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Austrocedrus chilensis growth decline in relation to drought events in northern Patagonia, Argentina

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Abstract

The significant mortality of the Austrocedrus chilensis (D. Don) Pic. Serm. et Bizarri forests, locally known as “Mal del Ciprés”, has been reported since 1945 for most sites across its distribution in Argentina. However, the cause of this decline is still a topic of discussion. In this study, radial growth patterns from symptomatic and asymptomatic A. chilensis trees were analyzed to determine the influence of drought events on tree growth. Fifty pairs of symptomatic and asymptomatic trees with similar DBH, competition, and microsite conditions were cored at five pure A. chilensis stands near El Bolsón, Río Negro, Argentina. A reference chronology from nonaffected trees was used to cross-date all cores and to determine the relationship between A. chilensis radial growth and climate. The growth of A. chilensis is favored by above average precipitation in late spring–early summer (November and December). A strong relationship was also observed between radial growth patterns and the Palmer drought severity index, a measure of the regional water deficit. Significant differences in growth patterns were recorded between symptomatic and asymptomatic trees. Following extreme drought events, the growth of symptomatic trees is consistently lower than in asymptomatic trees. Based on the larger number of droughts recorded during the past decades and on future climatic predictions suggesting increasing trends in the frequency and intensity of drought events in northern Patagonia, a gradual increase in the number of trees affected by “Mal del Ciprés” along the twenty-first century is likely expected.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the Agencia Nacional de Promoción Científica y Tecnológica of Argentina (PICT 25518) and by a CONICET doctoral fellowship (National Council for Scientific and Technical Research of Argentina). We are grateful to Marcelo Arturi, Mariano S. Morales, María Laura Suarez, Alberto Ripalta and Andrés Manceñido for research assistance. We also thank two anonymous reviewers for helping to improve the final version of this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Dendrocronología e Historia Ambiental, IANIGLA, CCT CONICET-Mendoza, CC 330, M5502IRA, Mendoza, Prov. de Mendoza, Argentina

    Ignacio A. Mundo & Ricardo Villalba

  2. LISEA-Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias y Forestales, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, 1900, La Plata, Prov. de Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Ignacio A. Mundo & Marcelo D. Barrera

  3. Instituto de Biotecnología y Biología Molecular (IBBM), CCT CONICET-La Plata-Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, 1900, La Plata, Prov. de Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Verónica A. El Mujtar

  4. Campo Forestal Gral, San Martín, EEA Bariloche, Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA), CC 26, 8430, El Bolsón, Prov. de Río Negro, Argentina

    Marcelo H. Perdomo

  5. Unidad de Genética Ecológica y Mejoramiento Forestal, EEA Bariloche, Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA), CC 277, 8400, San Carlos de Bariloche, Prov. de Río Negro, Argentina

    Leonardo A. Gallo

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  1. Ignacio A. Mundo
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  2. Verónica A. El Mujtar
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  3. Marcelo H. Perdomo
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  5. Ricardo Villalba
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  6. Marcelo D. Barrera
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Correspondence to Ignacio A. Mundo.

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Communicated by A. Gessler.

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Mundo, I.A., El Mujtar, V.A., Perdomo, M.H. et al. Austrocedrus chilensis growth decline in relation to drought events in northern Patagonia, Argentina. Trees 24, 561–570 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00468-010-0427-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00468-010-0427-8

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