites was only 10 m, this represented a substantial difference in frequency and duration of flooding. Tree cores from Fagus grandifolia growing on the floodplain and on the terrace were collected to create two master chronologies from the tree ring widths. The ring width indices from these two sites were correlated with temperature, precipitation, and Palmer Drought Severity Index. At the terrace site, significant dendroclimatic correlations existed during the summer months with Palmer Drought Severity Index, precipitation, and temperature. No significant dendroclimatic relationships existed for the Fagus grandifolia growing on the floodplain. These results identify the fine line that exists between sensitive and complacent trees within bottomland hardwood sites and identifies a geomorphic region (terrace sites) that has traditionally been overlooked in dendroclimatic studies but which produces sensitive tree ring records.