The inland temperate rainforest is an interior rainforest found in the northwest pacific region of North America. The dominant canopy species are western redcedar and western hemlock, and they bear likeness to coastal forests in their moisture regime and species present. Although similar to their coastal counterparts in some respects, the wettest forests of the interior display dissimilarities in their disturbance regimes and regeneration dynamics. The anomalous combination of continental climate, characterized by cold winters and sustained snowpack, and coastal levels of humidity provide the necessary moisture to sustain the species present and produce a fire interval of up to 1000 years on some sites. The large fire interval results in extremely old stands of trees and complex forest structure.   Disturbance is an important element in forest systems and influences species present, as well as stand age and composition. Disturbance can come in the form of biotic and abiotic agents, such as insect outbreaks and fire, respectively. Dendrochronology can quantify response to disturbance in both live and dead trees, and provide basis for analysis of disturbance regimes and characteristics on the landscape level.        Western redcedar are understood to thrive on sites which have high moisture levels, without there being an excess of moisture present. The ITR meets the moisture requirements of western redcedar in part by summer precipitation as rain, but primarily by means of precipitation as snow. The sustained snowpack feeds groundwater flow throughout the season to meet the high moisture requirements of species present. The levels of groundwater flow are thought to vary in the ITR, especially on an elevational gradient, where levels are highest at toe slope positions. The potential effects of climate change are poorly understood in the ITR and conflicting theories exist about its future; some researchers believe that it will be adversely affected by a reduction in snowpack under a scenario of wetter winters, while others predict that the range of canopy species associated with the ITR will advance due to warmer temperatures. Dendrochronology can help predict how sensitive western redcedar will be under any climate change scenario, as well as quantify the variability in sensitivity according to the location of the stand in the ITR.

Objectives The objectives of this study are to: 1) Quantify the effects of climate variables and western hemlock looper on the radial growth of western redcedar in British Columbia’s Inland Temperate Rainforest in a variety of topographic and climatic settings; 2) Explore the potential correlation between climate variables and western hemlock looper outbreaks in western redcedar; 3) Reconstruct past climate regimes from tree ring series; 4) Predict future climate impacts on western redcedar in the ITR; 5) Attempt to model, as a sub-objective, the early growth of western redcedar to fill the knowledge gap of how many years are missing from the tree ring series in western redcedar due to heart rot.