Knowing seasonal tree growth dynamics in tropic al regions is the prerequisite for understanding annual wood formation, which is a basic parameter for many applications in forest ecology and management and dendrochronological studies. In Ethi opia, some tree species exhibit a variable wood anatomy due to regional differences in seasonal rainfall patterns (Wils et al. 2009). Hence, trees of the same species (e.g. Juniperus procera , Cupressaceae) may show clearly distinct ring boundaries or faint to indistinct ring boundaries including many wood anatomical anomalies like wedging rings and multiple rings, causing seriou s constraints for cross-dating (Wils and Eshetu 2007, Wils et al. 2009, Sass-Klaassen et al. 2008). Nevertheless, under suitable climatic conditions it may be possible to cross-date samples within a site and to construct chronologies that are correlated among each other and with climate variables (Couralet et al. 2005, 2007, Sass- Klaassen et al. 2008). Acacia species from the Ethiopian savanna lowlands have been successfully used for dendroclimatological studies (Eshete & Ståhl 1999, Gebrekirstos 2006, Gebrekirstos et al. 2008). However, the seasonal growth characteristics of Ethiopian tree species are so far unknown (Sass-Klaassen et al. 2008). Thus, our aim is to record cambial growth dynamics and seasonal variations of wood formation in relation to climate forcing to provide a basis for the interpretation of wood anatomical structures and tree-ring formation in the Ethiopian highland forests.
Ano de publicação
2009
Autores
Bruning A; Krepkowski, J.; Gebrekirstos, A.
Idioma
English
Palavras-chave
growth, growth factors, trees
Geográfico
Ethiopia
