Tree Growth on the Snake River Floodplain, Jackson Hole, Wyoming. A Dendrochronology Project.
Abstract
This is a dendrochronological study of tree-growth rates along the Snake River floodplain in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. The study involved collecting, curing, and analyzing 115 measurable radii from 56 trees in four study sites. The sites are a representative set of Snake River floodplain contexts, organized around a continuum of different amounts of human and natural effects on the floodplain ecosystem. From these analyses, information concerning tree-growth rates under varying floodplain conditions, such as areas with flood control levees versus no levees or disturbed by flooding or grazing versus no recent disturbance, was examined. The study also involved the design and construction of a new IBM-compatible computerized measuring system, along with programming new software and obtaining or refining existing software. The results reveal a clear and statistically significant difference in tree growth at the four study site contexts. A stand age-effect and related successional processes contributed to the growth rates seen, as did competition from developing canopy coverage and understory density. These are in turn greatly affected by the establishment, or lack, of levees, and by livestock grazing and other disturbances that accrue after a levee has been built.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Nov 01, 1995
- Accession Number
- ADA302962
Entities
People
- Charles A. Reher
- Laura L. Scheiber
Organizations
- University of Wyoming