| Affiliations: | |
| Project Leader: | Parveen Chhetri parveenkchhetri@tamu.edu Geography |
| Faculty Mentor: | Jeremy Johnson, Ph.D. |
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Meeting Times:
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Spring 2017: TBD |
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Team Size:
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3 (Team Full) |
| Open Spots: | 0 |
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Special Opportunities:
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Members will be acknowledged with co-authorship on regional and national conferences, and future publications |
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Team Needs:
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Prior experience is not required, however students with strong interest in climate, geography and ecology will be preferred. Must register for research hour, and able to give minimum 4 hours per week to the project. |
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Description:
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The tree growth–climate relationship for sub-alpine forest is key to understand the current growth dynamics of forest and to improve predictions about their future distributions under climate change. Abies spectabilis (Himalayan silver fir) and Betula utilis (Himalayan birch) are the two main species of the sub-alpine forest of Nepal, and Tsuga Mertensiana (Mountain Hemlock) of the Alaskan Kenai Peninsula, USA. In this project we will work with tree-ring cores of Fir, Birch, and Hemlock trees collected from study sites. First we will prepare tree-ring cores by mounting them in the wooden frame and use belt sander to enhance the visibility of the rings. Then we will use Velmex Tree Ring Measurement System to measure ring width and later use software such as COFECHA, ARSTAN, DENDROCLIM 2002, dplR to see climate and ring width relationship, and reconstruct the past climate. |