@mastersthesis {511, title = {Unraveling environmental factors that affect Pinus longaeva growth in the White Mountains, California}, volume = {PhD}, year = {2010}, school = {University of Arizona}, abstract = {

Two of the most pressing questions involving ancient bristlecone pines are how microsite factors lead to differences in tree responses to climate at high-elevation sites, and how global change has impacted growing season events. Disparities in climate response at treeline and subalpine locations have been associated with local environmental characteristics while the increasing growth trend found at treeline has been linked to warming. In this study, environmental conditions were considered in order to identify microsite differences between trees growing at two different elevations on four aspects of a conical-shaped mountain in the White Mountains, California. Dendrochronological, environmental, correlational, and spectral methods were employed to explore differences in ring-width chronologies. Albedo, soil thickness, and percent slope led to ring-width variability. Northwestern upper site was most highly correlated with precipitation, while the Southeastern lower site showed a strong negative correlation with temperature. This work indicates that selection of climate-sensitive trees a priori necessitates the consideration of local environmental factors, and these microsite differences resulted in different climate responses between nearby trees. By monitoring growing season events at the historic phenology site from the 1962-64 (Fritts 1969), natural variations and responses to climate change can be identified. Morphological and physiological phenophases, dendrometer traces, and environmental data were collected throughout the summers of 2007 and 2008. Duration and timing of cambial activity (tracheid lifespan) in the present study were similar to those recorded in the Fritts (1969) investigation, while pollination onset and bud opening occurred earlier in this study. No change was found in duration and timing of cambial activity suggesting that changes in cambial phenology are not an explanation for the increasing growth trend found at upper forest borders. On the other hand, changes in bud opening and pollination onset may be related to recent warming. To monitor diurnal and seasonal stem variability as part of phenologic studies on several trees, a point potentiometer dendrometer was designed. The newly designed point potentiometer dendrometer was tested in multiple environments and found to be versatile, cost-effective, and portable, working well in semi-arid and arid environments.

}, keywords = {Physical geography}, url = {http://ezproxy.library.arizona.edu/login?url=http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=2108905281\&sid=32\&Fmt=2\&clientId=43922\&RQT=309\&VName=PQD}, author = {Hallman, Christine Lee} } @mastersthesis {494, title = {Spatial and temporal validation of fire-scar fire histories}, volume = {PhD}, year = {2009}, school = {University of Arizona}, abstract = {

Accurate information about historical fire regimes is needed to understand the long-term effects of fire and climate on ecosystem dynamics and guide ecosystem restoration. Fire scars are used widely to reconstruct historical fire regimes around the world but few empirical validation studies have been conducted. This dissertation consists of three integrated studies aimed at addressing the following questions: (1) how accurate are fire-scar fire histories compared to known patterns of fire occurrence; (2) how do these relationships vary spatially and temporally; (3) how representative statistically are search-based (\“targeted\”) fire-scar sampling techniques? I utilized an empirical corroboration approach to validate fire-scar reconstructions against documentary fire perimeters for a 2,780 hectare ponderosa pine landscape in Saguaro National Park, Arizona (USA). Resampling statistics and spatial modeling were used to quantify interactions between spatial scale, sample size, and fire size. Statistical properties of targeted sampling were assessed by analyzing three case studies containing paired examples of targeted and non-targeted sampling (i.e., systematic and census). I found strong linear relationships between fire-scar synchrony (samples scarred in a given year) and annual area burned. Fire-scar derived estimates of fire frequency metrics, such as Mean Fire Return Interval and Natural Fire Rotation, did not differ significantly from the documentary record, and there was strong spatial coherence between fire frequency maps interpolated from fire-scar data and documentary maps. Scale and sample size dependence of fire-scar detection probabilities were variable for small fire years but relatively weak for widespread fires. This resulted in consistent and predictable influences on fire frequency reconstructions: statistical measures dependent on area burned were relatively stable and robust across a range of scale, sample size, and fire size. Targeted sampling did not differ statistically from non-targeted datasets, but targeted fire-scar data contained proportionately greater sample depth and longer temporal records with fewer samples. These results demonstrate collectively that key temporal and spatial fire frequency parameters can be reconstructed accurately from point-based fire-scar data. They also reaffirm general interpretations and management implications from past fire history research indicating that frequent, widespread burning was an important component of pre-settlement fire regimes in Southwestern ponderosa pine.

}, url = {http://ezproxy.library.arizona.edu/login?url=http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=1937808421\&sid=2\&Fmt=2\&clientId=43922\&RQT=309\&VName=PQD}, author = {Farris, Calvin Arthur} } @mastersthesis {842, title = {Fire History and Fire Climate Relationships in Upper Elevation Forests of the Southwestern United States}, volume = {Ph.D}, year = {2007}, note = {

Please contact the Laboratory of Tree Ring Research for a copy of this dissertation. The file is too large to be uploaded at this time.

}, pages = {182}, school = {University of Arizona}, type = {Dissertation}, address = {Tucson}, abstract = {

Fire history and fire-climate relationships of upper elevation forests of the southwestern United States are imperative for informing management decisions in the face of increased crown fire occurrence and climate change. I used dendroecological techniques to reconstruct fires and stand-replacing fire patch size in Madrean Sky Islands and Mogollon Plateau. Reconstructed patch size (1685-1904) was compared with contemporary patch size (1996-2004). Reconstructed fires at three sites had stand-replacing patches totaling \> 500 ha. No historical stand-replacing fire patches were evident in the mixed conifer/aspen forests of the Sky Islands. Maximum stand-replacing fire patch size of modern fires (1129 ha) was greater than that reconstructed from aspen (286 ha) and spruce-fir (521 ha). Updated spruce-fir patches may be evidence of larger (\>2000ha) stand-replacing fire patches.

To provide climatological context for fire history I used correlation and regionalization analyses to document spatial and temporal variability in climate regions, and El-Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO), the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) and the Atlantic Multi-decadal Oscillation (AMO) teleconnections using 273 tree-ring chronologies (1732-1979). Four regions were determined by common variability in annual ring width. The component time score series replicate spatial variability in 20th century droughts (e.g., 1950\’s) and pluvials (e.g., 1910\’s). Two regions were significantly correlated with instrumental SOI and AMO, and three with PDO. Sub-regions within the southwestern U.S. varied geographically between the instrumental (1900-1979) and the pre-instrumental periods (1732-1899). Mapped correlations between ENSO, PDO and AMO, and tree-ring indices illustrate detailed sub-regional variability in teleconnections.

I analyzed climate teleconnections, and fire-climate relationships of historical upper elevation fires from 16 sites in 8 mountain ranges. I tested for links between Palmer Drought Severity Index and tree-ring reconstructed ENSO, PDO and AMO phases (1905-1978 and 1700-1904). Upper elevation fires (115 fires, 84 fire years, 1623-1904) were compared with climate indices. ENSO, PDO, and AMO affected regional PDSI, but AMO and PDO teleconnections changed between periods. Fire occurrence was significantly related to inter-annual variability in PDSI, precipitation, ENSO, and phase combinations of ENSO and PDO, but not AMO (1700-1904). Reduced upper elevation fire (1785-1840) was coincident with a cool AMO phase.

