• Conkey, Laura E.
  University of Arizona
  

Cores of red spruce (Picea rubens Sarg.) from three upper-elevation sites in Maine, U.S.A., were X-rayed, and minimum and maximum wood densities as well as ring widths were mechanically recorded. The 200- to 300-year series of maximum densities at the three sites show remarkable inter-site similarity. Maximum density and total ring-width series from one site, Elephant Mt., were standardized. Response functions, which measure tree-growth response to climatic variables, were calculated for each of these two series. The ring-width response function explained 66Vo total variance, of which 34Vo was explained by climate. The maximum density response function explained 7O/o total variance, 67% of which was explained by the same climatic variables. Thus, the climate signal from maximum densities is stronger, and perhaps more season-specific, than that of ring widths.