Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-jkksz Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-24T13:01:26.189Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Growth ring characteristics of some African Acacia species

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 July 2009

Ian D. Gourlay
Ian D. Gourlay
Affiliation:
Oxford Forestry Institute, Department of Plant Sciences, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford, 0X1 3RB
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The age of most temperate tree species can be estimated accurately by counting the annual rings revealed by concentric changes in their wood anatomy. In the tropics and sub-tropics, this growth periodicity is seldom clearly and unambiguously defined. This research investigates whether a wood anatomical feature is present that delimits annual periods in one of the most widely distributed genera in the semi-arid and arid areas of Africa, Acacia.

Most research on this topic has been based on sample trees from natural stands, often the largest and putatively oldest trees. In contrast, the trees sampled for this study were actively sought from material of known age, particularly those for which the history of management was known. Several African Acacia species were examined for growth rings. These were apparent in most species as narrow bands of marginal parenchyma filled with long crystal chains. The crystals were sub-sequendy identified as calcium oxalate through the use of a scanning proton microprobe. The number of bands formed annually corresponded to the number of peaks in the annual rainfall distribution. Ring widths were highly correlated with total annual rainfall.

Keywords

Acacia speciesAfricaannual ringscrystalliferous chainsgrowth ratesmarginal parenchymarainfallwood anatomy
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Tropical Ecology , Volume 11 , Issue 1 , February 1995 , pp. 121 - 140
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1995

