Dendroclimatological Research in Labrador with Nunatsiavut Partners

拉布拉多树表现出一种惊人而鲜为人知的现象：它们的径向生长(年轮宽度)对东西梯度上的气候变量的反应比从北到南的更强烈。为了充分理解这些关系，有必要对环境因素和树木生长进行详细的分析。拟议的研究将在两个地点进行，一个直接沿着海岸，另一个更靠近内陆。这些地点是在Innu Guardians计划的协助下选定的，该计划在其传统领土上建立了Innu永久样地(IPSP)。每个地点附近的当地人将有机会获得有用的技能，如现场助理、部署和监测设备、采集样本、培训其他人以及帮助展示结果。这项研究将对当地社区完全透明，并定期公布结果。在得到许可的情况下，传统知识将得到尊重和记录。在每个地点，将使用带式树干测量仪对16种白云杉进行监测，这种仪器可以检测树木扩张的微小变化。还将从树上移除微芯，以帮助解释细胞是如何以及何时铺设的。在同一个IPSP上，详细的环境数据将被记录下来，并将与径向增长数据一起使用，以更好地了解增长的时机。对北方气候的戏剧性变化进行了预测，当地社区必须了解可能对他们的森林造成的影响。这项研究将：(1)建立拉布拉多北部内陆和沿海地区树木生长的准确时间，从而加强我们对最东部北方森林复杂森林生态的了解。(2)利用这些信息更好地重建拉布拉多过去的气候，并更准确地预测未来拉布拉多树木的生长和分布。(3)向感兴趣的当地各方免费提供详细的、本地化的环境数据。(4)让努纳齐亚武特社区参与研究，并让他们更好地了解自己的森林，作出更明智的管理决策，让他们参与进来。

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.