Dendroclimatología tropical sobre la región amazónica: Mera, Pastaza

Abstract

Dendroclimatology studies past climates through trees by analyzing the width of its rings, thus becoming silent witnesses about events and changes in the environment over time. The scarcity of instrumental data reduces our understanding of the climate and its past behavior, hindering the development of climate models capable of detecting a climate change. In the present investigation, 128 tree cores from 16 tropical families and 21 species located in the Canton of Mera, Pastaza were collected to evaluate their tree-rings potential as climatic indicators through the use of dendrochronological techniques. First, a characterization of forest species was carried out. Then, the width of the rings was measured generating chronologies that were finally calibrated with historical climate records from the meteorological stations near the research area. From the developed chronologies, Cedrela odorata sp. reported annual rings and its trigger factor for cambial dormancy is the precipitation in the months of April-May, coinciding with the strongest quarterly rainy season within the research area. Significant response coefficients were also found with the minimum temperatures in June and at the end of the year with evaporation and relative humidity, which are apparently associated with the bimodal rainfall regime in this area.