ABSTRACT
Dendrochronology utilizes accurately dated tree rings to address environmental and historical questions. Dendrochronology allows an investigator to study past events, if they can be dated by tree rings. Tree-ring research focusing on how climate affects tree growth or how climate has changed over long periods of time would be classified as dendroclimatology. Tree-ring width varies from year to year. Examination of a series of tree rings in a cross section allows a dendrochronologist to note the variability in growth in a tree over time. Some years are marked by very little growth, while others show above average growth. Certain environmental stresses affect many trees in a widespread geographic region simultaneously. These stresses will lead to all of the affected trees having similarities in their growth pattern. During a droughty year, for instance, trees will exhibit a sharp decline in growth for that year. Crossdating is performed by matching growth patterns among tree-ring samples.
