Dendrochronology is a subset of botany, the study of plants. Dendrochronology focuses study on woody species. Trees are complicated organisms which have been evolving over 360 million years. Dendrologists have many methods of collecting data like analyzing tree cores and using dendrochronology to recreate past forest composition and age structure.

 

It is interesting to study past forest compositions to see how human inhabitants were altering and benefiting from their landscapes. In New York mastodon excavations and discovered fossils have been identified and dated through dendrochronology dating of nearby trees. Identifying trees helps scientists recreate past environments and landscapes.

 

Dendrologists identify tree species, study their taxonomy (scientific naming and grouping) and composition.