Abstract
Stable isotopes of tree rings are frequently used as proxies in climate change studies. However, species-specific relationships between climate and tree-ring stable isotopes have not yet been studied in riparian forests in the savannas of West Africa. Four cross-dated discs, each of Afzelia africana Sm. (evergreen) and Anogeissus leiocarpus (DC.) Guill. & Perr. (deciduous) in the humid (HSZ) and dry (DSZ) savanna zones of the Volta basin in Ghana were selected from a larger tree-ring dataset to assess the relationships between the tree-ring carbon isotope composition (δ13C values) and climatic parameters. The atmospherically corrected δ13C values of both studied species showed that A. africana was enriched in 13C compared to A. leiocarpus. Strong correlations were found between δ13C values of A. africana and A. leiocarpus with temperature, but weak correlations with precipitation. Spatial correlation analysis revealed significant relationships between δ13C values of both tree species and Sea Surface Temperatures in the Gulf of Guinea in the southern Atlantic Ocean. The results suggest that the carbon isotope composition of riparian trees in the Volta river basin has a potential to reconstruct climate variability and to assess tree ecological responses to climate change.
Highlights
Riparian forests in arid and semi-arid regions are strips of woody vegetation growing along waterways [1,2]
The studied sites were situated protected protected riparian forest reserves along the Rivers which flow through the riparian forest reserves along the Afram and Tankwidi Rivers which flow through the humid savanna humid savanna zone, and dry savanna zone, respectively
The present study is the first to assess the potential of tree-ring carbon isotope variations of riparian forest tree species for paleo-ecological research in Ghana
Summary
Riparian forests in arid and semi-arid regions are strips of woody vegetation growing along waterways [1,2] Because they form linkages between terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, riparian forests play an important role as ecological corridors and provide a variety of ecosystem services. Riparian forests trap seeds and filter sediment and nutrients transported from adjacent land areas into waterbodies [3] This enables riparian areas to support higher plant productivity and biomass growth compared to non-riparian areas in the surrounding drier landscape [2,4]. Due to these and additional ecosystem functions, many riparian forests are protected by the Ramsar Convention and other legal acts by national regulations [3,4]
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