}, keywords = {AMO, climate, dendrochronology, dendroclimatology, ENSO, environment, fire, fire history, forest, madrean sky islands, mogollon plateau, mountain, PDO, southwest, teleconnection, tree ring, upper elevation, Watershed Management}, url = {http://ezproxy.library.arizona.edu/login?url=http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=1375523671\&sid=1\&Fmt=2\&clientId=43922\&RQT=309\&VName=PQD.}, author = {Margolis, Ellis Quinn} } @mastersthesis {514, title = {Landscape Fire History and Age Structure Patterns in the Sky Islands of Southeastern Arizona}, volume = {PhD}, year = {2006}, school = {University of Arizona}, abstract = {At regional scales climate patterns (e.g., interannual wet-dry cycles) result in high spatial fire synchrony among Southwest forests. However, in the {\textquotedblleft}Sky Island{\textquotedblright} forests of southeastern Arizona spatial and temporal patterns of fire history and tree age structure at landscape levels (i.e., within mountain ranges) are relatively unknown and therefore the focus of this study. In the Santa Catalina Mountains we reconstructed the fire history on a 2,900-hectare study area with two distinct landscapes, Butterfly Peak (BP) and Rose Canyon (RC) using 2-hectare {\textquotedblleft}points{\textquotedblright} (i.e., collection areas). The RC landscape was dominated by shallow south-facing aspects and BP was dominated by steep north-facing aspects. Within each landscape, point mean fire intervals (PMFIs) were not significantly different between aspect classes. However, pooled PMFIs were significantly shorter in RC compared to BP. These results show that the fire history at any given point (i.e., 2 hectares or less) was primarily controlled by the broad-scale topography of the encompassing landscape, rather than by the fine-scale topography at that point. Using similar methods we also reconstructed the fire history on Rincon Peak, which is a small isolated mountain range with very step topography. The fire history of the 310-hectare forest area was a mixture of frequent low severity surface fires (from AD 1648 to 1763) and infrequent mixed-severity fires (from AD 1763 to 1867). This mixed-fire regime was probably due to a combination of climatic variability, the small area and rugged topography of this mountain range, and complex fuel arrangements. The distinct fire histories from these two study areas provided natural age structure experiments that indicated tree age cohorts (i.e., higher than expected tree establishment pulses) occurred during periods of reduced fire frequencies. In some instances these periods were likely caused by climatic variability (e.g., a wet and/or cool early 1800s) creating synchronous age cohorts across the region. At other times, extended fire intervals were a function of local topography (e.g., 1763-1819 in the northern half of Rincon Peak). Overall, these studies demonstrated that landscape and climatic variations combine to produce complex spatial and temporal variations in fire history and tree age structures.}, keywords = {Renewable Natural Resources}, url = {http://ezproxy.library.arizona.edu/login?url=http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=1144189411\&sid=5\&Fmt=2\&clientId=43922\&RQT=309\&VName=PQD}, author = {Iniguez, Jose M.} } @mastersthesis {650, title = {Household ritual, gender, and figurines in the Hohokam regional system}, volume = {PhD}, year = {2004}, school = {University of Arizona}, abstract = {Study of ritual in the Greater Southwest is dominated by research at the suprahousehold and community levels. However, this approach ignores the most basic segment of society, the household. This research addresses household ritual by determining the production, use, and discard of anthropomorphic ceramic figurines that were used at the sites of Snaketown and Grewe during the Pioneer (300 B.C.-A.D. 700) and Colonial (A.D. 700-900) periods. Agency and practice theory provide a background for this examination of human representations that may be tied with the creation of personhood and identity. Some 1440 figurines and figurine fragments are analyzed in order to determine their function and the sex of those individuals producing them. Function is determined by recording the patterns of construction, form, use-wear, damage, and disposal for each artifact. These results are compared to cross-cultural patterns of figurine use including ancestor ritual, healing and curing ritual, and the play of children (toys.) All aspects of figurine manufacture, use, and discard indicate that these items were employed in ancestor ritual within Hohokam households. In addition to the analysis of figurine attributes, I also determine who the producers of these figures were by examining fingerprint impressions left in the clay surface of the representations. Dermatoglyphic analyses provide the link between the manufacture of figurines and gender roles within the household. Ridge counting is used to distinguish between children and adults and males and females. A ridge count is a quantitative measure of the size and density of the fingerprint pattern, which is strongly inherited. The ridge count indices for the archaeological sample are compared with ridge count values from an ethnographic collection of Native American prints. These distributions of ridge count values show that women are the primary producers of the figurines, however a small percentage of men are manufacturing them in certain households. As part of ancestor ritual, figurines function as representations of deceased relatives who perpetuate access to property and resource rights. Women often maintain this ritual, which commemorates the dead while reinforcing social memory among the Hohokam. }, keywords = {Arizona, Figurines, Gender, Hohokam, Household ritual}, url = {http://ezproxy.library.arizona.edu/login?url=http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=845713121\&sid=7\&Fmt=2\&clientId=43922\&RQT=309\&VName=PQD}, author = {Susan Stinson} } @mastersthesis {493, title = {Scaling Rules for Fire Regimes}, volume = {PhD}, year = {2004}, school = {University of Arizona}, abstract = {Forest fire is a keystone ecological process in coniferous forests of southwestern North America. This dissertation examines a fire regime in the Jemez Mountains of northern New Mexico, USA, based on an original data set collected from Monument Canyon Research Natural Area (MCN). First, I examine scale dependence in the fire regime. Statistical descriptors of the fire regime, such as fire frequency and mean fire interval, are scale-dependent. I describe the theory of the event-area (EA) relationship , analogous to the species-area relationship, for events distributed in space and time; the interval-area (IA) relationship , is a related form for fire intervals. The EA and IA also allow estimation of the annual fire frame (AFF), the area within which fire occurs annually on average. The slope of the EA is a metric of spatio-temporal synchrony of events across multiple spatial scales. The second chapter concerns the temporal distribution of fire events. I outline a theory of fire interval probability from first principles in fire ecology and statistics. Fires are conditional events resulting from interaction of multiple contingent factors that must be satisfied for an event to occur. Outcomes of this kind represent a multiplicative process for which a lognormal model is the limiting distribution. I examine the application of this framework to two probability models, the Weibull and lognormal distributions, which can be used to characterize the distribution of fire intervals over time. The final chapter addresses the theory and effects of sample size in fire history. Analytical methods (including composite fire records) are used in fire history to minimize error in inference. I describe a theory of the collector{\textquoteright}s curve based on accumulation of sets of discrete events and the probability of recording a fire as a function of sample size. I propose a nonlinear regression method for the Monument Canyon data set to correct for differences in sample size among composite fire records. All measures of the fire regime reflected sensitivity to sample size, but these differences can be corrected in part by applying the regression correction, which can increase confidence in quantitative estimates of the fire regime.}, url = {http://ezproxy.library.arizona.edu/login?url=http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=845727371\&sid=3\&Fmt=2\&clientId=43922\&RQT=309\&VName=PQD}, author = {Falk, Donald Albert} } @mastersthesis {521, title = {Fire-Climate-Vegetation Interactions in Subalpine Forests of the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness Area, Idaho and Montana, USA}, volume = {PhD}, year = {2003}, school = {University of Arizona}, abstract = {The long term patterns of fire-climate interactions and forest recovery processes in subalpine forests are poorly understood. This study used a suite of dendrochronological techniques to identify tree growth-climate relationships, assess the interactions of fire with interannual climate variability, and reconstruct summer temperature in subalpine forests of the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness Area on the border of Idaho and Montana, USA. Comparison of ring-width chronologies from whitebark pine ( Pinus albicaulis Engelm.) and subalpine larch ( Larix lyallii Parl.) with modern climate data indicated that summer temperatures were most limiting to growth in these conifers. Warm summers were generally conducive to radial growth. However, the temporal stability of the climate-tree growth relationship weakens from the early to later periods of the record. Alterations to growing season length, possibly modified by snow pack, may be related to the reduction in climate-growth relationships. A 748-year reconstruction of average summer temperature was developed that explains [approximate]36\% of the variance of the instrumental record. Positive values of the coefficient of efficiency and reduction of error verification statistics indicated that the reconstruction was of good quality. Warm and cool periods in the reconstruction include a warm decade around the 1650s and prolonged cooling around 1700. Peaks in variance in reconstructed average summer temperature occurred at 87, 15, and 2 years. More than 2000 fire scar and age structure samples were used to evaluate fire-climate relationships. Comparison of widespread fire events to climate variables indicated dry conditions both during the fire year and one year before a fire. Multiple spatial patterns of drought and El Ni{\~n}o were related to widespread fire occurrence. Forest recovery following fires generally proceeds from lodgepole pine ( Pinus contorta var. latifolia Dougl.) toward spruce-fir forests ( Picea engelmannii Parry- Abies lasiocarpa (Hook) Nutt.). Two successional pathways occur, one beginning with an initial lodgepole pine stage, the other a spruce-fir stage. Initial composition was related to the presence of overstory lodgepole pine at the time of fire occurrence as well as the intervals between successive fires. Collectively, these results suggest a strong multi-year drought linkage between climate and fire, and dependence on fire intervals for structuring forest communities.}, keywords = {Geography}, url = {http://ezproxy.library.arizona.edu/login?url=http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=765957031\&sid=4\&Fmt=2\&clientId=43922\&RQT=309\&VName=PQD}, author = {Kipfmueller, Kurt Foster} } @mastersthesis {910, title = {Stand Replacing Fire History and Aspen Ecology in the Upper Rio Grande Basin}, volume = {Master of Science}, year = {2003}, pages = {94}, school = {University of Arizona}, address = {Tucson}, abstract = {

Dendroecological techniques were applied to reconstruct stand-replacing fire history in mixed conifer and spruce-fir forests in northern New Mexico and southern Colorado. Stand-replacing fire dates with annual accuracy and precision were determined using four lines of evidence for each of twelve sites within a 75,000 square kilometer area. The four lines of evidence were: (1) aspen inner-ring dates, (2) conifer death dates, (3) tree-ring width changes, or other morphological indicators of injury, and (4) fire scars. The annual precision of dating allowed the identification of significant synchrony of stand replacing fires among the 12 sites and regional surface fire events previously reconstructed from the large network of fire scar collections in the Southwest. Nearly all of these synchronous stand-replacing and surface fire years coincided with extreme droughts. This suggests that stand-replacing fire activity occurred primarily when drought conditions allowed fires to ignite and spread within these high elevation forests and/or for the spread of surface fires between lower and upper elevations. Fifty percent of reconstructed stand-replacing fires pre-dated large-scale Euro-American settlement in this region. This may suggest that land use practices (such as logging and mining) were not as important in promoting stand-replacing fires in these study sites, as compared with other areas in Colorado.

