Critical Analysis of the Past, Present, and Future of Dendrochemistry: A Systematic Literature Review

Dendrochemistry, the study of elements found within tree rings, has been used to understand environmental changes from both natural and anthropogenic sources. When used appropriately, dendrochemistry can provide a greater understanding of the elemental changes in the environment. However, environmental and species-specific processes have been shown to impact results, and research from the field has been scrutinized due to the need for a greater understanding that role-specific processes such as translocation play. This systematic literature review examines dendrochemistry’s history, highlights how the field has changed, and hypothesizes where it might be headed. From this review, we recommend the following measures: (1) promoting the use of new experimental techniques and methods with faster data acquisition time to allow for a greater number of samples to be processed and included in studies to increase statistical significance; (2) that more studies focus on the two- and three-dimensional space that trees grow in and consider the complex physiological processes occurring in that space and over time and (3) more lab-based studies to reduce the variables that cannot be controlled when sampling in situ. Understanding the challenges and opportunities from the past, present, and future research of dendrochemistry is crucial to the advancement of the field.