Tree growth is correlated with climate factors like temperature and precipitation. By analyzing tree ring widths and comparing them to historical climate records, researchers have developed climate reconstructions extending back centuries. The technique involves cross-dating multiple tree ring records to find shared variance representing regional climate signals, then using regression models to estimate past climate values from that shared variance. When done properly across many tree ring sites, this allows empirical reconstruction of climate over periods without direct instrumental records.
4. THE PRINCIPLE OF
CROSS-DATING
THE PRINCIPLE OF
AGGREGATE TREE GROWTH
THE PRINCIPLE OF
REPLICATION
STANDARDIZATION
THE PRINCIPLE OF
ECOLOGICAL AMPLITUDE
THE PRINCIPLE OF
SITE SELECTION
18. thermometers
tree rings
Source: Hughes et al., 1999
19. rain gauges
tree rings
Source: Hughes and Funkhouser, 1998
20. correlation The Pearson product-moment
correlation coefficient is probably the single
most widely used statistic for summarizing
the relationship between two variables.
21. covariance
product of both standard deviations
Correlation Pearson’s product-moment correlation