Tree Rings as Indicators of Ecosystem Health

This book describes the principles and applications of dendrochronology and dendrochemistry. It illustrates how these approaches are used to determine the history of natural and anthropogenic stresses on forest ecosystems and to evaluate the present status of the health of ecosystems.

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This book is a combination of dendrochronology and dendrochemistry. Trees record the passage of each year by the formation of annual rings. The elements deposited in the wood serve as historical records of past environmental change due to global climate change, acidic deposition, heavy metal deposition, ground water contamination, and many other anthropogenic stresses. Dendrochemistry is currently being used as an indicator of forest health in the joint U.S. EPA/U.S. Forest Service long-term monitoring program called Forest Health Monitoring.