PREFACE-Tree-ring studies in New York State: Past and present

Abstract

New York State (NYS) has a long and significant history of tree-ring research. Some of the earliest dendroarchaeological and dendroclimatic work in eastern North America was done in NYS, and 1970s studies in Hudson Valley in the east of the state were important for demonstrating that drought records could be reconstructed from trees growing in humid environments. Some recent work in NYS is described in this issue of Tree-Ring Research, including tree-ring dating and provenancing of a boat in New York City, dendroarchaeological studies in a town in northeastern NYS, dendrogeomorphological work in central NYS, and a dendroclimatic investigation of two range-margin Juniperus species growing on alvars. The last of the five NYS papers in this issue provides a personal historical perspective on the beginnings of drought reconstructions in the Hudson Valley. There is considerable potential for future work in New York with extension of existing studies and work in new areas and with new tree species.