WHAT IS HERBCHRONOLOGY?
Herbchronology applies the methods of dendrochronology to annual growth rings in the roots of perennial plants. Herbchronology has broad applications for plant population ecology including our understanding of the impacts of land management and climate change. Herbchronology is a new, pioneering field as it reveals ages of a wide suite of plants.
Excavated Whipple’s penstemon in the Rocky Mountains (left) and the annual rings found near the root collar (right).
RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS
The tortoise and the hare: a race between native tree species and the invasive Chinese tallow.
2019 | Pile, L.S., L. Vickers, M.C. Stambaugh, C. Norman, and G. Wang. | Forest Ecology and Management 445:110-121.
A new approach towards climate monitoring in Rocky Mountain alpine plant communities: A case study using herb-chronology and Penstemon whippleanus.
2019 | Dee, J.R. and M.C. Stambaugh. | Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research 51:84-95.
Chinese tallow (Triadica sebifera) invasion in maritime forests: the role of anthropogenic disturbance and its management implications
2017 | Pile, L.S., G.G. Wang, B.O. Knapp, J.L. Walker, and M.C. Stambaugh. | Forest Ecology and Management 398:10-24.