There, the winters are cold enough to stop trees from growing, and halted growth is what creates annual rings that can tell scientists so much about the history of a tree, and what it was responding to at particular points in time.
But that’s generally not the case in Australia. Only the snow gum grows at a high enough altitude to stop growth during the winter and produce rings that can be reliably identified and measured.
One of two grants won by the ANU means that tree ring work can proceed.
“It’s a real opportunity for us to look back in time. We don’t just need a cause of death, we need to know what led to the death. That’s where the real action can happen,” Brookhouse says.
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