Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
Box 7.8 Tree-ring chronologies from
Austrocedrus chilensis
in central Chile
Austrocedrus chilensis
(D. Don, Serr et Bizz.) is the most northerly-distributed
conifer species of the Andean Patagonian forests. The species occurs within a
wide latitudinal range between 32º39
and 43º40
S. The northernmost pop-
ulations of the species also occupy the tree line at high elevations in the
Andes of central Chile. These populations are growing on steep, rocky slopes
under severe water stress in low-density, scattered stands. The trees from
these marginal stands exceed 1200 years in age and exhibited typical fea-
tures of long-lived species, like strip bark growth, twisted branches, and crown
dieback. According to Edmund Schulman (1956),
Austrocedrus
'was the most
suitable dendrochronologic species in the southern Andes. Its ring record is as
well defined as any in the drought conifers of the Rocky Mountains, and it
possesses the type of cambial growth regime which leads to good crossdating
quality in the ring series.'
Box Fig. 7.15
Austrocedrus chilensis
chronologies in central Chile. ELA: El Asiento;
SGB: San Gabriel; RCL: Río Clarillo; URO: Urriloa Oeste; URE: Urriola Este; ELB: El
Baule; AMU: Agua de la Muerte
Several tree-ring collections of
Austrocedrus chilensis
were taken in cen-
tral Chile during the early years of dendrochronological studies in South
Valmore LaMarche in 1972. After that, several collections were conducted in
San Gabriel, Río Clarillo, Urriola Oeste, Urriola Este, El Baule, and Agua de
