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Harvard Forest Symposium Abstract 2012

• Title: Monitoring detailed tree growth with dendrometer bands in the SIGEO plot
• Primary Author: Sean McMahon (Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute - Center for Tropical Forest Science )
• Additional Authors: David Orwig (Harvard Forest)
• Abstract:

  We have implemented an intensive dendrometer band measurement protocol at Harvard Forest in the SIGEO "big plot". Over the 2011 growing season we measured 100 trees bi-weekly, getting detailed intra-annual growth estimates. Dendrometer bands are spring-loaded steel bands that wrap around the tree at breast height. A small gap that is cut into the band expands as the tree grows. The size of a gap can be easily measured using digital calipers, offering a straightforward transformation to slight changes in diameter over a growing season. Preliminary analysis of these measurements—the change in diameter at breast height—shows that individual trees respond en masse to variations in weather. During small periods of drought, both large and small trees, slow down in bole growth. We are currently estimating how different species differ in this response. This protocol will be extended through 2012 with expansion into the hemlock stands.

• Research Category: Large Experiments and Permanent Plot Studies