The Annual Dendroecological Fieldweek is described. The Fieldweek is in its 6th year, with the 1995 event scheduled for Kananaskis Field Station near Calgary, Alberta. Information about past variability is necessary to identify boundary conditions against which to assess future variability, especially to detect unprecedented changes that may be the result of human-induced climate or ecological change. Researchers in many natural science disciplines must therefore turn from instrumental or other written records to proxy data to broaden our understanding of temporal and spatial variability in natural phenomena under study. Proxy data derived from tree-ring research have proven very valuable in disciplines such as climatology, ecology, forestry, hydrology, and geology.
Trees record many events or processes that influence annual growth patterns.
Dendrochronology is concerned with how environment and physiology affect tree growth as recorded within tree rings. The most basic principle of dendrochronology is that of crossdating, in which calendrical years are assigned to individual rings within a tree. Once crossdated, each ring is then a reflection of the climate or other environmental conditions that influenced that tree for that year. The Annual North American Dendroecological Fieldweek is a workweek in applied tree-ring research, designed to give both beginners to the discipline an introduction to its basic methodology and applications and more experienced users a chance to work with and learn from others in the field in an informal group setting. The Fieldweek has had an outstanding history to date, with almost 250 participants in the five Fieldweeks from 1990 to 1994.