Dendrochronology has developed into a leading method for recording and monitoring climate change, natural ecological processes, and human-caused changes in the environment. The annual nature of tree growth permits the tree to serve as a bio-recorder for the duration of its lifetime. By studying these annual growth rings, we can determine how forests have changed over time and relate growth with climatic factors such as temperature, precipitation, and drought.

Tree rings are an important tool for understanding forest dynamics and climatic variability on a multi-century scale. Our research is an applied science that focuses on annual resolution information about climate, disturbance regimes, and cultural history. Projects in our laboratory have been funded by the National Science Foundation, The Nature Conservancy, Grandfather Mountain, and others.