Sensitive vs. Complacent Tree-Ring Growth

"Sensitive" tree growth: High degree of annual variation Wide and narrow rings intermixed through time Limiting growth factor (e.g., rainfall) is highly variable year to year Especially true for harsh sites (steep/rocky for moisture sensitivity; see figure at left) Reasonably sensitive ring growth is good: Matching patterns of relatively wide and narrows rings across trees is easier when ample variation exists

"Complacent" tree growth: Low degree of annual variation Rings are roughly the same for many years consecutively limiting growth factor is not variable from year to year Especially true for benign sites (flat with deep soil for moisture complacency; see figure at left) Complacent ring growth can be difficult to crossdate: matching patterns of relatively wide and narrows rings across trees is harder when not much variation exists depending on the level of complacency and the length of a sample (number of rings), a sample might not be crossdateable

When you try skeleton plotting for yourself:

Change the sensitivity of your virtual core with the arrow buttons, as on the right: Mouse click the arrows next to "Sensitivity" The lower the number, the higher the ring-width sensitivity The higher the number, the higher the ring-width complacency Mouse click the "Restart a new core" button Important point: The number of rings can also be changed: A longer tree-ring series may be needed to crossdate complacent series Mouse click the arrows next to "Rings" Mouse click the "Restart a new core" button