Loblolly pine traumatic resin ducts serve as a proxy for cool-season storm events at Nags Head, North Carolina, USA
- UNCG Author/Contributor (non-UNCG co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
- Avery A. Catherwood (Creator)
- Institution
- The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG )
- Web Site: http://library.uncg.edu/
- Advisor
- Paul Knapp
Abstract: I present a method for identifying and recording cool-season weather events along northern coastal North Carolina, USA using the frequency of traumatic resin ducts (TRDs) formation in loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) earlywood tree samples that occur in response to stressful events. Based on a sample of 48 cores collected at Nags Head Woods Ecological Preserve during summer 2020, I tested the viability that the occurrence TRDs in the earlywood was caused by the occurrence of late-season tropical cyclones, mid-latitude windstorms including Nor’easters, and snow and ice storms, thus served as a proxy for extreme weather during 1950–2019. The stabilized frequency of earlywood TRD formations was significantly (p < 0.001) related to years that had at least one documented cool-season weather event. The average number of TRDs in a non-storm year during mid-October–May is 2.80 while the average for a storm year is 3.75. Further, I found that there was no age-related bias to storm-event detection, suggesting the viability of using TRD frequency to record cool-season storms at locations where old-growth loblolly forests exist along coastal North Carolina. This method may be used to reconstruct the occurrence of cool-season weather events beyond historical records in areas where old-growth loblolly pine trees exist.
Loblolly pine traumatic resin ducts serve as a proxy for cool-season storm events at Nags Head, North Carolina, USA
PDF (Portable Document Format)
690 KB
Created on 5/1/2021
Views: 219
Additional Information
- Publication
- Thesis
- Language: English
- Date: 2021
- Keywords
- Dendrochronology, Ducts, Loblolly, Resin, Traumatic, Winter
- Subjects
- Dendroclimatology $z North Carolina $z Nags Head
- Winter storms $z North Carolina $z Nags Head
- Loblolly pine $z North Carolina $z Nags Head
- Nags Head (N.C.) $x Climate