Dendrochronology for Labeling Heritage Trees Toward Green Tourism and Sustainable Development—A Case Study in Tay Giang District (Quang Nam, Vietnam)

Dendrochronology deals with the time and dating of special events on tree rings. Today, dendrochronology has become an increasingly important study field given its broad and multidisciplinary nature based on the studies of dating, verification, and reconstruction of past climate and environmental events as well as the study of tree growth patterns and archaeological restoration. This paper is based on a combination of methods of which the Dating of Trees—Tree Assessment for Heritage (TreeAH) is a key one before giving some suggestions on how to better promote eco-tourism areas in the way that can help preserve traditional cultural values, develop tourism, and promote the conservation of forests simultaneously. In particular, the study takes place in the case of Tay Giang District in Quang Nam Province, Vietnam (where have Fokienia Hodginsii (local name is Po-mu)) to understand the relationship between dendrochronology for labeling heritage trees there and the development of eco-tourism in the direction of "Green Tourism" toward sustainable economic development in Tay Giang, Quang Nam. A total of 40 Fokienia hodginsii trees in the Fokienia hodginsii forest population have been date. Those trees have the longest and shortest ages, equivalent to 675 and 123 years (as of 2021). Weighted linear/nonlinear methods were applied for modeling regressions of tree-ring age and diameter. Then, we have labeled more than 700 trees as heritage trees in the area based on this relationship equation. Based on study finding, we suggest to do Fokienia hodginsii forest-based eco-tourism as an effective way to foster green tourism as well as economic development in the study area.