key: cord-0067746-gsu1vtlk
authors: Loader, N.J.; Sánchez-Salguero, R.; Gärtner, H.
title: Together but apart: social and scientific exchange at the TRACE 2020 virtual conference
date: 2021-09-20
journal: Dendrochronologia (Verona)
DOI: 10.1016/j.dendro.2021.125882
sha: 1abb193e4a85469c1e38bbf1ca5a9ac0d04bf6d5
doc_id: 67746
cord_uid: gsu1vtlk

nan

The 2020 global SARS-CoV-2 (covid-19) pandemic represents an incredible global challenge. For many, the last year and a half has been one of difficulty, personal loss and isolation. The ongoing pandemic has served to confirm how connected we are, and how vulnerable we are too. It has highlighted differences and inequalities across the world and within our communities. At the same time the pandemic has forced us all to reflect on what is important to us and to think more often of others. Indeed it has been through scientific collaboration, community endeavour and many individual acts of kindness that humanity's better qualities have shone brightly during these dark times.

As an international scientific organisation the Association for Tree-Ring Research (ATR) aims to promote tree-ring research, to foster research projects, to build bridges, and to facilitate knowledge exchange between the different scientific disciplines working with tree rings and associated fields of science (e.g., forestry, archaeology, global change ecology) across Europe and worldwide. The association's TRACE (Tree Rings in Archaeology, Climatology and Ecology) meeting is the annual conference of the ATR and has been held annually since 2002.

The developing pandemic in spring 2020 meant that it was not possible to run the TRACE 2020 conference as planned in Lund, Sweden. As a consequence, the ATR-board decided to run the conference as an online meeting on May 14th, 2020 attended by more than 70 participants. This virtual special issue presents a selection of papers on topics that were scheduled for presentation at the meeting in Lund or were developed from the video abstracts hosted through Dendroschool (dendroschool.org). Five papers are presented from across treering research from archaeology to climatology and ecology. TRACE 2020 also coincided with the launch and initiation of Q-NET and I-BIND, two large scale collaborative and scholarly networks for tree-ring researchers, supported by the ATR.

Despite the problems of covid-19, climate change continues to be a major concern. Stolz et al. (2021) investigate the role of climate variability on tree growth. Their comparative study of beech and pine from lowland locations provides a valuable insight into regional and species-specific response. Their paper contrasts with others targeting high altitude or high latitude environments where a reduced range of climate variables may be more consistently limiting to growth.

Climate and tree growth are inextricably linked to our cultural heritage and Shindo et al. (2021) explore the dating of Pinus sylvestris L. timbers in traditional houses from the Southern French Alps. Rather than this being a simple dating exercise, Shindo et al. investigate the documentary and historic information available in the region to better understand the lives and seasonal activities of the people in this region. The paper represents a first-step towards a more complete cultural history of the locale and is a refreshing and detailed consideration of timber-use and human activity in this region.

Also within the archaeological dating theme, Loader et al. (2021) present results from a study exploring the application of stable isotopes for precision dating in oak and so-called secondary species (commonly found non-oak genera). Their work applies the protocols and dating framework developed by the team (Loader et al. 2019) to test the ability of isotope dendrochronology to securely date non-oak timbers. The geographic focus of the study is northwestern (maritime) Europe where mild invariant climates can make ring-width dendrochronology challenging, but the authors identify the wider potential applications of the method for similar climatic regions and difficult to date samples, in particular the dating and development of chronology for Ulmus, the second most common genus in the UK historic buildings archive.

Additional to these papers, are two concept notes that report new and exciting research initiatives -Q-NET, the Quantitative wood anatomy network (von Arx et al. 2021) and I-BIND, the International Blue Intensity Network Development Working Group (Kaczka and Wilson 2021) . Both papers describe valuable and much-needed initiatives that bring together scholars to advance these fields and share expertise at a time of rapid advances in technology across quantitative wood anatomy and the measurement of tree-ring blue intensity.

Q-NET is a new community-based network aiming to provide an open interdisciplinary platform around quantitative wood anatomy (QWA) to foster exchange and research. QWA is a fast-evolving field of research but there still remains a lack of common protocols, missing standards regarding data analysis and also knowledge gaps about proper data interpretation. These limitations formed the base to create this new community-based network. Q-NET aims on identifying these knowledge gaps, developing standards for field and lab methods as well as data analysis, and to bring together scientists of different disciplines using wood anatomical parameters to answer their many research questions. Q-NET provides a platform to facilitate synergies among members and to promote breakthroughs in the multidisciplinary field of wood science.

I-BIND responds to the increase in uptake and greater accessibility of the Blue Intensity technique (McCarroll et al. 2002) capitalising upon the relative ease that blue intensity data can be measured from living and historical samples from both low and high elevations and across multiple conifer species for palaeoclimatology, dendrochronology and dendroprovenancing. To support the continued development of the blue intensity method the authors identify the need for a more coordinated collaboration between laboratories. They identify five key aims; to promote the methods of data generation for tree-ring Laboratories around the globe; to encourage the further development of the methodology through workshops and collaboration; to encourage collaboration and the creation of regional networks of blue J o u r n a l P r e -p r o o f intensity data for historical dating and dendro-provenancing; and to test innovative and novel approaches.

At a time where there is rapid progress in tree-ring research such initiatives have benefitted from the increased ease in which the virtual community can meet regularly online and promote knowledge exchange. These two networks are already underway and importantly also plan to work closely together. Details on how to join these networks are provided through the corresponding authors.

During the summer of 2021, some months before this special issue went to press, the ATR completed a successful fully-online TRACE meeting (organized by our Swedish colleagues at Lund, Gothenburg and Stockholm Universities). Although not in-person, it was clear that whilst the participants have successfully adapted to online working, they greatly appreciated the opportunity to come together, share their research and re-acquaint with old friends. Virtual meetings have undoubtedly helped to increase diversity and widen access such that future TRACE meetings will very likely retain an optional online element to facilitate greater participation and to reduce their carbon footprint. Whether we work independently or as a part of a large research group, we are each part of a global scientific community. Let us hope that in the near future we will also be able to reunite and return safely to in-person meetings, field courses, workshops and research. These personal interactions are valuable and something we really miss!

2021. I-BIND: International Blue intensity network development working group

Dating of non-oak species in the United Kingdom historical buildings archive using stable oxygen isotopes

Tree ring dating using oxygen isotopes: a master chronology for central England

Blue reflectance provides a surrogate for latewood density of high-latitude pine tree rings

Well-designed mountain houses feature the only dated Pinus sylvestris type timbers in the southern French Alps

Increasing climate sensitivity of beech and pine is not mediated by