RAPID: Emergency collection of tree-ring archives from bald cypress killed or damaged in the July 2025 Guadalupe River flood

University Of Texas At Austin, Austin TX

Investigators

Abstract

On July 4, 2025, a devastating flood along the Guadalupe River severely impacted communities in Kerr County, Texas. It also caused widespread damage to infrastructure and natural vegetation, including centuries-old bald cypress trees. Because the growth of trees is marked by a growth ring formed during each year, tree rings provide natural records of how climate changed during the decades to centuries over which the tree grew. In some instances, these records can reveal extreme weather events such as hurricanes, droughts, and floods. The bald cypress is a long-lived species growing along rivers in central Texas that can be an important resource to reconstruct past climate conditions. Because central Texas is prone to both drought and flooding, trees damaged or uprooted during the July 2025 floods offer a rare opportunity to salvage wood samples that can be used to reconstruct patterns of extreme events that extend well beyond human memory or written records. Scientists leading this project will use samples of bald cypress trees salvaged from along the Guadalupe River to investigate long-term patterns of changes in the local climate and environment, including extreme weather events such as droughts and floods. Despite the disruption and loss, local community members and public officials are interested in supporting scientific efforts to recover this irreplicable material before it is destroyed during the recovery and cleanup efforts. The information provided by these unique and valuable records can inform water resource planning, flood risk assessments, and community strategies in this part of Texas known as Flash Flood Alley. This Rapid Response Research (RAPID) award supports the urgent collection of cross-sections, stumps, cores, and other anatomical material from mature trees uprooted by the July 2025 flood along the Guadalupe River. Samples will be collected in coordination with local authorities who are leading recovery efforts in this area. The samples will be preserved in a federally recognized tree-ring archive at the University of Arizona, providing a lasting resource for research that can build a history of the frequency and intensity of extreme events such as floods and droughts. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.