}, keywords = {aspen, basin, colorado, conifer, dendrochronology, dendroecology, Ecology, fire, fire history, new mexico, rio grande, spruce fir, stand replacing, tree ring}, author = {Margolis, Ellis Quinn} } @mastersthesis {506, title = {Effects of Substrate on Dendrochronologic Streamflow Reconstruction: Paria River, Utah; With Fractal Applications to Dendrochronology}, volume = {PhD}, year = {2002}, school = {University of Arizona}, abstract = {Two pi{\~n}on ( Pinus edulus ) tree-ring chronologies developed on each of three substrates (sandstone, shale, and alluvial fan deposits) in southern Utah for the period 1702 to 1997 demonstrate that geologic substrate affects dendrochronologic streamflow reconstructions. Chronologies from alluvial fan deposits explain the most variance of cool-season (October 1 to May 31) flow with an adjusted coefficient of determination (R a 2 ) equal to 0.59. Chronologies from sandstone deposits account for 52 percent of the variance, while those on shale deposits account for 45 percent. The highest single-site annual discharge reconstruction (October 1 to September 30), R a 2 = 0.25, is provided by chronologies from shale deposits. The highest substrate-pair annual discharge reconstruction, R a 2 = 0.27, is provided by chronologies from alluvial fan deposits. The highest summer discharge reconstruction (July 4 to September 3), R a 2 = 0.14, is provided by chronologies from sandstone. The different substrate response is attributed to varying amounts of clay in each substrate affecting infiltration and available water for tree growth. The fractal parameters (fractal dimension and Hurst exponent), calculated using the roughness-length method, describe the long-term persistence of each tree-ring series and of the hydrologic record. The fractal dimensions range from 1.739 to 1.939 for the tree-ring series for the calibration period, and from 1.884 to 1.946 for the entire chronology periods. The fractal dimension for the annual hydrologic record is 1.802, and 1.819 from October 1 through May 31. Modification of each tree-ring series based on the ratios of the Hurst exponent of each series forced the fractal dimensions of the tree-ring series to be closer to that of the hydrologic series. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)}, keywords = {Watershed Management}, url = {http://ezproxy.library.arizona.edu/login?url=http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=765129271\&sid=4\&Fmt=2\&clientId=43922\&RQT=309\&VName=PQD}, author = {Grow, David Earl} } @mastersthesis {490, title = {A Computer-Assisted Tree-Ring Chronology Composition System}, volume = {MS}, year = {2000}, school = {University of Arizona}, abstract = {The design and implementation of a computer-assisted tree-ring chronology composition system for dendrochronology is described in this thesis. Methods for tree-ring growth sequence pattern matching, hierarchical composition of master chronologies, and analytical quality control are discussed in detail and systematically implemented in the CROSSDATE program in a highly visual, graphic environment. The objective of this work is to provide dendrochronologists with a robust set of tools for comparing the relative growth patterns of tree-ring samples for purposes of dating the samples and composing new master chronologies from individual tree-ring samples and other master chronologies. This system is complementary to the TREES program, a computer-vision based tree-ring identification and measurement system developed at the University of Arizona.}, url = {http://ezproxy.library.arizona.edu/login?url=http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=729088511\&sid=4\&Fmt=2\&clientId=43922\&RQT=309\&VName=PQD}, author = {Engle, James Blaine} } @mastersthesis {559, title = {Dendroclimatology in the San Francisco Peaks region of northern Arizona, USA}, volume = {PhD}, year = {2000}, school = {University of Arizona}, abstract = {Millennial length temperature and precipitation reconstructions from tree rings are developed for the northern Arizona region and applied to questions regarding the nature of the cultural-environmental interface in the northern Southwest, the role of explosive volcanism as a forcing mechanism in temperature variability, and the state of late 20th century climate compared to the range of natural variability of the past. A 2660-year long bristlecone pine tree-ring chronology from high elevation in the San Francisco Peaks of northern Arizona is calibrated with instrumental annual mean-maximum temperature data to reconstruct temperature. Three 1400-year long lower elevation tree-ring chronologies, developed from both living trees and wood from archaeological sites on the Colorado Plateau, are calibrated with instrumental precipitation data (October-July) to reconstruct precipitation. The juxtaposition of these two reconstructions yields paleoclimatic insights unobtainable from either record alone. Results include the identification of wet, dry, cool, and warm intervals and the identification of periods of high and low variance in temperature and precipitation. Population movement into the Flagstaff area in the second half of the 11th century is attributed to relatively warm wet conditions. The role of temperature decline in the 13th century merits additional consideration in the prehistoric regional abandonment of the Four Corners area. Many of the reconstructed cold periods are linked to explosive volcanism. The second half of the 20th century is the warmest in the period of record, and extremely warm/wet conditions have persisted since 1976.}, keywords = {Paleoecology}, url = {http://ezproxy.library.arizona.edu/login?url=http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=731919721\&sid=18\&Fmt=2\&clientId=43922\&RQT=309\&VName=PQD}, author = {Salzer, Matthew W.} } @mastersthesis {558, title = {Tree-Ring Reconstruction of Western Spruce Budworm Outbreaks in the Rio Grande National Forest, Colorado}, volume = {Master of Science}, year = {1999}, pages = {97}, school = {University of Arizona}, address = {Tucson}, abstract = {

Tree-ring records were used to reconstruct the spatial and temporal patterns of western spruce budworm (Choristoneura occidentalis Freeman) outbreaks in the Rio Grande National Forest (RGNF) of southern Colorado. Reconstructions at 11 host stands showed a synchronous pattern of outbreaks with a peak in the number of trees recording outbreaks over the entire RGNF on average every 24 years. These synchronous periods of outbreaks coincided with periods of increased moisture as indicated by an independently reconstructed summer Palmer Drought Severity Index, while relatively few trees recorded outbreaks during dry periods. The reconstruction on the RGNF does not support the hypothesis that human land use has significantly altered outbreak patterns. Tree response to outbreaks in the RGNF was different from prior studies as reductions in the growth were typically detectable only when growth was compared to that of nonhost tree species.

}, keywords = {colorado, dendrochronology, department of agriculture, forest service, national forest, outbreak, palmer drought severity index, RGNF, rio grande, tree ring, western spruce budworm}, author = {Ryerson, Daniel E.} } @mastersthesis {478, title = {Fire history and stand structure in the Huachuca Mountains of Southeastern Arizona}, volume = {MS}, year = {1998}, school = {University of Arizona}, abstract = {Historically, wildfires in mixed conifer forests of Southwestern sky islands were frequent events. Dendrochronological methods were used to reconstruct fire regimes and stand age structures in the Huachuca Mountains of Southeastern Arizona. Pre-settlement (i.e., before ca. 1870) fire intervals ranged from 4 to 10 years, with many fires spreading over the entire sample area. Stand age distributions show an increase in more shade-tolerant tree species. Although ponderosa pine is still the dominant overstory tree species, recent recruitment is predominantly southwestern white pine and Douglas-fir. Establishment of Ft. Huachuca in 1877 was a precursor to extensive use of timber, mineral, range and water resources in the Huachuca Mountains. The fire regime was altered at this time, with only one subsequent widespread surface fire recorded in 1899. Settlement era land-use practices may be responsible for changes in stand structure and composition.}, url = {http://ezproxy.library.arizona.edu/login?url=http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=738257621\&sid=3\&Fmt=2\&clientId=43922\&RQT=309\&VName=PQD}, author = {Danzer, Shelley Rae} } @mastersthesis {516, title = {Fire History in Riparian Canyon Pine-Oak Forests and the Intervening Desert Grasslands of the Southwest Borderlands: A Dendroecological, Historical, and Cultural Inquiry}, volume = {MS}, year = {1998}, school = {University of Arizona}, address = {Tucson}, abstract = {

Dendroecological, documentary, and ethnoecological evidence were combined to provide an integrated understanding of past natural and cultural fires in the Southwest Borderlands. Fire frequency for the desert grasslands was inferred from synchronous intercanyon fire events. Mean fire intervals range between 4-8 years in canyon pine-oak forests, 4-9 years in the intervening desert grasslands, and 5-9 years in the mixed-conifer forests. Riparian canyon pine-oak forests were important corridors for fire spread between the desert grasslands and higher-elevation forests. The decline of post-settlement (\>1870s) fires typical of most forests in U.S., is not evident south of the border in Mexico.

Documentary evidence reveals the Apache had detailed knowledge of fire, that burning practices were controlled and limited, and ecosystem enhancement through intentional burning was not suggested. However, the common exception was burning practiced during wartime periods, principally by the Apache but also by the Spanish, Mexicans, and later Americans. Fire reconstructions indicate that wartime-period fires were significantly more frequent than peacetime periods at several canyon-rancher{\'I}a sites.

