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Light Rings in Subarctic Conifers as a Dendrochronological Tool

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Louise Filion ,
Serge Payette ,
Line Gauthier  and
Yves Boutin
Louise Filion
Affiliation:
Centre d'études nordiques, Université Laval, Sainte-Foy, Québec, Canada G1K 7P4
Serge Payette
Affiliation:
Centre d'études nordiques, Université Laval, Sainte-Foy, Québec, Canada G1K 7P4
Line Gauthier
Affiliation:
Centre d'études nordiques, Université Laval, Sainte-Foy, Québec, Canada G1K 7P4
Yves Boutin
Affiliation:
Centre d'études nordiques, Université Laval, Sainte-Foy, Québec, Canada G1K 7P4
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Abstract

Light rings are characterized by one or a very few latewood-cell layers, an indication of shortened growing seasons, and are particularly frequent in black spruce (Picea mariana (Mill.) BSP) at the treeline in Québec. The construction of a light-ring chronology spanning the period AD 1398–1982 showed that the highest frequency (>25%) of light rings among 160 trees and krummholz occurred in 1593, 1620, 1634, 1784, 1816, 1817, 1853, 1969, and 1972. These diagnostic rings be a useful cross-dating tool for dendroecologists working with living and dead krummholz with a low-growth variability. About two-thirds of the 65 light-ring years coincide with years (or triads) of major volcanic eruptions. The climatic conditions (low temperature) occurring at the end of the growing season, in part induced by the climatic effect of volcanism, seem to initiate light rings.

Information

Type
Research Article
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 26 , Issue 2 , September 1986 , pp. 272 - 279
Copyright
University of Washington

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