ASU will host international conference on dendrochronology

Dendrochronology is a part of dendroecology. This is a science, which studies tree rings and factors of their growth. Dendrochronological methods allow dating different objects and different natural and anthropogenic occurrences, reconstructing environmental parameters of the past, and studying factors limiting woody plants’ growth in any given habitat.

The conference program includes discussion of the following subjects:

• dendroclimatology;
• dendrohydrology;
• dendroecology;
• dendroarchaeology;
• new methods of dendrochronology.

The conference is an important event for dendrochronologists of Russia. However, foreign colleagues will also visit it. The conference on dendrochronology has become regular in the last decade. It was conducted in Yekaterinburg in 2011, in Bishkek and Cholpon-Ata in 2014, and it is to be carried out on the premises of Altai State University in Barnaul in 2017.

The conference will host 18 Doctors of Science, including 1 academician and 1 corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Science, 40 Candidates of Science, and 9 students and postgraduates. The majority of participants are from Russia, but there are also representatives of 5 foreign countries (Belarus, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and the United States of America) who have expressed their willingness to attend the event. The strongest delegations will come from Krasnoyarsk Krai (18 attendees), Sverdlovsk Oblast (16), Tomsk Oblast (10), Altai Krai (7), Moscow and Moscow Oblast (6), Irkutsk Oblast (4), Primorsky Krai (4), Sakha (Yakutia) Republic (3), and Voronezh Oblast (2). One representative will come from each of the following territories: Saint-Petersburg, the Republic of Karelia, the Republic of Tatarstan, the Tyva Republic, the Republic of Khakassia, Zabaykalsky Krai, Belgorod Oblast, Novosibirsk Oblast, and Tyumen Oblast. All in all, employees of 52 organizations (primarily scientific and educational ones) have signed up for the conference. Judging by the list of participants, the conference will be attended by the majority of Russian specialists in dendrochronology.

The conference will also include an excursion part, during which the participants will get an opportunity to see different types of forests in the south of the West Siberian Plain and altitudinal vegetation belts of Altai.