#83: If Trees Could Talk with Dr. Grant Harley

There are living trees in the United States that are approaching 5000 years old - and I’m not talking about trees that clone (I’m looking at you, aspen). Imagine if those trees could talk! Well, in a way, they can!That’s where dendrochronologists like Dr. Grant Harley come in.And it turns out that the science of dendrochronology is so much more far reaching than I ever imagined. Dr. Harley tells us how he reads the trees, inferring things like climate patterns, wildfire history, and community ecology. But this unique science even allows for dating artifacts, such as coffins, cabins, shipwrecks, and other wooden objects. We cover all of this and more, including how tree rings are assessed without killing the tree.  And how technology is used to make these assessments. Dr. Harley also answers why trees in the western US make better specimens for assessing historical climate. And just what is the medieval climate anomaly and why is it important to us today?I feel like Dr. Harley could make a series of podcasts out of dendrochronology, the history it tells us, and the mysteries it helps us solve. Find Dr. Harley on Twitter @dendrotrog.FULL SHOW NOTESLinks To Topics DiscussedNote: links to books are affiliate linksFundamentals of Tree Ring Research by James SpeerThe Fellowship of the Tree Rings RadioLab episode that Dr. Harley appeared onNorth American Dendroecological FieldweekThanks for Michelle Balderston for editing help this weekSupport Us On Patreon!Buy our Merch!Music: Spellbound by Brian Holtz MusicLicense (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-licenseArtist site: https://brianholtzmusic.com Discover the Jumpstart Nature Podcast - entertaining and immersive, it's the nature fix we all need.Check past Nature's Archive episodes for amazing guests like Doug Tallamy, Elaine Ingham, and Rae Wynn-Grant, covering topics from bird migration to fungi to frogs and bats!