Objectives: Red spruce tree cores were collected from 30 plots in VT, NH, and MA to assess the influence of the 2003 winter injury event on long-term growth and C sequestration.
Principal Investigator: Alexandra Kosiba, Paul Schaberg, Gary Hawley
Laboratory: Schaberg/Hawley Lab
Recommended Citation: Kosiba AM, Schaberg PG, Hawley GJ, and Hansen CF. 2009. Red spruce tree cores from Vermont, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts.
Project Contents: Data for 39 Plots, 380 Trees, 756 Cores
Project Period: 2010-09-01 to 2013-05-14
Species:
Picea rubens
Data License: 
What's this?Description: In 2003, a severe region-wide event damaged over 90% of red spruce in the northeastern US. We assessed the influence of the 2003 winter injury event on long-term growth and C sequestration of red spruce trees by measuring the xylem growth (basal area increment) in forest stands in Vermont, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts where winter injury was quantified in 2003. To do this, we assessed dominant and co-dominant red spruce trees in 30 forest plots (10–15 trees per plot) from 14 locations that had been quantified for winter injury severity (visual assessment of damage to current-year foliage, ranging from 0% to 100%) in 2003 (a sub-set of the 27 locations and 176 plots assessed by Lazarus et al., 2004).
Related Publications:
- Kosiba, A.M., Schaberg, P.G, Hawley, G.J., and Hansen C.F..2013.Quantifying the legacy of foliar winter injury on woody aboveground carbon sequestration of red spruce trees.Forest Ecology and Management, 302, pp.363-371. doi:/10.1016/j.foreco.2013.03.006 View
Project Metadata
Taxonomic standard used: USDA Plants Database
How plots were selected: We selected 30 red spruce plots that had been quantified for winter injury severity in 2003 (a sub-set of the 27 locations and 176 plots assessed by Lazarus et al., 2004) in VT, NH, and MA.
How trees were selected: We used dominant and co-dominant red spruce that were previously selected and assessed for winter injury damage in 2003 (Lazarus et. al. 2004).
Exclusion of trees (if any): We included all trees that had been previously assessed, including dead trees.
How cores were collected: We collected xylem increment cores in fall 2010. Two cores per tree were collected at stem DBH (1.3 m aboveground level) with a 5 mm increment borer at 180° to each other and perpendicular to the dominant slope.
How cores were processed: Cores were mounted in grooved wooden blocks, sanded, and crossdated using the list method (Yamaguchi, 1991). Annual xylem increments were microscopically measured to 0.001 mm resolution using a Velmex sliding stage unit (Velmex Inc., Bloomfield, NY) with MeasureJ2X software (VoorTech Consulting, Holderness, NH) according to methods of Stokes and Smiley (1968). The computer program COFECHA was used to detect and correct for potential crossdating errors in ring series (Holmes, 1983).
Exclusion of cores (if any): No cores were excluded.
Added to the database: 01/25/2018
Last modified: 01/25/2018