OPUS: Synthesis of Three Decades of Research on Tree Growth in Northern Forests in Relation to Global Climatic Change

Columbia University, New York NY

Investigators

Abstract

This project will support a synthesis spanning more than three decades of research, focused on tree-ring analyses of northern forests. The northern forest ecosystems of the great land masses of North America and Eurasia are highly sensitive indicators of the Earth's carbon cycle. Over the past decades, these forests have yielded valuable information on variation in boreal forest growth as well as climatic and environmental change for the past millennium. Two main products will result from this project. First, a comprehensive, widely-accessible monograph that will synthesize this extensive body of tree-ring analysis from northern forests related to global change studies. The monograph will examine the so-called 'divergence effect', which means figuring out how and why tree growth and temperature patterns are not lined up at many northern sites, in recent decades. Documenting the divergence effect is critical for identifying and understanding the implications of future climate change on tree growth. Second, a CD atlas will be produced based on compilation of long-term tree-ring data, descriptions and reconstructions. This CD product will be made available to researchers and students worldwide and will provide important perspectives regarding the state of the science and provide materials for development of school curricula. This synthesis provides insights into the scientific decision-making process and is relevant to policy makers concerned with global change and its impacts.