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Long-term tree ring chronologies from sympatric tropical dry-forest trees: individualistic responses to climatic variation
The influence of local precipitation and temperature on long-term growth dynamics in two species of seasonally dry tropical forest trees were investigated. Growth records were extracted from tree rings in Guanacaste province, Costa Rica. These chronologies provide a long-term (c. 85-y) record of tre...
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Published in: | Journal of tropical ecology 2001-01, Vol.17 (1), p.41-60 |
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Main Authors: | , |
Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
Subjects: | |
Citations: | Items that cite this one |
Online Access: | Get full text |
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Summary: | The influence of local precipitation and temperature on long-term growth dynamics in two species of
seasonally dry tropical forest trees were investigated. Growth records were extracted from tree rings in Guanacaste
province, Costa Rica. These chronologies provide a long-term (c. 85-y) record of tree growth for two species with
contrasting phenologies. Annual growth, in both species, was dependent on annual and/or monthly variation in local
precipitation but less so on temperature. For each species, however, patterns of growth reflected unique degrees of
sensitivity to monthly rainfall and rainfall during previous years. It is hypothesized that such differences were due to
the rooting depth of these species. A review of the literature also indicated similar diverse cambial growth responses
by tropical trees to variation in annual and monthly climate. Lastly, it was shown that variation in longer term
fluctuations in the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, as measured by the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and North
Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), significantly influenced local precipitation in Guanacaste only during the wettest portion
of the wet season. Such temporal sensitivity may have differentially influenced the longer-term growth of some tropical
tree species but not others. Together, these results support the hypothesis that tropical tree species respond
individualistically to variation in local and regional climate and that some tropical assemblages may in fact be structured by
species-specific differences in soil water-use. |
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ISSN: | 0266-4674 1469-7831 |
DOI: | 10.1017/S0266467401001031 |