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

LITERATURE CITED

Alvim, P. de T. 1964. Tree growth periodicity in tropical climates. Pp. 479–495 in Zimmermann, M. H. (ed.). The formation of wood in forest trees. Academic Press, New York.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bolza, E. & Keating, W. G. 1972. African timbers – the properties, uses and characteristics of 700 species. Commonwealth Scientific & Industrial Research Organization, Melbourne.Google Scholar
Bryant, C. L. 1968. The growth rings of Pterocarpus angolensis are annual. Tanzanian Silvicultural Research Note 4. 3 pp.Google Scholar
Carlquist, S. 1988. Comparative wood anatomy – systematic, ecological and evolutionary aspects of dicotyledon wood. Springer-Verlag, New York, USA. 436 pp.Google Scholar
Cazet, M. 1989. Les plantations linéaires denses sur les sols sableux dégradés de la zone centre-nord du Sénégal. Bois et Forêts des Tropiques 222:27–37.Google Scholar
Chowdhury, K. A. 1963. Growth rings in tropical trees and taxonomy. Journal of the Indian Botanical Society 43:334–342.Google Scholar
Coughenour, M. B., Ellis, J. E. & Popp, R. G. 1990. Morphometric relationships and developmental patterns of Acacia tortilis (Forsk.) subsp. spirocarpa (Hochst. ex A. Rich) Brenan and Acacia reficiens (Wawra) subsp. misera Brenan in Southern Turkana, Kenya. Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club 117(1):8–17.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Curtis, B. A., Tyson, P. D. & Dyer, T. G. J. 1979. Dendrochronological age determination of Podocarpus falcata. Trees in South Africa 3(1):2–7.Google Scholar
Cutler, D. F. 1969. The vegetative anatomy of Acacia albida Del. Kew Bulletin 23(2): 203–208.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Deusen, P. C. van. 1989. A model-based approach to tree ring analysis. Biometrics 45:763–779.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dunwiddie, P. W. & JrLa Marche, V. C. 1980. A climatically responsive tree-ring record from Widdringtonia cedarbergensis, Cape Province, South Africa. Nature 286:796–797.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Esbenshade, H. W. & Grainger, A. 1980. The Bamburi Reclamation Project. The International Tree Crop Journal 1:199–202.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fahn, A., Burley, J., Longman, K. A., Mariaux, A. & Tomlinson, P. B. 1981. Possible contributions of wood anatomy to the determination of the age of tropical trees. In Age and growth rate of tropical trees: new directions for research. Yale University School of Forestry Bulletin 94:31–42.Google Scholar
Fahn, A., Wachs, N. & Ginzburg, C. 1963. Dendrochronological studies in the Negev. Israel Exploration Journal 13(4): 291–301.Google Scholar
Fahn, A., Werker, E. & Baas, P. 1986. Wood anatomy and identification of trees and shrubs from Israel and adjacent regions. The Israel Academy of Science and Humanities. Jerusalem. 116–119.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Franceschi, V. R. & Horner, H. T. 1980. Calcium oxalate crystals in plants. Botanical Review 46:361–427.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fritts, H. C. 1962. The relation of growth-ring widths in American beech and whiteoak to variations in climate. Tree Ring Bulletin 25:2–10.Google Scholar
Fritts, H. C. 1971. Dendroclimatology and dendroecology. Quaternary Research 1:419–449.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gammadid, I. D. 1989. Growth rates of Acacia species in the Bay region of Somalia, with implications for management. Oxford University Department of Plant Sciences. Unpublished MSc Thesis. 105 pp.Google Scholar
Glock, W. S. 1941. Growth rings and climate. The Botanical Review 7(12): 649–713.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gourlay, I. D. 1992. Age and growth rate determination of some African Acacia species. Oxford University Department of Plant Sciences. Unpublished MSc Thesis. 130 pp.Google Scholar
Gourlay, I. D. & Barnes, R. D. In press. Seasonal growth zones in the wood of Acacia karroo Hayne: their definition and implications. Commonwealth Forestry Review.Google Scholar
Gourlay, I. D. & Grime, G. W. In press. Calcium oxalate crystals in African Acacia species and their analysis by Scanning Proton Microprobe (SPM). International Association of Wood Anatomists Journal.Google Scholar
Gourlay, I. D. & Kanowski, P. J. 1991. Marginal parenchyma bands and crystalliferous chains as indicators of age in African Acacia species. International Association of Wood Anatomists Bulletin, new series 12(12): 187–194.Google Scholar
Grime, G. W. & Watt, F. 1990. Nuclear microscopy-elemental mapping using high energy ion beam techniques. Nuclear Instruments and Methods B50:197–207.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Guy, G. L. 1969. Adansonia digitata and its rate of growth in relation to rainfall in S. Central Africa. Proceedings and Transactions of the Rhodesian Science Association 54(2): 63–84.Google Scholar
Harper, J. L. 1977. Population biology of plants. Academic Press, Inc., London, UK. 892 pp.Google Scholar
Iawa, . 1989a. Growth rings in tropical trees, proceedings of Age and Growth Rate Determination in Tropical Trees, São Paulo, Brazil, 1988. Baas, P. & Vetter, R E. (eds). International Association of Wood Anatomists Bulletin, new series 10(2):95–174.Google Scholar
Iawa, . 1989b. International Association of Wood Anatomists – ‘List of microscopic features for hardwood identification’. International Association of Wood Anatomists Bulletin, new series 10(2):221–332.Google Scholar
Jackson, J. K. 1959. Fung working plan for the period 1959/1968. Forestry Bulletin, Forestry Department, Sudan 3. 114 pp.Google Scholar
