Elsevier

Dendrochronologia

Volume 42, March 2017, Pages 80-93
Dendrochronologia

TECHNICAL NOTE
An intensive tree-ring experience: Connecting education and research during the 25th European Dendroecological Fieldweek (Asturias, Spain)

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dendro.2016.12.005Get rights and content

Highlights

  • European Dendroecological Fieldweek is an useful dendro-learning experience.

  • Cutting years, seasons, and provenance of (pre)historic wood revealed.

  • Climate reconstructions in Q. robur and C. sativa are distorted by management effects.

  • C. avellana and Salix spp. are challenging species for dendrogeomorphological studies.

  • Forests managers should modify chestnut stand structure to increase wood production.

  • Anatomical analyses in P. sylvestris and T. farfara revealed functional differences.

Abstract

The European Dendroecologial Fieldweek (EDF) provides an intensive learning experience in tree-ring research that challenges any participant to explore new multidisciplinary dendro-sciences approaches within the context of field and laboratory settings. Here we present the 25th EDF, held in Asturias, NW Spain, in summer 2014. The course, with 33 participants and 10 instructors from 18 countries included advanced training in dendrochronology skills, an overview of tree-ring broad fields and methodological basics to deal with specific research questions as well as applied advanced micro-projects in dendroarchaeology (DAR), dendroclimatology (DCL), dendrogeomorphology (DGM), forest dynamic (FD) and plant anatomy (PA). The results demonstrated the potential of tree-ring research in the Asturias region. The DAR group researched archaeological samples from different contexts (Oviedo cathedral choir stalls, Segovia cathedral roof timbers, Ribadeo shipwreck ship timbers and Bronze Age site charcoal) and explored the supply of wood in different periods. The DCL group established that the Quercus robur and Castanea sativa ring-width measurements show weak climate-growth correlations, where for many trees this is likely caused by management. The strength of the climatic signal could be enhanced using undisturbed settings. The DGM group found that Corylus avellana and Salix spp. are challenging species for dendrogeomorphological studies. Debris-flow events were detected by the presence of tension wood, growth reduction and scars, and their incidences were also supported by local meteorological data. The FD group found that tree growth decreases with increasing competition, a pattern more pronounced in C. sativa than in Pinus sylvestris forest plantations. The results indicate that wood production could be increased by applying thinning treatments on C. sativa. The PA group showed that xylem conduits and phloem area are organized according to the common needs for water supply to leaves and obtain photosynthetic products, regardless site growing conditions for P. sylvestris and Tusilago farfara. In conclusion, this EDF has been a model for interdisciplinary research and international collaboration that has demonstrated that high-quality research and education can be conducted within one week. The EDFs provide an important service to the dendrochronological community and demonstrate the usefulness of this educational-scientific and multi-cultural experience.

Section snippets

History and concept of the European Dendroecological Fieldweek (EDF)

The Dendroecological Fieldweeks were designed to provide an intensive learning experience in tree-ring research that challenges participants to explore new approaches of multidisciplinary dendro-sciences within the context of a specific field and laboratory settings (Speer et al., 2006, Speer et al., 2017, Touchan et al., 2013). The courses have filled an important niche because they teach dendrochronology to scientists who do not have access to the few teaching tree-ring classes around the

Structure of the 25th EDF in NW Spain

The 25th EDF was held from 31 August to 6 September 2014, in Oviedo (Asturias region, NW Spain) hosted at the Educational Foundation of Asturian Miners (FUNDOMA; www.fundoma.org) including 33 participants and 10 instructors from altogether 18 countries based on Institutions (Fig. 1b).

Participants and instructors jointly decided on five disciplines: Dendroarchaeology (DAR), dendroclimatology (DCL), dendrogeomorphology (DGM), forest dynamic (FD) and plant anatomy (PA) (Fig. 2). Each group project

Case studies of the group projects

The study sites were located in different areas of Asturias and Spain following the specific objectives of each group (Fig. 2b). The course had access to various web-based tools and database for forest data, botanical, climatological, geological and archaeological analysis, and to historical and documentary records of environmental and urban changes archived in local libraries in Asturias.

Conclusions

The 25th EDF demonstrated the potential of tree-ring data from tree species and sites in NW Spain for studying archaeology, climate, forest dynamic, geomorphology and plant anatomy aspects (Fig. 3). To dendrochronologically establish the date and provenance of historical timbers of oak and pine in Spain, a denser network of multi-century long chronologies is required. However, despite the lack of absolute dates, tree-rings can reveal coeval groups of timbers, different building phases, and in

Acknowledgements

This 25th EDF was carried out as joint event of the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL, Birmensdorf-Switzerland, CETEMAS (Forest and Wood Technology Research Centre) in Asturias, University of Córdoba (UCO) and IPE-CSIC (Instituto Pirenaico de Ecología – Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas)-Zaragoza, from Spain. The organizers sincerely thank the FUNDOMA, Consejería de Desarrollo Rural y Recursos Naturales-Principado de Asturias, UniOvi (Universidad

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