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Dendroclimatological potential of the Australian red cedar
I.
Heinrich A B C,
J. C. G.
Banks A
A
School of Resources, Environment & Society, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 0200, Australia.
B
Present address: Department of Geosciences, Geography, University of Fribourg, 1700 Fribourg, Switzerland.
C
Corresponding author. Email: ingo.heinrich@unifr.ch
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Australian Journal of Botany 53(1) 21–32 http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/BT04033
Submitted: 3 March 2004
Accepted: 17 August 2004
Published online: 18 February 2005
Abstract
We examined Toona ciliata M.Roemer (Australian red cedar) for its potential to deliver annually resolved tree-ring proxy data. Such proxies are valuable and sought-after sources for reconstructing climate beyond instrumental records, especially in Australia. T. ciliata was chosen because it is one of the few deciduous tree species in Australia experiencing a seasonally dormant period of the cambium. This was confirmed by a preliminary tree-ring analysis which revealed distinct growth rings. Because of initial uncertainties regarding reliable annual growth rings in the wood of T. ciliata, a dendrometer-band study was conducted in addition to the tree-ring analysis. Stem increments revealed a common period of dormancy during winter and the measurements were found to correlate with both precipitation and temperature, depending on the site. For the first time, our tree-ring analysis demonstrated that samples from different individuals can be cross-dated and the resulting site index from Upper Kangaroo Valley (New South Wales) has the potential to reconstruct early season temperatures and late-season rainfall.
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