}, keywords = {apache, borderland, cultural, dendrochronology, dendroecological, desert grassland, ethnoecological, fire, fire history, historical, Mexico, oak, peacetime, pine, post settlement, riparian, southwest, spanish, wartime, Watershed Management}, author = {Kaib, J. Mark} } @mastersthesis {830, title = {A Dendrochronological Record of Pandora Moth (Coloradia Pandora, Blake) Outbreaks in Central Oregon}, volume = {MS}, year = {1997}, pages = {159}, school = {University of Arizona}, address = {Tucson}, abstract = {Pandora moth (Coloradia Pandora Blake) is a phytophagous insect, defoliating ponderosa pine trees in the western United States. However, long-term studies of this insect and its effects on the forest ecosystem have not been conducted. Using dendrochronological techniques, I examined past timing and intensity of defoliation through its effects on radial growth of trees in the forests of south central Oregon. Pandora moth leaves a distinctive ring-width "signature" that was easily identifiable in the wood. The growth for the first year of the signature was half the normal ring-width with narrow latewood. The following two years produced extremely narrow rings, with the entire suppression lasting from 4 to 18 years. Twenty-two individual outbreaks were reconstructed from this 620 year chronology. I found that pandora moth outbreaks were episodic in individual sites, with a return interval of 9 to 156 years. Conversely, on the regional scale of south central Oregon, outbreaks demonstrated a 37-year periodicity. On average, pandora moth defoliation caused a 29\% mean periodic growth reduction in defoliated ponderosa pine trees. Spread maps of the first year that sites demonstrated suppression were plotted revealing an apparent annual spread of the outbreaks. Examination of a fire history on one pandora moth outbreak site suggested that pandora moth outbreaks delay fire by interrupting the needle fall needed for fire spread. Superposed epoch analysis showed that the year that the outbreak was first recorded was significantly dry and the fourth year prior was significantly wet. Therefore, climate may be a triggering factor in pandora moth outbreaks. The stem analysis demonstrated that the percent volume reduction was the greatest at the base of the tree and declined further up the bole. The percent volume reduction in the canopy of the trees was variable with outlying high and low values. THe mean volume reduction per outbreak was .053 m3 per tree. Although this insect is considered a forest pest and causes inconvenience for people living nearby, pandora moth is not as widespread and damaging as some other phytophagous insects. However, its very distinctive ring-width signature and the length of the ponderosa pine record enables reconstruction of very long outbreak histories, which may deepen our understanding of the interaction between defoliating insects and their ecosystem. }, keywords = {Coloradia pandora, dendrochronology, entomology, fire, fire history, growth, insect, Oregon, outbreak, pandora moth, phytophagous, ponderosa pine, ring-width, tree ring}, author = {Speer, James Hardy} } @mastersthesis {439, title = {Fire Histories of Upper Elevation Forests in the Gila Wilderness, New Mexico via Fire Scar and Stand Age Structure Analyses}, volume = {Master of Science}, year = {1997}, pages = {120}, school = {University of Arizona}, address = {Tucson}, abstract = {

Fire-scar analysis to identify fire events and stand age structure analysis to identify fire effects on survivorship of trees were used to reconstruct surface and crown fire regimes in upper elevation forests of the Gila Wilderness, NM. Fire regimes varied across forest type, but not necessarily across elevation. Prior to the twentieth century, (from 1706 to 1904), the mean interval for large fires was 8 years. During the twentieth century, (from 1904 to 1995), the mean fire return interval for large fires was 46 years. The virtual end of historically frequent fire regimes due to livestock grazing and fire suppression since the turn of the century has affected successional pathways of forest types across elevations, favoring later successional forest species and structures.

}, keywords = {dendrochronology, fire, fire regime, fire scar, gila wilderness, new mexico, stand age, suppression, tree ring, upper elevation}, author = {Abolt,Rena Ann Peck} } @mastersthesis {585, title = {Reconstruction of historical fire regimes along an elevation and vegetation gradient in the Sacramento Mountains, New Mexico}, volume = {MS}, year = {1997}, school = {University of Arizona}, abstract = {The purpose of this study was to reconstruct historical fire regimes along an elevation and vegetation gradient in the Sacramento Mountains, NM. I cross-dated fire-scarred specimens to reconstruct the fire history within two mixed-conifer, four ponderosa pine, and two pinon-juniper stands. Prior to Euro-American settlement, historical fire intervals were estimated at 6 years in ponderosa pine, 10 years in mixed-conifer, and 27 years in pinon-juniper forests. To evaluate whether Native Americans may have influenced historical fire regimes, I cross-dated scars from peeled trees found within the study area. Comparison between scar dates, historical records, and variations in fire frequencies did not show a regional effect on historical fire regimes by Mescalero, but suggested that they may have had a local impact on fire frequencies of the late 1700{\textquoteright}s. Following Euro-American settlement (ca. 1880) fire was nearly absent from the study area due to livestock grazing and fire suppression.}, url = {http://ezproxy.library.arizona.edu/login?url=http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=738180921\&sid=4\&Fmt=2\&clientId=43922\&RQT=309\&VName=PQD}, author = {Wilkinson, Margot Carolina} } @mastersthesis {538, title = {Reconstruction and Interpretation of Historical Patterns of Fire Occurrence in the Organ Mountains, New Mexico}, volume = {Master of Science}, year = {1996}, pages = {144}, school = {University of Arizona}, address = {Tucson}, abstract = {

The purpose of this research was to reconstruct and interpret the history of fire in the Organ Mountains, New Mexico. I used dendrochronological techniques to date fire scars on 90 trees comprising ten sites within the Fillmore Canyon watershed. Two fire regimes were identified during the pre-settlement period. Fire Regime I, 1650-1805, was characterized by a high fire frequency (ca. once every two years) and a predominance of patchy fires. Fire Regime II, 1805-1874, was characterized by a lower fire frequency (ca. once every 3.5 years) and a predominance of widespread fires. During the post-settlement period fire was virtually non-existent. I hypothesize that Apache use-of-fire influenced patterns during the pre-settlement period, while Euro-American land use activities influenced patterns during the post-settlement period. Fire-precipitation associations suggest that low fuel moisture levels were a pre-condition for widespread fires.

}, keywords = {dendrochronology, fillmore canyon, fire, Geography, historical, new mexico, organ mountains, reconstruction}, author = {Morino, Kiyomi Ann} } @mastersthesis {550, title = {A Dendroecological Assessment of Whitebark Pine in the Sawtooth Salmon River Region Idaho}, volume = {Master of Science}, year = {1995}, pages = {56}, school = {University of Arizona}, address = {Tucson}, abstract = {

Whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis Engelm.) tree-ring chronologies of 700 to greater than 1,000 years in length were developed for four sites in the Sawtooth-Salmon River region, central Idaho. These ring-width chronologies are used to (1) assess the dendrochronological characteristics of this species, (2) detect annual mortality dates of whitebark pine attributed to a widespread mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopk.) epidemic during the 1909 to 1940 period, and (3) establish the response of whitebark pine tree ring-width growth to climate variables. Crossdating of whitebark pine tree-ring width patterns was verified. Ring-width indices had low mean sensitivity (0.123-0.174) typical of high elevation conifers in western North America, and variable first order autocorrelation (0.206-0.551). Mortality of dominant whitebark pine caused by mountain pine beetle had a maxima at 1930 on all four sites. Response functions and correlation analyses with state divisional weather records indicate that above average radial growth is positively correlated with winter and spring precipitation and inversely correlated with April temperature. These correlations appear to be a response to seasonal snowpack. Whitebark pine is a promising species for dendroclimatic studies.

}, keywords = {dendrochronology, dendroclimatology, dendroctonus ponderosae, dendroecology, idaho, pine beetle, pinus albicaulis, sawtooth salmon river, tree ring, whitebark pine}, author = {Perkins, Dana Lee} } @mastersthesis {664, title = {Reflected-light image analysis of conifer tree rings for dendrochronological research}, volume = {Phd}, year = {1995}, school = {University of Arizona}, abstract = {

The primary objective of this dissertation research is to use reflected-light image analysis to measure brightness of standard samples of conifer rings and then use brightness in dendrochronological research as a substitute for density. I developed an imaging system that ensures identical configuration of all components and measuring steps for all rings of a sample so that subsequent comparison of brightness between rings would be valid. From a mesic New England tree-ring site, I measured ring brightness of cores that had been previously measured using X-ray densitometry. Latewood brightness and density both correlate with April-May temperature such that they reconstruct that climate variable equally well. From a semiarid Southwest tree-ring site, I measured ring brightness of cores with severe extraneous color--mostly due to heartwood-sapwood color differences. Bleaching and organic extraction of cores did not overcome the problem of extraneous color, but autoregressively modeling brightness index series did. Various brightness and width variables combined to model July-October precipitation, a climate variable not usually reconstructed by Southwest tree-ring sites. From a stand of trees affected by a past earthquake, I measured ring brightness of one tree that responded to surface deformation with an apparent change in latewood density. Absolute latewood brightness did not change per se after the earthquake, but the amount of latewood relative to the total ring increased dramatically. Although technical and paleoenvironmental issues remain for future research, this study indicates that reflected-light image analysis is an excellent tool in dendrochronological research for increasing our understanding paleoenvironmental processes of the latest Holocene. The secondary objective of this dissertation research is to demonstrate a method for identifying low-frequency variation of tree-ring chronologies and/or past climate as reconstructed using tree-rings. This method provides confidence intervals with which to judge the significance or importance of low-frequency departures in tree-ring data as well as a visual basis for determining whether or not low-frequency variation is robustly estimated. This method is a re-ordering of the individual steps commonly used in constructing tree-ring chronologies or reconstructions.

