Dendroecology of Gymnanthes klotzschiana Müll. Arg. in a remnant area of Alluvial Mixed Ombrophilous Forest, Southern Brazil

Abstract

In a remnant area of Alluvial Ombrophylous Forest, 56 adult trees of Gymnanthes klotzschiana, a typical and representative tree of this formation and popularly known as “branquilhos”, were slaughtered on the banks of the Barigui River, in Araucária, PR state, which the watercourse was rectified in the 1960s. Following the techniques for dendrochronological studies, the discs were dried, polished and the growth rings identified and marked, for the construction of chronological series and their correlation with climatic/environmental variables. This study aims to verify, if (i) Gymnanthes klotzschiana presents potential characteristics for dendroecological studies; (ii) the species responds to environmental stimuli and anthropogenic disturbances (iii) the age structure of the studied trees is compatible with environmental disturbances, documented for the region. The analysis of the results reinforces the potentiality of the species in dendroecological studies, considering the synchrony of the data and the sensitivity to the climatic variables. In addition, the maximum tree age corresponds to the end of the harvest intervention in this region, which prevailed until the middle of 1950s.

Keywords:
Tree rings; Environmental responses; Anthropogenic disturbances; Floodplain