34th Dendrochronology Field School
Mountain Lake Biological Station, VA
May 16-25, 2025
The 34th Annual Dendrochronology Field School (DFS) will be held at the Mountain Lake Biological Station in Pembroke, VA. 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 16th through May 25th 2025 and registration fees are $1775 US for students and $1825 US for professionals. Join the Tree-Ring Society and save $50 on registration! Your registration fee includes room and board for the entire workshop, and travel to/from the airport. Registration fees are due by April 1, 2025.
Groups
Introductory: Dr. Clay Tucker (University of Southern Mississippi)
Climatology: Dr. Grant Harley (University of Idaho)
Ecology: Dr. Maegen Rochner (University of Louisville)
Advanced Climatology: Dr. Karen King (University of Tennessee)
Advanced Group will focus on statistical analysis and climate reconstruction.
*This year we will have guest lectures by Dr. Ed Cook (Lamont Tree Ring Lab)*
Questions?
Dr. Stockton Maxwell, DFS Director
Professor of Geospatial Science
Radford University
Agenda
1 - Friday, May 16 Travel Day. Evening introductions. Group introductions. Split into groups.
2 - Saturday, May 17 Field day. Evening lecture: cleaning and sharpening increment borers.
3 - Sunday, May 18 Laboratory day/Field day. Evening lecture: Crossdating.
4 - Monday, May 19 Laboratory day. Evening lecture: CooRecorder and Cdendro.
5 - Tuesday, May 20 Laboratory day. Evening lecture: Detrending and Standardization.
6 - Wednesday, May 21 Laboratory day. Evening lecture: Dendro packages in R.
7 - Thursday, May 22 Free day with hiking opportunities.
8 - Friday, May 23 Laboratory day. Evening lecture: TBD.
9 - Saturday, May 24 Laboratory day. 1pm presentation of projects. Closing celebration.
10 - Sunday, May 25 Travel day.
*This is a tentative schedule.
Deliverables
Each group will develop and deliver a presentation to all of the field school participants.
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 16 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 16 and for the return trip on May 25. Please arrange to arrive at the Roanoke Airport by 4 PM on May 16 (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 25 so that we have time to get you down to the airport without having to leave the station before 7 AM.
What to bring
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PC laptop
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Field clothes including boots
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Sleeping bag and pillow w/ pillow case or twin bedding (it can be chilly on the mountain!)
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Bath Towel
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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