}, url = {http://ezproxy.library.arizona.edu/login?url=http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=742087251\&sid=3\&Fmt=2\&clientId=43922\&RQT=309\&VName=PQD}, author = {Paul Sheppard} } @mastersthesis {504, title = {Tree-Ring Reconstructions of Climate and Fire History at El Malpais National Monument, New Mexico}, volume = {PhD}, year = {1995}, school = {University of Arizona}, abstract = {The purpose of this research was to: (1) reconstruct climate for the malpais region from long-lived trees and remnant wood; (2) reconstruct the fire history of forests in the malpais; and (3) investigate short-term and long-term relationships between wildfire and climate. To reconstruct climate, I calibrated a 2,129 year long tree-ring chronology (136 BC-AD 1992) with annual rainfall (previous July to current July). Since AD 100, seven major long-term trends in rainfall occurred. Above normal rainfall occurred during AD 81-257, 521-660, 1024-1398 and 1791-1992, while below normal rainfall occurred during AD 258-520, 661-1023 and 1399-1790. The prolonged drought from AD 258-520 was unsurpassed in its intensity, while rainfall during the most recent 200 years has exceeded any since AD 660. The reconstruction of long-term climate trends confirmed the general sequence of environmental change over the last 2,000 years for the southern Colorado Plateau. To reconstruct past fire occurrences, 217 fire-scarred trees were collected from nine sites representing the major habitat types of the malpais and dendrochronologically dated. Fire frequency was highest at sites on cinder cones and on the highly-weathered basalt flows (ca. once every five years), and lowest on the isolated kipukas and on the Hoya de Cibola Lava Flow (once every 10-12 years). Fire frequency decreased along a north to south gradient, reflecting changing vegetation properties. Combined information revealed fire occurred once every two years, while more widespread fires occurred once every 2.5 years. Fires were largely asynchronous between sites, suggesting the malpais landscape effectively hinders fire spread. Past fire history at El Malpais was characterized by four temporally distinct periods: (1) FH-1 (prior to 1782): high fire frequency, patchy fires, throughout the growing season; (2) FH-2 (1795-1880): longer fire intervals, widespread fires, mostly early season fires; (3) FH-3 (1893-1939): even longer intervals, decreased widespread fires; (4) FH4 (1940-1992): longest fire-free periods during the last 600 years. The increase in rainfall and the simultaneous change in fire regimes ca. 1790 was likely related to an increase in summer monsoonal rainfall due to changes in hemispheric circulation patterns. The decrease in fire spread ca. 1880 was most likely due to intense sheep grazing, while the change ca. 1940 reflects greater efficiency in fire suppression techniques. The presettlement fire regime emphasizes that the current absence of fire in the monument exceeds the historical range of variability established for the presettlement period. Unless effects of past human-related disturbances are mitigated, fire regimes of El Malpais will continue to favor high-intensity, catastrophic fires.}, url = {http://ezproxy.library.arizona.edu/login?url=http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=742088811\&sid=3\&Fmt=2\&clientId=43922\&RQT=309\&VName=PQD}, author = {Grissino-Mayer, Henri Dee} } @mastersthesis {540, title = {Growth responses of giant sequoia to fire and climate in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, California}, volume = {MS}, year = {1994}, school = {University of Arizona}, abstract = {I investigated the radial growth responses of giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum) to fire in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. Mean ring-width indices were used to compare growth between burned and unburned sites and between four different levels of fire severity. Mean growth increased in all sites in the post-burn periods relative to pre-burn periods. Favorable climatic conditions contributed to these growth increases. Post-fire mean growth for four out of seven burn sites, however, was significantly higher than that on unburned sites. In general, lower severity fire resulted in lower magnitude growth increases than those observed after moderate to higher severity fire. Very high severity fire that caused extensive foliage damage resulted in post-burn growth suppressions. Post-fire growth increases occurred whether post-burn years were wet or dry. Fire effects on site conditions may moderate climatic impacts on sequoia growth. Giant sequoia seedling establishment was favored by a combination of high severity fire and wet post-burn conditions.}, keywords = {Forestry}, url = {http://ezproxy.library.arizona.edu/login?url=http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=743039441\&sid=4\&Fmt=2\&clientId=43922\&RQT=309\&VName=PQD}, author = {Mutch, Linda Susan} } @mastersthesis {727, title = {An Application of Climatological Water Balance Modeling to Dendroclimatology in the Black Hills of South Dakota}, volume = {Master of Science}, year = {1993}, pages = {138}, school = {University of Arizona}, abstract = {

Tree-ring data from bur oak (Quercus macrocarpa) and ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) were used to investigate the relationship between annual ring width and soil moisture in the Black Hills area of western South Dakota and eastern Wyoming. Soil moisture values were developed from a water balance model (SNWBAL), using climate data from weather stations in the area.

The response between the tree-ring chronologies and climate and water-balance variables shows a strong relation between annual ring growth and precipitation and soil moisture. The best variable combinations for reconstructing the local drought history were identified from this analysis.

Several statistical approaches were used to check the internal consistency of the data and to determine the relationship between the various data sets.

A scenario for further study, especially for the reconstruction of past climate variables was drawn based on the results of response analysis.

}, author = {Wanmei Ni} } @mastersthesis {563, title = {Statistical Relationships Between Tree Growth and Climate in Western North America}, volume = {PhD}, year = {1992}, school = {University of Arizona}, abstract = {

The objective of this study is to examine large-scale spatial patterns of tree growth and climatic variation and to investigate the possible role of climate in determining tree growth patterns over space. This study represents one of the first uses of geostatistical methods to extract information about the spatial variation of climate from tree rings in western North America. It is also one of the first uses of data in spatial series to study the relationships of spatial variations between climate and tree growth. Geostatistics analyzes the spatial structure of the variables by assuming that adjoining data are correlated with each other over space and that the particular relationship expressing the extent of spatial correlation can be analytically and statistically captured in a function. It is applied to both June Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI) and ring-width index data from western North America. One basic assumption of applying geostatistics in this study is that the spatially uncorrelated small-scale variations are insignificant and represent background noise in large-scale dendroclimatic studies. The statistical relationships between the spatial variations of June PDSI and ring-width index are studied by simple scatter diagrams and correlation analysis. This is done in terms of yearly variations and variations of spatial patterns. Both of them support the contention that the large-scale spatial variations in ring-width index data can be used to infer the spatial variations of climate variables. Based upon the results of this research it can be concluded that geostatistics is a viable method to characterize the spatially correlated variations in dendroclimatology. By applying geostatistics to data sets, information about the spatial variations of climate contained in tree-ring data are enhanced, and the large-scale variations of climate are emphasized. The analysis of yearly relationships over space is particularly useful for identifying statistical relationships between climate and tree growth in a geographic region. The main factors of climate controlling ring-width index are identified as well as the less frequent limiting events. Once the statistical relationships are validated, they can be used to infer the spatial variations of past climate from variations in tree-ring index.

