Dendrochronology and climatic signals in the wood of Nectandra oppositifolia from a dense rain forest in southern Brazil

Abstract

Nectandra is one of the most representative genera of Lauraceae in the subtropical Atlantic Forest of Brazil. The objective of this work was to study the dendrochronological potential of Nectandra oppositifolia Nees and Mart. from two sites in Santa Catarina State in southern Brazil. A tree-ring chronology of 34 trees was developed. The time span ranged from 1843 to 2013. The oldest and youngest trees were 171 and 47 years-old and the average length of the series was 103 years. Average diameter and annual increment were 20.64 cm and 0.74 mm a−1; diameter and age were unrelated. The species has good dendrochronological potential with an intercorrelation of 0.61 between sites, indicating the existence of a synchronous pattern in the development of the trees. The climate response of the species could be seen by negative tree growth effects for previous hot and current rainy growth seasons.