33^rd Dendrochronology Field School (formerly NADEF) 

Mountain Lake Biological Station, VA 

May 17-26, 2024

The 33^rd Annual Dendrochronology Field School (DFS; formerly NADEF) will be held at the Mountain Lake Biological Station in Pembroke, VA. DFS returns to the amazing Mountain Lake facility for the first time since 2011, and then in 1993 before that. The surrounding forests of Virginia's Blue Ridge Mountains of the Southern Appalachians offer old growth trees from red spruce to white oak, as well as fire-scarred pines and hardwoods, old cabins for dating, and highly-competitive ecosystems with rich disturbance histories for dendroecology. The field school will run from May 17^th through May 26^th 2024 and registration fees are $1605 US for students and $1655 US for professionals. Join the Tree-Ring Society and save $55 on registration! Your registration fee includes room and board for the entire workshop. Registration fees are due by April 1, 2024. 

REGISTER HERE!

Groups

Introductory: Dr. Grant Harley (University of Idaho)  

Climatology: Dr. Ed Cook (Lamont Tree Ring Laboratory) & Dr. Stockton Maxwell (Radford University)

Ecology: Dr. Karen King (University of Tennessee-Knoxville) & Dr. Justin Maxwell (Indiana University)

Fire History: Dr. Tom Saladyga (Concord University)

Archaeology: Dr. Maegen Rochner (University of Louisville)

Questions? 

Dr. Stockton Maxwell

Professor of Geospatial Science

Radford University

rmaxwell2@radford.edu 

Agenda

1 - Friday, May 17     Travel Day. Evening introductions. Group introductions. Split into groups.

2 - Saturday, May 18     Field day.  Evening lecture: cleaning and sharpening increment borers.

3 - Sunday, May 19   Laboratory day/Field day.  Evening lecture: Crossdating.

4 - Monday, May 20   Laboratory day. Evening lecture: CooRecorder and Cdendro.

5 - Tuesday, May 21   Laboratory day. Evening lecture: Detrending and Standardization.

6 - Wednesday, May 22    Laboratory day. Evening lecture: Dendro packages in R.   

7 - Thursday, May 23   Free day with hiking opportunities.

8 - Friday, May 24     Laboratory day. Evening lecture: TBD.

9 - Saturday, May 25    Laboratory day. 1pm presentation of projects. Closing celebration.

10 - Sunday, May 26      Travel day.

*This is a tentative schedule.

Deliverables

Each group will develop and deliver a presentation to all of the field school participants. Each group will also produce a 5-page written report to document methods and results.

Websites

Dendrochronology Field School: https://sites.google.com/view/nadef  

Tree Ring Society Membership: https://www.treeringsociety.org/membership.html 

Mountain Lake Biological Station: https://mlbs.virginia.edu/accommodation 

Accommodations

The workshop will be held at the Mountain Lake Biological Station in Pembroke, VA (part of the University of Virginia). Lodging will be dormitory style with shared bathrooms. You should bring a sleeping bag and pillow for bedding. Meals will be served in the campus cafeteria. Please note any dietary restrictions on the registration page.

Getting There

The first event on May 17 is dinner around 6 PM, followed by introductions by all of the participants, and an introductory lecture. For those driving, Mountain Lake Biological Station is located at 240 Salt Pond Circle Pembroke, VA 24136. Parking is available onsite. For those flying, we will have shuttle buses to bring you from the Roanoke airport on May 17 and for the return trip on May 26. Please arrange to arrive at the Roanoke Airport by 4 PM on May 17 (if possible) so that we can get you to the station in time for the first events. Also, please arrange to fly out from Roanoke after 10 AM (if possible) on May 26 so that we have time to get you down to the airport without having to leave the station before 7 AM.

What to bring

• PC laptop

• Field clothes including boots

• Sleeping bag and pillow w/ pillow case or twin bedding (it can be chilly on the mountain!)

• Bath Towel

• Increment borer if you have one

Preparation

For those new to dendrochronology, we recommend Jim Speer’s Fundamentals of Tree-Ring Research as an entry point to the discipline. 

Code of Conduct

Participants must adhere to the Code of Conduct Policy here: https://www.treeringsociety.org/Code-of-Conduct 

REGISTER HERE!