Abstract

GONZALEZ ELIZONDO, Martha; GONZALEZ ELIZONDO, María del Socorro; VILLANUEVA DIAZ, José  and  CERANO PAREDES, Julián. Assessment of the dendroclimatic potential of Pinus lumholtzii B. L. Rob. & Fernald. Rev. mex. de cienc. forestales [online]. 2017, vol.8, n.42, pp.28-54. ISSN 2007-1132.

Pinus lumholtzii is widely distributed in the Western Sierra Madre. It grows mainly in rocky outcrop sites; therefore, its annual growth rings may be sensitive to climatic variables. Ring-width chronologies of Pinus lumholtzii from sites in southern Durango were developed in order to analyze its dendroclimatic potential. For this analysis, dendroclimatic parameters and response to climatic factors were compared with a chronology of Pseudotsuga menziesii previously developed for the same region with proven dendrochronological potential. Our results indicate that P. lumholtzii dendroclimatic chronologies have a good potential. They presented suitable cross-dating, although their sensitivity to environmental factors was lower than that observed in P. menziesii chronologies. In addition, the four chronologies showed significant correlations between one another and also compared to the chronologies of P. menziesii, which indicates a good response to the regional environmental variables. Furthermore, the correlation between growth rates of P. lumholtzii and the regional precipitation was statistically significant and even higher than that obtained for P. menziesii. The rainfall reconstruction using ring-width series of Pinus lumholtzii was significantly correlated with that developed for P. menziesii series. The wide distribution range of P. lumholtzii in the Sierra Madre Occidental, and its proven dendroclimatic potential, enable the development of a network of chronologies that may be useful for dendroecological studies, as well as for monitoring the regional climate change.

Keywords : Tree rings; dendrochronology; Lumholtzii pine; Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco; climate reconstruction; Sierra Madre Occidental.