IANIGLA   20881
INSTITUTO ARGENTINO DE NIVOLOGIA, GLACIOLOGIA Y CIENCIAS AMBIENTALES
Unidad Ejecutora - UE
artículos
Título:
Potential of Schinopsis lorentzii for dendrochronological studies in subtropical dry Chaco forest of South America
Autor/es:
FERRERO, M.E.; VILLALBA, R.
Revista:
TREES-STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION
Editorial:
SPRINGER
Referencias:
Lugar: Berlin; Año: 2009 vol. 23 p. 1275 - 1284
ISSN:
0931-1890
Resumen:
The lack of knowledge about species with welldelimited annual rings has hampered the development of dendrochronological records in the subtropical Chaco region of South America. In this contribution, we present the first tree-ring chronology of Schinopsis lorentziiSchinopsis lorentzii (Anacardiaceae), a dominant species in the semi-arid Chaco. Cross sections were collected near Las Lajitas, Salta, Argentina, and processed following the methods commonly used in dendrochronology. Annual growth variations between radii from a single individual and between radii from different trees were highly correlated. To determine the climatic parameters that control radial growth, we compared annual tree-ring variations against regional temperature and precipitation records. Correlation functions indicate that tree growth is highly influenced by spring–summer rainfall variations, which represent more than 80% of the total annual precipitation. The chronology, which covers the interval from 1829 to 2004, provides a context for the unprecedented increase in precipitation since the mid-1970s in the region. The climatic-sensitivity of S. lorentzii provides a unique opportunity to reconstruct precipitation variations during past centuries in the extensive semiarid regions of subtropical South America. precipitation variations during past centuries in the extensive semiarid regions of subtropical South America. S. lorentzii provides a unique opportunity to reconstruct precipitation variations during past centuries in the extensive semiarid regions of subtropical South America.