}, url = {http://ezproxy.library.arizona.edu/login?url=http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=746968761\&sid=9\&Fmt=2\&clientId=43922\&RQT=309\&VName=PQD}, author = {Shao, Xuemei} } @mastersthesis {459, title = {Dendrochronology and Fire History in a Stand of Northern California Coast Redwood}, volume = {MS}, year = {1991}, school = {University of Arizona}, abstract = {Fire-scarred cross-sections from coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) at two sites were dendrochronologically dated and used to develop a fire history. Redwood offers a challenge for dendrochronological study due to ring wedging and complacency. Crossdating was successful in 12 of 24 trees. The fire history was developed by comparison of fire scars and fire-associated ring characteristics (resin ducts, double latewood, growth releases, and ring separations) recorded in ring series. Using only dates of fire scars from the first fire in 1714 to the last in 1962, the mean fire interval (MFI) was 9.9 years. MFI for the best represented presettlement segment 1714-1881 was 8.0 years. Using all fire-associate ring features, MFI 1714-1962 was 7.0 years and 1714-1881, 6.0 years. Use of all fire-associated ring characteristics is argued to be a more accurate representation of past fire frequency. MFIs determined are less than others reported for coast redwood and suggest fire frequency in redwood may have been underestimated in past studies.}, url = {http://ezproxy.library.arizona.edu/login?url=http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=7747786571\&sid=1\&Fmt=2\&clientld=43922\&RQT=309\&Vname=PDQ}, author = {Brown, Peter Mark} } @mastersthesis {568, title = {The Tree-Ring Record of False Spring in the Southcentral USA}, volume = {PhD}, year = {1990}, school = {Arizona State University}, abstract = {Frost injuries are common in the annual rings of deciduous oaks of the southcentral United States, and can be identified microscopically by unique anatomical criteria. A chronology of 70 frost ring years between 1650 and 1980 has been developed from 42 collection sites in the Southern Plains. False spring conditions cause frost rings in oaks, and include both an abnormally warm winter and the subsequent severe freeze in spring (temperatures must fall to <= 23 {\textdegree}F or -5 {\textdegree}C). Major circulation changes over North America often occur from the warm to cold phase of false spring. An upper level trough over Southern California and surface high over the Southeast favor warm air advection into the Southern Plains during the warm phase. This pattern is usually replaced by a deep upper level trough over the central USA and a strong surface ridge often extending from Canada to Mexico during the cold phase. The resulting cold air advection often causes heavy damage to crops and native vegetation which are prematurely advanced by the preceding mild weather. These false spring episodes include both climatological and meteorological signals, and the consistent registration of specific weather conditions by frost rings establishes the feasibility of {\textquotedblleft}dendrometeorology{\textquotedblright}. Frost rings in oaks often form during La Nina events, and may reflect a tropical influence on both above and below average winter temperatures in the Southern Plains and Canada, respectively. Warm winters in the Southern Plains favor premature growth, and cold Canadian winters may help explain the severity of the late cold wave which terminates false spring. False spring occurrence has been nonrandom over the past 331 years, and the many one- and three-year intervals between events may partially reflect La Nina forcing. In contrast, an El Nino influence on the formation of bristlecone pine frost rings and light rings in Canadian black spruce has been detected in previously published chronologies. The co-occurrence of oak frost in spring followed by light rings in summer often reflects an enhanced La Nina-El Nino cycle. An amplified El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) may be suggested by the four such co-occurrences from 1814 to 1819, which could help explain many ambiguities in the worldwide temperature response to the cataclysmic eruption of Tambora in 1815.}, url = {http://ezproxy.library.arizona.edu/login?url=http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=744592481\&sid=13\&Fmt=2\&clientId=43922\&RQT=309\&VName=PQD}, author = {Stahle, David W.} } @mastersthesis {572, title = {The Effect of Prescribed Burning on Southwest Ponderosa Pine Growth}, volume = {PhD}, year = {1989}, school = {University of Arizona}, abstract = {Study objectives included determining whether prescribed burning affected ponderosa pine growth; mathematically modeling the growth response to burning; and determining whether forest management history affected growth response. I sampled 188 trees from two areas near Flagstaff, Arizona; one area (Brannigan Flat) had been logged and thinned, and the other (Chimney Spring) had not; both were burned in 1976. Within each study area, control and burned plots were of similar age, vigor, height, and competition index. Trees at Chimney Spring were older, less vigorous, and taller, and had a higher competition index than at Brannigan. For each tree, periodic basal area increment (PBAI) was calculated for the years 1974-1984. To determine which variable would best model growth, postfire PBAI (individual years, 1977-1984) was correlated with previous growth (average PBAI 1974-1976); crown ratio; competition index; thinning index; and diameter. Two models of growth response were developed; one oriented toward satisfying theoretical and research goals, and the other, toward management applications. Growth was modeled using stepwise multiple linear regression, and the dependent variable was postfire PBAI. Research Model independent variables were previous growth, years (climate), and treatment-year interaction, and 72\% of total variance was explained. Fire affected growth significantly and negatively for two years, and then burned trees grew similarly to control trees. Management Model independent variables were crown ratio, competition index, crown ratio, subject tree diameter, year, and treatment, and 52\% of total variance was explained. This model, too, indicated a slight negative effect of burning on growth. Management history was not a significant determinant of growth response. Both models validated well; the ratio of observed-to-predicted residual mean square was 1.04 and 0.91 (Research and Management Models, respectively). Thinning index was not significantly related to postfire growth, but a change in carbohydrate allocation from stem wood to crown and root expansion could have resulted in observed burning effects. Management implications include (1) short-term growth decline may result from burning, (2) management history did not affect growth response, and (3) burning impact is greatest in dense stands of small trees.}, keywords = {Watershed Management}, url = {http://ezproxy.library.arizona.edu/login?url=http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=746080281\&sid=4\&Fmt=2\&clientId=43922\&RQT=309\&VName=PQD}, author = {Sutherland, Elaine Kennedy} } @mastersthesis {505, title = {Tree Rings of Shortleaf Pine (Pinus Echinata Mill.) As Indicators of Past Climatic Variability in North Central Georgia}, volume = {MA}, year = {1988}, school = {University of Georgia}, abstract = {The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between ring widths of shortleaf pine (Pinus echinata Mill.) and various climatic factors. The growth series obtained from increment cores of twenty-two pine over 100 years of age were standardized by two separate methods, polynomial curve-fitting techniques and Box-Jenkins time series (ARMA) models, to compare and contrast the two master chronologies that were derived. Descriptive statistics indicated that residual autocorrelation was insignificant in the ARMA chronology, which also exhibited a higher mean sensitivity and standard deviation than did the chronology obtained with the polynomial option. Response function analysis indicated significant (p < 0.05) positive responses to precipitation in May and June of the current growing season, and significant negative responses to current June-September temperatures. Transfer function models using indices of the ARMA tree-ring chronology as the predictor variables were able to reconstruct June PDSI (r$\sbsp{\rm a}{2}$ = 0.26). September PHDI (r$\sbsp{\rm a}{2}$ = 0.38), DISP (Drought Index for Southern Pine) (r$\sbsp{\rm a}{2}$ = 0.27), and the May-September growing season precipitation total (r$\sbsp{\rm a}{2}$ = 0.39) to 1816.}, url = {http://ezproxy.library.arizona.edu/login?url=http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=754453701\&sid=2\&Fmt=2\&clientId=43922\&RQT=309\&VName=PQD}, author = {Grissino-Mayer, Henri Dee} } @mastersthesis {574, title = {A Dendrochronological Assessment of Western Spruce Budworm, Choristoneura Occidentalis Freeman, in the Southern Rocky Mountains}, volume = {PhD}, year = {1987}, school = {University of Arizona}, abstract = {

Tree-ring chronologies from ten mixed conifer stands in the Colorado Front Ranges and New Mexico Sangre de Cristo Mountains were used to reconstruct timing, duration, and radial growth impacts of past outbreaks of western spruce budworm, Choristoneura occidentalis Freeman. Graphical and statistical comparisons of tree-ring chronologies from host and non-host tree species, in conjunction with Forest Service records of outbreaks during the twentieth century, revealed that outbreaks were identifiable only in the host chronologies as sharply reduced growth periods. These comparisons also showed that host and non-host tree-ring chronologies were generally similar between outbreaks and that both were responding in a similar manner to climatic variation. A study of defoliation and insect population data that was available for the New Mexico stands demonstrated that host radial growth from 1978 to 1983 was highly correlated with budworm activity. The non-host chronologies from each stand were used to correct the host chronologies for climatic and other non-budworm environmental variations by a differencing procedure. The corrected chronologies were then used to estimate the dates and radial growth effects of past budworm outbreaks. Tree-ring characteristics of twentieth century documented outbreaks were used as criteria for inferring the occurrence of outbreaks in previous centuries. At least nine periods of increased budworm activity were identified in the region from 1700 to 1983. The mean duration of reduced growth periods caused by known and inferred budworm outbreaks was 12.6 years, and the mean interval between initial years of successive outbreaks was 34.9 years. The mean maximum radial growth loss was 50 percent of expected growth, and the mean periodic growth loss was 21.6 percent. There was an unusually long period of reduced budworm activity in the first few decades of the twentieth century, and since that time outbreaks have been markedly more synchronous between stands. Increased synchroneity of outbreaks in the latter half of the twentieth century suggests that areal extent of outbreaks has increased. This phenomenon may be due to changes in the age structure and species composition of forests following harvesting and fire suppression in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

}, keywords = {Watershed Management}, url = {http://ezproxy.library.arizona.edu/login?url=http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=753027921\&sid=16\&Fmt=2\&clientId=43922\&RQT=309\&VName=PQD}, author = {Swetnam, T.} } @mastersthesis {560, title = {The Feasibility of Using Tree-Ring Chronologies to Reconstruct Streamflow Records for the Pemigewasset River, New Hampshire}, volume = {MS}, year = {1987}, school = {University of New Hampshire}, keywords = {Hydrology}, author = {Schrager, Gene} } @mastersthesis {564, title = {Long-Term Climatic Changes in Western Europe and East Asia}, volume = {MS}, year = {1986}, school = {University of Massachusetts}, author = {Shao, Xuemei} } @mastersthesis {496, title = {Climatic Change and Water Supply in the Great Basin}, volume = {MS}, year = {1984}, school = {University of Arizona}, abstract = {

The climatological literature contains considerable evidence that increasing concentrations of atmospheric carbon dioxide will result in global warming. In order to investigate the effects of resultant climatic changes on runoff in the Great Basin, a water balance model based on average monthly precipitation and temperature was applied to four watersheds in the region.

}, author = {Flaschka, Irmgard Monika} } @mastersthesis {904, title = {Fire Regime of the Lodgepole Pine (Pinus contorta var. murrayana) Forests of the Mt. San Jacinto State Park Wilderness, California}, volume = {Master of Science}, year = {1984}, note = {

Please contact the Laboratory of Tree Ring Research to view this thesis.

}, month = {08/1984}, pages = {93}, school = {Cornell University}, address = {Ithaca}, abstract = {

For the purpose of providing recommendations for the fire management plan of the Mt. San Jacinto State Park Wilderness, California, the natural fire regime of the lodgepole pine forests within the wilderness was determined. Fire-scarred lodgepole pine trees were cored, and their growth rings crossdated against a composite ring series, to obtain fire date estimates of fires that have burned within the forests during the last 300 years. U.S. Forest Service fire records and personal accounts were also used to determine recent fire history.

Results indicate that the fires within the lodgepole pine forests of Mt. San Jacinto probably were quite small (\< 0.4 ha). Because of this, the fire regime is probably one of low-intensity fires. Fires started principally by lightning and they generally did not spread far because of low woody fuel loading on the ground. These small fires, however, occurred quite frequently throughout the lodgepole pine forests. Fires probably burned every one to two years, and in many years, more than one fire burned. The average fire return interval for separate locations within the lodgepole pine forests was not determined exactly because most of the burned trees had only one fire-scar.

The effects of this fire-regime on the forest vegetation composition was determined. This was accomplished with multiple regression analyses of vegetative and physiographic data collected from the area of each verified fire.

In the 2500 to 2900 m elevation range, white fir generally increased in importance (relative basal area) over lodgepole pine as years since the fire increased. However, the relationships of lodgepole pine and white fir importances to the time since the fire were not statistically significant. Above 2800 m elevation, neither lodgepole pine nor limber pine importance was affected by the fire regime. Throughout the lodgepole pine forests of this wilderness area, the fire regime has not greatly affected the forest vegetation composition.

