Dinâmica de crescimento de Cedrela odorata L. (Meliaceae) na Floresta Atlântica do Estado do Rio de Janeiro: fenologia, atividade cambial e dendrocronologia / Growth dynamics of Cedrela Odorata L. (Meliaceae) on the Atlantic Rain Forest of the State of Rio de Janeiro: phenology, cambial activity and dendrochronology

Monique Silva Costa

Along the 20th century, a few dendrochronological studies were developed with tropical species, according to the belief that variations of the climatic conditions on those regions werent regular and strong enough to induce an annual rate of radial growth. The researches on this topic in the last decades showed that the formation of annual growth rings in the tropics may be associated to several factors, such as: existence of a distinct dry season, occurrence of seasonal floods and responses to photoperiod and to endogenous rhythms. The objective of this study is to comprehend radial growth dynamics of an Atlantic Rain Forest species growing in natural conditions. Therefore, it was purposed to: i) investigate the periodicity of cambial activity and its influencing factors; ii) estimate age and diameter growth rates and correlate the environmental factors with the growth rings, in Cedrela odorata L. trees. For the cambial activity study, stem samples containing periderm, cambial zone, secondary xylem and phloem were taken at 1.30 m from ground level, by nondestructive methods. Vegetative phenology and fruiting of the selected trees were monitored during the whole experiment period. The samples were processed with usual Plant Anatomy techniques and were analyzed under light and fluorescence microscopy. Photoperiod, precipitation, temperature and vegetative phenology data were correlated to cambial activity. For the growth ring study, the samples were also taken at 1,30 m from ground level, with increment borer. The samples were polished and analyzed with stereomicroscope, for the demarcation and counting of growth rings, and its length was measured for the determination of the radial growth rates. The historical temperature and precipitation data were correlated to the chronology of the growth rings. The results indicated that cambial activity follows an annual growth rhythm correlated to the seasonality of photoperiod, precipitation and vegetative phenology. The growth ring analysis allowed to estimate the age of the trees and to determine the mean increment rate, the accumulated diameter increment and the annual mean increment of the species in the study site. The radial increment data showed the absence of a relation between trees age and diameter. The variation of the rings length didnt show significant correlations with the analyzed climatic factors.

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