PLENARY TALK: Dendrochronology and climate in the tropical Andes and lower lands: What we know and what to expect.

FERRERO, M.E.

Agadir

Conferencia; 6th Open Science Meeting PAGES; 2022

Past Global Changes

All Andean populations depend almost exclusively on rainwater for domestic use, irrigation and agricultural activities. Since these activities are directly affected by climatic conditions (high social vulnerability), it is essential to know the changes and trends in rainfall. The presence of the Andes and altitudinal gradients create very marked differences in hydroclimatic patterns; instrumental records help to understand spatial patterns but are very limited to understand long-term variability. In this case, dendrochronology allows for the development of high-resolution paleoclimatic reconstructions.It is well known that developing ring-width chronologies in the tropics is challenging, both because of the enormous species diversity and variability of environments, as well as the forest and land use processes occurring in different regions. In tropical South America, a network of dendrochronological archives constructed from different species has been developing and growing over the last 15 years. These paleorecords are helping us to understand how climate (particularly precipitation) operates in different environments and on different timescales.In this talk I will present advances in tropical dendrochronology, with emphasis on the Andes and adjacent lowland regions, the hydroclimatic reconstructions developed to date in different biomes and how these records are helping us to understand large-scale forcings, long-term trends and how precipitation is behaving in recent years in the South American tropics.