The three years Beaty circled will show up earlier in an older tree, later in a younger one. That's a long time ago. The tree itself, I think, germinated in 1060. Nobody is sure where the name came from, but Beaty thinks it's because the triangular shape resembles a cat's nose. The researchers not only know the year the fire occurred, they can be pretty sure of the season.
Wet springs encourage growth and the tree cells are bigger, so they show up lighter in the rings.
As the climate gets drier in August and September, the tree cells are smaller and denser. We believe it will help us decide on future forest management strategies and overall ecological strategies,'' said forest service spokeswoman Linda Massey. These stumps are a tremendous environmental resource in terms of telling us something about past conditions or temperatures or moisture. Materials contained within this site may not be used without permission.