Five days training module on dendroclimatology concluded

18 August 2022, by Prem Neupane

Photo: Anna Klemmer

Tree rings tell a story: a story about the life of the tree and environment in which it grew. They are natural archives that preserve evidence of past climate changes and, therefore, permit paleoclimate reconstructions. Tree ring analyses can assist in revealing the effect of gradual change in climatic variables on tree growth.

University of Hamburg, World Forestry, Germany (UHH) and Tribhuvan University, Institute of Forestry, Pokhara Campus, Nepal (IoF) jointly organized five days of training on dendroclimatology from 14th to 19th of July, 2022 at the IoF. The training module was led by Prof. Dr. Michael Köhl and was coordinated by Dr. Prem Raj Neupane and Dr. Archana Gauli. Prof. Köhl and his team members- Dr. Neupane, Dr. Gauli, Ms. Anna Klemmer and Mr. Leam Martes- contributed to the following contents:

•   Selecting trees for dendroclimatological studies, tree core extraction, sample preparation, tree ring measurements with LINTAB/ TSAP, cross-dating, chronology building, data analysis, statistical methods of dendroclimatology, missing climate data

Overall, 22 M.Sc. forestry students and few faculties from IoF enthusiastically participated to the training course. The training sessions were comprised of introductory lectures, field work, laboratory work and data analysis.

We highly appreciate the entire IoF team including students and faculties for their interest, contribution and logistic support for the course. We sincerely acknowledge the cooperation and support from Prof. Binod Prasad Heyojoo, Dr. Bishnu Prasad Devkota, Dr. Lila Puri and Mr. Deepak Gautam for their invaluable contribution to execute the training. 

The training event was a part of the academic exchange and cooperation within the framework of the Memorandum of Understanding signed by the both institutes back in 2020.