Tree Ring Analysis | Research Tools | Upper Peninsula Tree Improvement Center

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	UPTIC has been the site of several stem analysis and growth modeling studies. Wood disks were gathered in the field, prepared in our shops, and then analyzed with our WinDendro Image Analysis System for Tree-Ring Measurement, from Regent Instruments Inc. An HP ScanJet II cx 600 dpi color scanner is used to obtain an image of a whole disk, a section of a disk, or an increment core. As long as the scan includes a path from the pith to the bark (not necessarily a straight line) the SYSTEM will work fine.
	Click on the image of the disk to see WinDendro in action. This image is processed by the WinDendro Image Analysis software which detects, counts, and measures the rings. The system works best with conifers. You can let the system automatically find rings or "teach" it what rings look like. Up to 4 radii per disk can be measured simultaneously. This data together with identification information is stored in an ASCII file which is passed to a Microsoft Excel macro called "STEMS".
	The spreadsheet macro takes all the disk data from a particular tree and produces average growth data like: height over time, DBH over time, BA over time, and Volume over time. These calculations are done for both a cumulative and incremental summary. Curves are then produced (click on the graph to see an example). Since the raw data and computed data remains in an Excel spreadsheet, you can do just about anything else you can think of with it. For more information contact the manufacturer at: http://www.regent.qc.ca/