Dendroclimatological Research in Labrador with Nunatsiavut Partners

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Labrador trees exhibit a striking and poorly understood phenomenon: their radial growth (width of tree rings) responds more strongly to climate variables along an east/west gradient than it does north to south. To fully understand these relationships, a detailed analysis of environmental factors and tree growth is necessary. The proposed research will take place at two sites, one directly along the coast and one farther inland. The sites have been selected with the assistance of the Innu Guardians program that has set up Innu Permanent Sample Plots (IPSP) across their traditional territory. Local people near each site will have the opportunity to gain useful skills as field assistants, deploying and monitoring equipment, taking samples, training others, and helping to present results. The research will be fully transparent to local communities, with results communicated regularly. Traditional knowledge will be respected and documented, with permission. At each site, 16 white spruce, the dominant species, will be monitored using band dendrometers, which detect tiny changes in tree expansion. Micro-cores will also be removed from the trees to help interpret how and when cells are being laid down. At the same IPSPs, detailed environmental data will be logged, and will be used in conjunction with the radial-growth data to better understand the timing of growth. Dramatic changes in climate are forecasted for the north, and local communities must learn the probable impacts on their forests. This research will: (1) Establish the precise timing of tree growth in both inland and coastal regions of northern Labrador, thereby enhancing our understanding of the complex forest ecology of the easternmost boreal forest. (2) Use the information to make better reconstructions of past climate and more accurate forecasts of future tree growth and distribution in Labrador. (3) Make detailed, localized environmental data freely available to interested local parties. (4) Engage Nunatsiavut communities by involving them in the research, and by allowing them to better understand their forests and make more informed management decisions.