A Window into the Past with Tree Rings

It's a new year.  In this year, we will age another year.  In the life of trees, they will form new rings.

Each growing season, a tree will form concentric rings called annual rings, or annual growth rings.  These rings grow outward, so newer rings are just beneath the bark, and older rings are near the center of the tree.  These rings consist of a light ring, which represents wood that grew in the spring and early summer, and a dark ring, which represents wood that grew in the late summer and fall.  These two rings combined represent one year of the tree's life.

You may have heard about counting tree rings to calculate the age of trees.

However, you can also analyze past climatic conditions by looking at how the tree rings grew.  In wet and warmer years, tree rings grow wider.  In cold and dryer years, the rings are thinner.  If the area experienced a forest fire, the tree may have a scar.

Climate change is a forefront issue in today's world.  Since trees can live up to hundreds, and thousands of years old, tree rings can provide scientists with historical climatic information.  Understanding climate in the past can help us understand climate change we are experiencing in our world today. 

For more information on tree rings, paleoclimatology (the study of past climates), dendrochronology (the study of dating tree rings), dendroclimatology (the study of tree rings to study past climate history), see:

Tree rings provide snapshots of Earth's past climate
https://climate.nasa.gov/news/2540/tree-rings-provide-snapshots-of-earths-past-climate/

The history of the world is written in tree rings
https://www.pri.org/stories/2020-12-30/history-world-written-tree-rings

Tree Rings (Dendrochronology)
https://scied.ucar.edu/learning-zone/how-climate-works/tree-rings

5 things you can learn from tree rings
https://cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/pubwarehouse/pdfs/38898.pdf

The International Tree-Ring Data Bank (ITRDB)
https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/data-access/paleoclimatology-data/datasets/tree-ring

Hope is on the Horizon

The horizon is the line you see in the distance where the earth meets the sky.

Horizon, or more specifically "on the horizon", can also be referred to as something that is imminent, or happening soon.

This year was full of loss, uncertainty, challenges, anxiety, sadness as COVID-19 upended our lives.  The world locked down.  It didn't feel like there was an end in sight as this disease ravaged the world.

As 2020 comes to an end, and we head into 2021, there is hope on the horizon.  While the pandemic is far from over, relief is in sight; there is light at the end of the tunnel.

Let's ring in the new year with hope.  Until then, stay safe, and be well.

Shaping the Future of Parks Canada with Your Voice

Canadians are invited this year to participate and share their views on Parks Canada.  From October 19 to 30, 2020, you can visit www.letstalkparkscanada.ca and provide your input and perspectives.  Discussions are centered on the following themes:

• Urban Parks
• Diversity, Inclusion, and Accessibility
• Ecological Corridors
• Indigenous Leadership in Conservation
• Protecting our Cultural Heritage

Discussions are held every two years under the Parks Canada Agency Act.  The Minister responsible for Parks Canada is required to convene a round table to seek input from Canadians about Parks Canada.  This year, the Minister's Round Table is held from October 8 to 30 with small discussion forums, and with public consultations from October 19 to 30 through the www.letstalkparkscanada.ca website.

Previous Minister's Round Table on Parks Canada are available here:  https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/agence-agency/dp-pd/trm-mrt

Tree Field Guides: From Books to Apps

The first tree field guide I purchased for myself (during my undergraduate field work days) was Trees In Canada (1995) by John Laird Farrar.  This book was the field guide for trees.

 

I have since added to my tree guide collection, Trees of Ontario: Including Tall Shrubs (2001) by Linda Kershaw, and Fall Foliage: The Mystery, Science, and Folklore of Autumn Leaves (2005) by Charles W. G. Smith.

 

I appreciate guidebooks for their keys to identifying trees - by leaves, flowers, twigs (yes, even twigs for tree identification in winter!), illustrations, photos, and maps of ranges.

 

Tree identification guides have come a long way and evolved since then.  The first tree identification app created was Leafsnap, and has grown to become perhaps the most popular.  It is a tool to make identification easy for anyone.  You snap a photo of your leaf, identify it from the library of images, and share your findings with the database to help map trees in the area.  It's a tool that can engage students as well as a tool to help contribute to citizen science.

Historical Tree Carvings

Trees have been used as a medium for communication and art through tree etchings called arborglyphs.  Arborglyphs are carvings of symbols and shapes into the barks of living trees.  As archaeologists are learning, these arborglyphs are windows into past civilizations.

In the United States, arborglyphs have documented Basque immigrants who worked as shepherds in remote forests from the mid-19th century.  They left their mark on trees throughout the western United States.  As there isn't a lot of Basque ancestral documentation in the United States, the tree carvings are the closest thing to records.

In the United Kingdom, the New Forest National Park Authority urges visitors to help document sightings of arborglyphs.  These arborglyphs have been left by many different people, including foresters, soldiers from WWII, Kingsmen, and from people who wanted protection from witches.

Uncovering and documenting these arborglyphs is challenging, as it is a race against time.  The longevity of the arborglyph is limited by the lifespan of the tree, which can be around 150 years.  The lifespan is also affected by weather, climate change, and vandalism.

There is much to uncover and learn from arborglyphs.  We should not carve into trees, as it may make the trees more susceptible to diseases and pests.  However, we can appreciate and respect the historical carvings that have been left behind, and leave the trees untouched for others to enjoy.

All the Colours of Sand

A beach can tell you its history and makeup based on the sand. 

Sand is formed through the erosion of rocks and minerals by waves.  Beaches with coarse sand are young, while beaches with fine sand are older.  The colour of beach sand comes from its mineralogy and content of the surrounding area.  Here are some of the minerals that make up the vast colours of sand around the world:

• White sand beaches are the result of finely ground quartz crystals, as well as pulverized pieces of dead coral that are made of calcium carbonate
• Red sand beaches and orange sand beaches are the result of iron-rich minerals
• Pink sand beaches are the result of nearby corals.  Pink is formed when white sand is mixed with red shells or calcium carbonate from coral.
• Purple sand beaches are the result of manganese garnet, as well as fine grain pink sand with darker grains
• Black sand beaches are the result of basalt deposits from volcanic activity
• Green sand beaches are the result of olivine, which forms as lava cools