Dendrochronology of species from Brazilian Araucaria Forest, Candoi, PR

Abstract

In the present work the dendrochronological potential of six species of the Araucaria Forest is analyzed. The trunks of 20 trees were collected in Candoi, State of Parana, Brazil, from an area that belongs to
ELEJOR, Centrais Elétricas do Rio Jordão, for the following species: Araucaria angustifolia, Clethra scabra, Cedrela lilloi, Ocotea porosa, Podocarpus lambertii and Sebastiania commersoniana (3 to 6, from each species). The trunks were sawed, and at breast height a sample was taken from the center of the board, from bark to bark, crossing the pith, for macroscopic analysis. These samples were dried and polished, making possible the recognition and measurement of growth rings The historical climatic data series were provided by SIMEPAR, the State weather institute. The trees presented diameter at breast height (DBH), varying from 14 cm to 40 cm, with age of 60 years, annual diameter increment of 0.6 cm, in average. Although the number of trees was small, it was possible to observe that the site was not limiting for the species, as the growth rings showed very low sensitivity.
However, the very extreme growth condition of 1999 and 2000, when  occurred a very low precipitation period followed by a very severe winter, was registered in the growth ring series of most of the disks analyzed