To compare two methods of obtaining fire year estimates from living, fire-scarred trees, both wedging and coring was done on ten fire-scarred lodgepole pine trees. The rings of the wedges and cores were then crossdated against a composite ring series, and the respective fire year estimates of each method were compared for each tree. Seven pairs of wedges and cores were crossdated, and each pair gave the same fire year estimate for the respective tree. In the situation of single-scarred trees, the coring method, along with dendrochronology dating, should be attempted instead of wedging, which is more destructive to the tree than coring.

Based on this study, I recommend that the fire management plan for the lodgepole pine forests of the Mt. San Jacinto State Park Wilderness contain two options for fire control. First, in areas that have heavy use by recreationists and cultural or historical benefits, fire suppression should begin immediately after a fire has been detected. Second, in all other areas, a \“let burn\” policy should be attempted, whereby the fire would be allowed to die out on its own. This would save the expense of fire suppression, which can be very costly in remote wilderness areas. These fires should be monitored in case they do burn near valuable areas. Prescribed burning is not recommended because of the weak relationship of the fire regime to the forest vegetation composition.

}, keywords = {california, coring, dendrochronology, fire, fire management, fire scar, Limber pine, lodgepole, mt san jacinto, mt san jacinto state park wilderness, pine, pinus contortata, regime, suppression, tree ring, var murrayana, wedging, white fir}, author = {Paul Sheppard} } @mastersthesis {571, title = {The Effects of Fire Exclusion on Growth in Mature Ponderosa Pine in Northern Arizona}, volume = {Master of Science}, year = {1983}, pages = {28}, school = {University of Arizona}, address = {Tucson}, abstract = {

Dendrochronological techniques were used to assess the effect of fire exclusion on the radial growth of two age classes (approximately 150 to 300 years old) of mature ponderosa pine. Decline in average radial growth in both classes is coincidental with the establishment of a large ponderosa pine seedling crop in 1919 that has since become an extensive stand of stagnant, overcrowded saplings.

F and t tests of tree ring indices comparing the time period before and after 1920 show that growth has significantly declined since 1920 in both age classes. F and t tests comparing the two age classes suggest that growth was similar before 1920, but the older age class shows a significantly stronger growth decline than the younger age class. Spearman Rank Correlation tests indicate that in both groups there was no trend or a tend toward increasing tree ring indices before 1920 in both age classes, but that after 1920 there was a strong, significant trend toward decreasing tree ring indices in both groups, and that the trend is stronger in the older age class. These results suggest that the older trees are experiencing a more pronounced growth suppression effect than the younger trees.

October and July Palmer Drought Severity Indices from 1931 to 1976 were tested for trend toward drought using the Spearman Rank Correlation. There was no trend toward drought during these months, which have the most significant climatic relationship to ponderosa pine growth in northern Arizona. Therefore the growth decline at Chimney Spring may not be attributed to climate.

No environmental factor has changed at Chimney Spring, other than fire exclusion and subsequent seedling establishment. Competition for soil moisture and nutrients, reduced nutrient cycling and soil moisture losses from litter interception may all be factors contributing to the growth decline in the mature ponderosa pines at Chimney Spring.

Key words: age classes, competition, dendrochronology, \“dog-hair\” thickets, fire exclusion, forest, northern Arizona, Pinus ponderosa, radial growth

10-year index:

}, keywords = {age classes, chimney spring, competition, dendrochronology, dog hair thickets, fire, fire exclusion, forest, mature, northern arizona, palmer drought severity indices, pinus ponderosa, ponderosa pine, radial growth, spearman rank correlation}, author = {Sutherland, Elaine Kennedy} } @mastersthesis {573, title = {Fire History of the Gila Wilderness, New Mexico}, volume = {Master of Science}, year = {1983}, pages = {156}, school = {University of Arizona}, address = {Tucson}, abstract = {

A data base of fire occurrence was established for the Gila Wilderness by analyzing fire scars and compiling fire records. Cross sections of 44 fire scarred ponderosa pine trees (Pinus ponderosa Laws.) were collected from three study areas. Crossdating of more than 800 individual fire scars revealed that extensive surface fires were a common occurrence prior to 1900. Mean fire intervals for a 250-year period prior to 1900 were approximately four to eight years and fire intervals ranged from one to 26 years. Intensive grazing and fire suppression efforts after 1900 resulted in a sudden decrease in number of fires recorded by the sample trees.

A 72-year record (1909-1980) of fire occurrence in the Gila National Forest was compiled from Forest Service records. The fire records and fire scar evidence suggest a need for continued emphasis on fuels reduction and greater flexibility in the Prescribed Natural Fire program.

