Cambial pinning; DR Congo; Mayombe; Tree-ring analysis; Tropical tree growth; X-ray CT; Zero growth; Tropical tree; Forestry; Physiology; Ecology; Plant Science
Abstract :
[en] Key message: Understanding species-specific response as well as wedging and zero xylem growth is vital for tree-ring analysis of tropical understory trees. Abstract: Knowledge on intra-annual xylem growth remains understudied in tropical regions, especially for understory species. However, it is important to disentangle seasonal tree response in this complex environment. The aim is to assess intra-annual wood formation and its variability in selected understory tree species of a semi-deciduous tropical forest. The cambium of four species from the Luki reserve of the Mayombe (DR Congo) was monthly marked at the stem base via the pinning method. To assess ring anomalies on the stem disks, digitization of the last 5–10 rings was performed along the circumference. Relative growth was determined based on X-ray CT volumes of the pinning zone, as well as on sanded surfaces and microsections. Stem disks allowed to visualize ring anomalies and growth variations. Intra-annual growth was successfully derived via X-ray CT and could be fitted with a Gompertz function. A species-specific response is observed, although there is circumferential variability. However, the most remarkable result is that many of the trees in the data set had no xylem formation at the stem base, throughout the entire season, thus forming missing rings. Intra-annual variability in growth illustrates the different responses of species and individual trees to environmental drivers. Phenology might explain the differences, although site and competition should be considered as well. A large number of trees show no xylem growth at all, apart from wound-induced local growth, causing missing rings which have important implications for the tree-ring analysis in tropical regions.
De Mil, Tom ; Université de Liège - ULiège > TERRA Research Centre > Gestion des ressources forestières ; Laboratory of Wood Technology, Department of Forest and Water Management, UGCT-Woodlab-UGent, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium ; Wood Biology Service, Royal Museum for Central Africa, Tervuren, Belgium
Angoboy Ilondea, Bhély; Institut National pour l’Etude et la Recherche Agronomiques, Kinshasa, Congo
Maginet, Selwin; Laboratory of Wood Technology, Department of Forest and Water Management, UGCT-Woodlab-UGent, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
Duvillier, Jeroen; Department of Physics and Astronomy, UGCT, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
Van Acker, Joris; Laboratory of Wood Technology, Department of Forest and Water Management, UGCT-Woodlab-UGent, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
Beeckman, Hans; Wood Biology Service, Royal Museum for Central Africa, Tervuren, Belgium
Van den Bulcke, Jan; Laboratory of Wood Technology, Department of Forest and Water Management, UGCT-Woodlab-UGent, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
Language :
English
Title :
Cambial activity in the understory of the Mayombe forest, DR Congo
This study was financed by the Ghent University Special Research Fund Ph.D. grant for T. De Mil. We thank the INERA RDC staff for providing the research infrastructure in the Luki reserve of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, especially F. Mbungu Phaka, L. Mbambi Ngoma, and J. B. Ndunga Loli-Di-Tubenzi. ERAIFT and WWF-RDC provided logistic support and field work was partly supported by a grant from the King Leopold III Fund for Nature Exploration and Conservation. C. Couralet provided the metadata for the 2006–2007 samples. We would like to express our gratitude to S. Willen for sample preparation and to P. Dekeyser for making cross sections.
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