First ICTHER Field School
January 11-17, 2015
Bidoup Nui Ba National Park, Lam Dong Province, Vietnam

Instructors

Brendan M. Buckley, Columbia University, USA
Kevin Griffin, Columbia University, USA
Laia Andreu-Hayles, Columbia University, USA
Roger Kjelgren, Utah State University, USA
Nisa Leksungnoen, Kasetsart University, Thailand
Nestor Baguinon, University of Los Baños, The Philippines
Luu Hong Truong, Vietnam Academy of Science, Vietnam
Le Buu Thach, Vietnam Academy of Science, Vietnam

Participants

Rose Oelkers, William Paterson University, USA
Mukund Palat Rao, Columbia University, USA
Katharine Catelotti, James Cook University, Australia
Khairun Nisha Bte Mohamed Ramdzan, National University of Singapore
Thida Swe, Forest Research Institute, Yezin, Myanmar
Revathi Palat Rao, Delhi Faculty of Law, India
Quoc Trung Nguyen, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, HCMC, Vietnam
Student 1, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, HCMC, Vietnam
Student 1, Da Lat University, Vietnam
Student 2, Da Lat University, Vietnam
Student 1, BDNP, Vietnam
Student 2, BDNP, Vietnam
Local Person 1, Lam Dong Province (Kaval)
Local Person 2, Lam Dong Province (Blue)
Local Person 3, Lam Dong Province (TBA)
Local Person 4, Lam Dong Province (TBA)

Description

First inaugural ICTHER Field School at Bidoup Nui Ba National Park, Vietnam Dendro-Eco-Physiological Applications in Tropical Forest Research

Surprisingly little is known about the spatio-temporal variability of tropical forests, owing primarily to the limitations of the temporal side of things. Dendrochronology can be used for developing accurate dating control through a procedure known as crossdating, where individual rings of long-lived trees are assigned exact calendar dates by accounting for “missing” and “false” rings within each annual growth sequence. The challenges of applying these methods to complex tropical forest trees have proven difficult to overcome. However for Vietnam’s highland forests we have had success with certain conifer species that achieve millennium status, and we have shown the possibility of applying accurate dating to a variety of broadleaf species as well. We are using the resultant annual growth indices from Vietnamese cypress to reconstruct hydroclimate for the region, meaning that accurate measures of regional to synoptic scale climate can be used as an overlay on spatial patterns of species location and age distributions, in order to analyze the effects of hydroclimatic extreme events (severe droughts and pluvials). This becomes particularly germane when more species can be analyzed with accurate dating of growth rings for both canopy dominant and sub-canopy species distributions. In addition to crossdating and measuring growth rings, however, is the need to understand the ecophysiology of tree species’ responses to climate on a variety of time scales. During the course of this inaugural field school we will collect a plethora of data toward this end. Research projects will be developed throughout the course of this week that will be presented on the final day by groups of 4 to 6 participants.

Itinerary

Saturday, January 10, 2015
ARRIVE IN DA LAT, stay at Ca Dao Hotel

Sunday, January 11, 2015
Drive to BDNP, stay at ICTHER Dorm
Orientation and classroom work, laying out the projects

Monday, January 12, 2015
Field Day 1 - stay at ICTHER Dorm
Giang Ly Permanent Plot – tree identification/tree coring/microcoring
Evening: tree core sample preparation, analyses

Tuesday, January 13, 2015
Field Day 2 - stay at ICTHER Dorm
Giang Ly Permanent Plot – ecophysiological sampling/foliage collection
Evening: measuring light saturation curves etc.

Wednesday, January 14, 2015
Field Day 3 – stay at ICTHER Dorm
Cong Troi Station – Keteleeria, Taxus and Pinus krempfii forests

Thursday, January 15, 2015
Field Day 4 - stay at ICTHER Dorm
Pygmy Forest Khlong Lang Station – Fokienia site collection
Evening: micrometeorology and climate diagnostics

Friday, January 16, 2015
Field Day 5 - stay at ICTHER Dorm
Pygmy Forest Khlong Lang Station – Broadleaf species

Saturday, January 17, 2015
Return to Da Lat, stay at Ca Dao Hotel
Final presentations – evening session

Sunday, January 18, 2015
DEPART FROM DA LAT