}, keywords = {crossdate, dendrochronology, fire, fire history, fire scar, gila national forest, gila wilderness, new mexico, pinus ponderosa, ponderosa pine, tree ring}, author = {Swetnam, T.} } @mastersthesis {551, title = {Climatic Change and Water Availability in the Rio Grande and Pecos River Basins}, volume = {MS}, year = {1982}, school = {University of Arizona}, abstract = {Climatologists have speculated that increasing concentrations of atmospheric carbon dioxide deriving from fossil fuel combustion will result in warmer, drier climate for many parts of the world. One such area which is already facing serious water shortages is the upper Rio Grande Basin. A climatic water balance equation was adopted to model three representative drainages within the basin in order to investigate the effects of this climatic change on streamflow. Results show that a 20 C increase in temperature and 10\% decrease in precipitation would result in a 30\% decline in streamflow. Since demand already exceeds or approaches supply, such a dimunition in water yield would have serious regional and national ramifications.}, author = {Quinlan, Peter Thomas} } @mastersthesis {533, title = {Applications of Box-Jenkins Methods of the Time Series Analysis to the Reconstruction of Drought from Tree Rings}, volume = {PhD}, year = {1981}, school = {University of Arizona}, abstract = {The lagged responses of tree-ring indices to annual climatic or hydrologic series are examined in this study. The objectives are to develop methods to analyze the lagged responses of individual tree-ring indices, and to improve upon conventional methods of adjusting for the lag in response in regression models to reconstruct annual climatic or hydrologic series. The proposed methods are described and applied to test data from Oregon and Southern California. Transfer-function modeling is used to estimate the dependence of the current ring on past years{\textquoteright} climate and to select negative lags for reconstruction models. A linear system is assumed; the input is an annual climatic variable, and the output is a tree-ring index. The estimated impulse response function weights the importance of past and current years{\textquoteright} climate on the current year{\textquoteright}s ring. The identified transfer function model indicates how many past years{\textquoteright} rings are necessary to account for the effects of past years{\textquoteright} climate. Autoregressive-moving-average (ARMA) modeling is used to screen out climatically insensitive tree-ring indices, and to estimate the lag in response to climate unmasked from the effects of autocorrelation in the tree-ring and climatic series. The climatic and tree-ring series are each prewhitened by ARMA models, and crosscorrelation between the ARMA residuals are estimated. The absence of significant crosscorrelations implies low sensitivity. Significant crosscorrelations at lags other than zero indicate lag in response. This analysis can also aid in selecting positive lags for reconstruction models. An alternative reconstruction method that makes use of the ARMA residuals is also proposed. The basic concept is that random (uncorrelated in time) shocks of climate induce annual random shocks of tree growth, with autocorrelation in the tree-ring index resulting from inertia in the system. The steps in the method are (1) fit ARMA models to the tree-ring index and the climatic variable, (2) regress the ARMA residuals of the climatic variable on the ARMA residuals of the tree-ring index, (3) substitute the long-term prewhitened tree-ring index into the regression equation to reconstruct the prewhitened climatic variable, and (4) build autocorrelation back into the reconstruction with the ARMA model originally fit to the climatic variable. The trial applications on test data from Oregon and Southern California showed that the lagged response of tree rings to climate varies greatly from site to site. Sensitive tree-ring series commonly depend significantly only on one past year{\textquoteright}s climate (regional rainfall index). Other series depend on three or more past years{\textquoteright} climate. Comparison of reconstructions by conventional lagging of predictors with reconstructions of the random-shock method indicate that while the lagged models may reconstruct the amplitude of severe, long-lasting droughts better than the random-shock model, the random-shock model generally has a flatter frequency response. The random-shock model may therefore be more appropriate where the persistence structure is of prime interest. For the most sensitive series with small lag in response, the choice of reconstruction method makes little difference in properties of the reconstruction. The greatest divergence is for series whose impulse response weights from the transfer function analysis do not die off rapidly with time.}, keywords = {Hydrology}, url = {http://ezproxy.library.arizona.edu/login?url=http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=753124981\&sid=10\&Fmt=2\&clientId=43922\&RQT=309\&VName=PQD}, author = {Meko, David Michael} } @mastersthesis {565, title = {Long-term Streamflow Histories of the Salt and Verde Rivers, Arizona as Reconstructed from Tree-Rings}, volume = {MS}, year = {1981}, school = {University of Arizona}, abstract = {Tree-ring samples collected from the Salt and Verde River basins have been used to reconstruct the annual and seasonal flow histories of the Salt River near Roosevelt, above Roosevelt Lake, and the Verde River below Tangle Creek, above Horseshoe Reservoir for the period form 1580 to 1979{\textellipsis}}, author = {Smith, Lawrence P.} } @mastersthesis {711, title = {Prehistoric settlement variability in the Grosshopper area, east-central Arizona}, volume = {PhD}, year = {1980}, school = {University of Arizona}, abstract = {The variability of prehistoric settlements and settlement systems (settlement variability) is a result of the kinds of activities conducted (functional variability) and how long and intensively settlements were occupied (occupational variability). Previous studies of settlement variability, especially in the American Southwest, have emphasized primarily functional variability. This study explores the implications of both functional and occupational variability in contributing to settlement variability and how these factors in turn influence our ability to reconstruct past settlement systems. In investigating the effects of functional and occupational variability on settlement variability, an attempt was made to control the effects of other variables that might possibly contribute to settlement variability. Accordingly, the experimental design for this study required that a sufficient number of archaeological sites of the same developmental stage and cultural affiliation occurring in the same homogeneous environment be located. These design requirements were fulfilled by the discovery of the Pitiful Flats locality located midway between Grasshopper and Cibecue in east-central Arizona. The surface material of 34 archaeological sites (12 lithic sites, 22 ceramic sites) on Pitiful Flats was systematically collected to ensure data comparability. To control further for the effects of functional variability, interpretation-free units of analysis were developed for the lithic and ceramic assemblages by means of taxonomically based typologies. Typological and metric variation in these units of analysis, as well as variation in non-assemblage measurements (site size, density, and distribution of occupational debris), is used as evidence to support conclusions about site-type differences in lithic technology and settlement function, and to develop an occupational history of each Pitiful Flats site. These site-specific inferences provide a basis for reconstructing the structure of an extinct settlement system in the Grasshopper area. This reconstruction suggests that prior to the appearance of masonry architecture in the Grasshopper area, the basic regional settlement system consisted of a small number of "home bases" (permanently occupied habitations) and numerous sporadically occupied "work camps." The home base and work camps were spatially exclusive; the work camps were tethered to a particular home base. The tether settlement system explains many of the facts of the regional archaeological record. It also provides a basis for advancing the hypothesis that a modified form of swidden agriculture (non-slash and burn as opposed to slash and burn) was practiced. This form of cultivation was a non-labor-intensive technique for transforming a marginally productive environment for agricultural purposes. The demographic and social implications of the tether settlement model and the non-slash swidden hypothesis for understanding regional Grasshopper prehistory are also discussed. }, url = {http://ezproxy.library.arizona.edu/login?url=http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=749715921\&sid=26\&Fmt=2\&clientId=43922\&RQT=309\&VName=PQD}, author = {Alan Sullivan} } @mastersthesis {447, title = {Tempests, Freshets and Mackerel Skies; Climatoligical Data from Diaries using Content Analysis}, volume = {PhD}, year = {1980}, school = {University of Maine at Orono}, abstract = {For most of this century members of the scientific community have been studying the record of and reason for climate change. The realization that we in the Northern Hemisphere have been living during a period of abnormally warm temperatures and relatively settled conditions which now may be changing, has spawned considerable recent research. Why do climates change and what is the impact of these changes on human populations? In their attempt to answer these questions, researchers have turned to the past to test their hypotheses and to gather evidence of climate change.}, url = {http://ezproxy.library.arizona.edu/login?url=http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=749698611\&sid=10\&Fmt=2\&clientId=43922\&RQT=309\&VName=PQD}, author = {Baron, William R.} } @mastersthesis {567, title = {Tree-Ring Dating of Selected Arkansas Log Buildings}, volume = {MA}, year = {1978}, school = {University of Arkansas}, author = {Stahle, David W.} } @mastersthesis {552, title = {An Analysis of Radial Growth of Chestnut Oak and Pitch Pine}, volume = {MS}, year = {1977}, school = {Virginia Polytech Institute and State University}, keywords = {Forestry and Forest Products}, author = {Rauscher, Harald M.} } @mastersthesis {586, title = {Relationships Among Climate, Tree-Ring Widths and Grass Production on the Santa Rita Experimental Range}, volume = {MS}, year = {1976}, school = {University of Arizona}, abstract = {A relationship between tree-ring widths from a site in the Santa Rita mountains and yearly perennial grass production on pasture 1 of the Santa Rita Experimental Range is investigated{\textellipsis}}, author = {Winter, C. Larrabee} } @mastersthesis {717, title = {Socioeconomic organization at Moche V Pampa Grande, Peru: Prelude to a major transformation to come}, volume = {PhD}, year = {1976}, school = {University of Arizona}, url = {http://ezproxy.library.arizona.edu/login?url=http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=758529171\&sid=30\&Fmt=1\&clientId=43922\&RQT=309\&VName=PQD}, author = {Izumi Shimada} } @mastersthesis {470, title = {A Tree Ring Analysis of Four Tree Species Growing in Southeastern New York State}, volume = {MS}, year = {1976}, school = {University of Arizona}, author = {Cook, Edward Roger} } @mastersthesis {562, title = {Contributions A L{\textquoteright}{\'e}tude Dendroclimatologique du pin D{\textquoteright}Alep (Pinus halepensis Mill.)}, volume = {PhD}, year = {1973}, school = {Universit{\'e} d{\textquoteright}Aix-Marseille III}, author = {Serre, Francoise} } @mastersthesis {561, title = {Bristlecone Pine (Pinus Longaeva) in Relation to Environmental Factors and Soil Properties in East-Central Nevada}, volume = {PhD}, year = {1972}, school = {University of Arizona}, abstract = {The study was made of tree and stand characteristics of bristlecone pine (Pinus longaeva Bailey) as they relate to the environmental factors and soil properties in east-central Nevada. The pine sites studied were located on comparatively dry, rocky, exposed mountain slopes in the 9,000-to 11,000-feet elevation zone. The tree-growth characteristics studied were height, diameter, live bark index, percent of live crown, and two tree-ring parameters: mean ring width and mean sensitivity. Stand characteristics measured were basal area cover, density, and tree-spacing. Associated vegetation was identified and inventoried. Environmental factors and soil properties measured were percent slope, exposure, soil parent material, stone content, soil pH, total nitrogen, organic carbon, and clay. Bristlecone pine was found on two geologic substrates in the study areas{\textemdash}quartzite glacial moraine and limestone. The two substrates are similar in that they both appear to be excessively well drained because of high porosity of the geologic materials. Bristlecone was lacking on the sites underlain by quartzite bedrock except for isolated trees on exposed outcrops. Bristlecone pine often constitutes only a small percentage of the total cover on the more favorable sites within its tolerance range. On such sites limber pine (Pinus flexilis James) and Engelmann spruce (Picea Engelmanni Parry) generally dominate the stands. Bristlecone pine{\textquoteright}s subordinate status on sites where growing conditions are relatively good (and stands are denser) is perhaps indicative of the species{\textquoteright} intolerance of shade. On the more adverse sites bristlecone pine often forms essentially pure, although sparse, stands. Regression analyses (both simple and multiple) and analyses of variance revealed that tree growth, as measured by mean ring width and tree height, was better on sites where moisture conditions were favorable, e.g., on north and east exposures as opposed to south and west exposures, and where soils were high in organic carbon, nitrogen, and clay. Year to year variability in growth, as measured by mean sensitivity, was greatest on sites with steep south- or west-facing slopes where soils were lowest in nitrogen, organic carbon, and clay, and highest in stone content. These results indicate that tree-growth on these adverse sites appears to reflect climatic fluctuations more so than trees on the relatively good sites. Leaf water potential of bristlecone pine and associated plants was measured both in the field and under controlled conditions in the laboratory. Results indicate that bristlecone pine apparently has the capacity to withstand high internal water stress in comparison to other non-desert conifers. Furthermore, the trees appear to be able to maintain lower leaf-water stress than some associated plants growing under similar conditions. These features may account in part for bristlecone pine{\textquoteright}s dominance on the harsher sites.}, url = {http://ezproxy.library.arizona.edu/login?url=http://proquest.umi.com.ezproxy1.library.arizona.edu/pqdweb?did=760211211\&sid=4\&Fmt=1\&clientId=43922\&RQT=309\&VName=PQD}, author = {Beasley Roy Scott} } @mastersthesis {569, title = {The Feasibility of Augmenting Hydrologic Records using Tree-Ring Data}, volume = {PhD}, year = {1971}, school = {University of Arizona}, abstract = {

Two catchments of diverse hydrologic character were chosen in which to test the hypothesis that tree-ring indices contain information about runoff that is of pertinent interest to the hydrologist\…[Bright Angel Creek basin, Arizona and Upper San Francisco River basin, Arizona/New Mexico]

}, keywords = {Hydrology}, url = {http://ezproxy.library.arizona.edu/login?url=http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=760166291\&sid=14\&Fmt=1\&clientId=43922\&RQT=309\&VName=PQD}, author = {Stockton, C.} } @mastersthesis {570, title = {The Differentiation of Tracheary Elements from the Cambium of Pinus Edulis Engelm: The Correlation of Differentiation with Measured Ring Width and Environmental Factors}, volume = {MS}, year = {1965}, school = {University of Arizona}, abstract = {

This study was undertaken to determine by means of thin sections, the sequence of tracheid production in pinyon pine and to compare these findings with instrumental measurements of radial increases and with phonological observations\…

}, author = {Stokes, M.} }