A dendrochronological assessment of two South African Widdiringtonia species

dc.contributor.authorFebruary, E C
dc.contributor.authorGagen, M
dc.date.accessioned2016-07-06T18:23:12Z
dc.date.available2016-07-06T18:23:12Z
dc.date.issued2003
dc.date.updated2016-01-04T07:52:36Z
dc.description.abstractIn southern Africa long-term regional rainfall data sets are very limited such that the variability of rainfall across the region is poorly understood. With available climate records so limited the development of strong proxy records are vital to develop drought management plans. In our continuing efforts to develop such proxy records we present the results of an investigation into the dendrochronological potential of Widdringtonia nodiflora and Widdringtonia schwarzii. We sampled W. schwarzii, from the area it is endemic to, the Baviaanskloof wilderness area, in the Langkloof region of the Eastern Cape Province. Widdringtonia nodiflora samples were collected from the Grootvadersbosch Nature Reserve near Heidelberg in the Western Cape Province. The results indicate that inconsistencies in ring width combined with poorly defined ring boundaries and converging rings make cross-dating between different trees from the same locality an impossible task for both species using manageable sample numbers. Without cross-dating, chronology development is an equally impossible task for both W. nodiflora and W. schwarzii. As with W. cedarbergensis, W. schwarzii may avoid drought stress by accessing deep water. This may explain the many false rings and poorly defined ring boundaries apparent in this species. This study concludes the dendrochronological assessment of all of the Widdringtonia species with only two South African conifers not evaluated (Podocarpus henkelii and P. elongatus). Widdringtonia cedarbergensis is the only South African conifer that has been successfully cross- dated, however, there are no significant correlations between ring width indices and climate variables for this species.en_ZA
dc.identifierhttp://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0254-6299(15)30326-4
dc.identifier.apacitationFebruary, E. C., & Gagen, M. (2003). A dendrochronological assessment of two South African Widdiringtonia species. <i>South African Journal of Botany</i>, http://hdl.handle.net/11427/20240en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationFebruary, E C, and M Gagen "A dendrochronological assessment of two South African Widdiringtonia species." <i>South African Journal of Botany</i> (2003) http://hdl.handle.net/11427/20240en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationFebruary, E. C., Gagen, M., & van Wyk, A. E. (2003). A dendrochronological assessment of two South African Widdringtonia species. South African journal of botany, 69(3), 428-433.en_ZA
dc.identifier.issn0254-6299en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Journal Article AU - February, E C AU - Gagen, M AB - In southern Africa long-term regional rainfall data sets are very limited such that the variability of rainfall across the region is poorly understood. With available climate records so limited the development of strong proxy records are vital to develop drought management plans. In our continuing efforts to develop such proxy records we present the results of an investigation into the dendrochronological potential of Widdringtonia nodiflora and Widdringtonia schwarzii. We sampled W. schwarzii, from the area it is endemic to, the Baviaanskloof wilderness area, in the Langkloof region of the Eastern Cape Province. Widdringtonia nodiflora samples were collected from the Grootvadersbosch Nature Reserve near Heidelberg in the Western Cape Province. The results indicate that inconsistencies in ring width combined with poorly defined ring boundaries and converging rings make cross-dating between different trees from the same locality an impossible task for both species using manageable sample numbers. Without cross-dating, chronology development is an equally impossible task for both W. nodiflora and W. schwarzii. As with W. cedarbergensis, W. schwarzii may avoid drought stress by accessing deep water. This may explain the many false rings and poorly defined ring boundaries apparent in this species. This study concludes the dendrochronological assessment of all of the Widdringtonia species with only two South African conifers not evaluated (Podocarpus henkelii and P. elongatus). Widdringtonia cedarbergensis is the only South African conifer that has been successfully cross- dated, however, there are no significant correlations between ring width indices and climate variables for this species. DA - 2003 DB - OpenUCT DP - University of Cape Town J1 - South African Journal of Botany LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PB - University of Cape Town PY - 2003 SM - 0254-6299 T1 - A dendrochronological assessment of two South African Widdiringtonia species TI - A dendrochronological assessment of two South African Widdiringtonia species UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/20240 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/20240
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationFebruary EC, Gagen M. A dendrochronological assessment of two South African Widdiringtonia species. South African Journal of Botany. 2003; http://hdl.handle.net/11427/20240.en_ZA
dc.languageengen_ZA
dc.publisherElsevieren_ZA
dc.publisher.departmentDepartment of Biological Sciencesen_ZA
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Scienceen_ZA
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Cape Town
dc.sourceSouth African Journal of Botanyen_ZA
dc.source.urihttp://www.journals.elsevier.com/south-african-journal-of-botany/
dc.titleA dendrochronological assessment of two South African Widdiringtonia speciesen_ZA
dc.typeJournal Articleen_ZA
uct.type.filetypeText
uct.type.filetypeImage
uct.type.publicationResearchen_ZA
uct.type.resourceArticleen_ZA
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