Comparison of four different tree species in Munessa Forest Ethiopia: seasonal growth dynamics and their climatic control

Climate change is considered one of the greatest environmental, social and economic challenges of our time.Scientists across the world are looking for evidence on past and present climatic changes in order to make predictions about our future environment. Dendrochronology – tree ring research – has attained an eminent position in these studies, primarily because it not only provides annually resolved records, but also deals with decadal to millennial time scales highly useful in global climate change studies. Combining tree rings with additional proxy data from soils, waters and the atmosphere in global networks enhances our understanding on the complex behavior of Planet Earth. The Eighth International Conference on Dendrochronology – WorldDendro 2010 – is intended for academics, scientists, students, and managers interested in using applications of dendrochronology in climatology, environmental sciences, archaeology, geology, resource management, conservation, policy making, and society. The main goal of the conference is to gather researchers working on the reconstruction and modeling of past, present and future tree growth and analyzing the natural and human induced variation patterns in tree rings. The conference is the foremost international gathering and prestige platform for researchers to share the latest research findings and novel ideas on dendrochronology and related issues with other scientists. Our conference will facilitate contacts, enhance new collaboration, and stimulate intellectual exchanges amongst more than 300 researchers throughout the world.The WorldDendro 2010 Conference will be arranged by the Finnish Forest Research Institute (Metla) and theUniversity of Lapland, and it is sponsored by several Finnish and International organizations. The support and ideas of the Scientific and Advisory Committees have been of supreme importance. The Conference will be preceded by International Fieldweek and followed by Post-Conference excursions in Finland, Norway, Sweden and Russia. We are very happy to see all of you here at the Arctic Circle under the Midnight Sun. On behalf of the Organizing Committee I wish You a nice stay and extremely exciting talks and discussions in a relaxed atmosphere of Finnish Lapland