Jackson, J. K., Taylor, G. F. & Conde-Wane, C. 1983. Management of the natural forest in the Sahel Region. Club de Sahel, Forestry Support Program, 94 pp.Google Scholar
Jacoby, G. C. 1989. Growth rings in tropical trees. In Proceedings, Conference on Age and Growth Rate Determination in Tropical Trees, 1988, Sao Paulo, Brazil. International Association of Wood Anatomists Bulletin, new series 10(2):99–108.Google Scholar
John, J. 1990. Variation of wood anatomy in relation to environmental factors in two southern African hardwoods. Department of Pure and Applied Biology, Imperial College, London, Unpublished PhD Thesis. 260 pp.Google Scholar
Khan, M. A. W. 1965. Single tree growth statistics for Acacia albida, along the Blue Nile in the Gezira Circle. Pamphlet, Forestry Research Education Project, Forestry Department, Sudan, 14. 16 pp.Google Scholar
Kromhout, C. P. 1975. Sleutel vir die mikroskopiese uitkenning van die vernaamste in heemse houtsoorte van S. Africa. Bulletin 50. Department Bosbou, Pretoria. 140 pp.Google Scholar
Lamprey, H. F. 1985. IPAL woodland ecology programme: summarized account, 11 1981. Integated Project for Arid Lands (UNESCO) Technical Report A.5, Edit. W. Lusingi, 280–319.Google Scholar
Larson, P. R. 1963. The indirect effect of drought in tracheid diameter in red pine. Forest Science 9:52–62.Google Scholar
Lieberman, D., Lieberman, M., Hartshorn, G. & Peralta, R. 1985. Growth rates and age-size relationship of tropical wet forest in Costa Rica. Journal of Tropical Ecology 1:97–109.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lilly, M. A. 1977. An assessment of the dendrochronological potential of indigenous tree species in South Africa. Occasional Paper No. 18, Department of Geography & Environmental Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. 90 pp.Google Scholar
Mariaux, A. 1966. Croissance du kad (Acacia albida). Centre Technique Forestier Tropical Report. 20 pp.Google Scholar
Mariaux, A. 1967. Les cernes dans les bois tropicaux africains, nature et périodicité 1. and 2. Bois et Forets des Tropiques 113:3–14, 114:23–37.Google Scholar
Mariaux, A. 1975. Essai de dendroclimatologie en climat Sahélian sur Acacia raddiana. Bois et Forêts des Tropiques 163:27–35.Google Scholar
Ogden, J. 1981. Dendrochronological studies and the determination of tree ages in the Australian Tropics. Journal of Biogeography 8:405–420.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pilcher, J. R. 1990. Sample preparation, cross-dating and measurement. Pp. 40–51 in Cook, E. R. & Kairiukstis, L. A. (eds). Methods of dendrochronology, applications in the environmental sciences. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, the Netherlands.Google Scholar
Ross, J. H. 1979. A Conspectus of the African Acacia Species. Memoirs of the Botanical Survey of S. Africa 44. 155 pp.Google Scholar
Ross, J. H. 1981. An analysis of the African Acacia species; their distribution, possible origins and relationships. Bothalia 13(3&4):389–413.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schulman, E. 1945. Tree rings and runoff in the South Platte River Basin. Tree-ring Bulletin 183. Tucson, Arizon, USA.Google Scholar
Schweingruber, F. H. 1988. Tree rings: basics and applications of dendrochronology. D. Reidel Publishing Co., Dordrecht, Holland. 276 pp.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schweingruber, F. H. 1992. Annual growth rings and growth zones in woody plants in Southern Australia. International Association of Wood Anatomists Bulletin, new series 13(4):359–379.Google Scholar
Seif el Din, A. G. 1981/1982. The study of the formation of gum arabic in relation to the anatomy of Acacia Senegal (1) Willd. Sudan Silva 4(24)14–18.Google Scholar
Seth, S. K. & Mathur, R. B. 1955. Volume tables and diameter growth curve for A. arabica (Willd.) in canal plantations. Bulletin, Ultar Pradesh Forestry Department 25.Google Scholar
Shepherd, G. 1991. The communal management of forests in the semi-arid and sub-humid regions of Africa: past practice and prospects for the future. Development Policy Review Volume 9(2): 151–176.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Singh, S. P. 1982. Growth studies of Acacia nilotica. Indian Forestry 108(4):283–288.Google Scholar
Storry, J. G. 1975. Preliminary dendrochronology study in Rhodesia. South African Journal of Science 71:248–000.Google Scholar
Troup, R. S. 1921. The silviculture of Indian trees, Vol. II. Clarendon Press, Oxford, UK.419–444.Google Scholar
Vandenbeldt, R. J. 1991. Rooting systems of western and southern Africa Faidherbia albida (Del.) A. chev. (syn. A. albida Del.) – A comparative analysis with biogeographic implications. Agroforestry Systems 14:233–244.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Walter, H. 1940. Die Jahresringe der Bäume als Mittel zur Feststellung der Niederschlagsverhältnisse in der Vergangenheit, insbesondere in Deutsch-Südwest-Afrika. Die Naturwissenschaften 38:607–612.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Watt, F. & Grime, G. W. (eds). 1987. Principles and applications of high energy in microbeams. Adam Hilger, Bristol.Google Scholar
Wickens, G. E. 1969. A study of Acacia albida (Del.). Kew Bulletin 23(2): 181–202.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Worbes, M. 1990. Site and sample selection in tropical forests. Pp. 35–40 in Cook, E. R. & Kairiukstis, L. A. (eds). Methods of dendrochronology, applications in the environmental sciences. Kluwer Academic Pubishers, Dordrecht, the Netherlands.Google Scholar
Wormald, T. J. 1984. The management of the natural forests in the arid and semi-arid zones of E. and S. Africa. Overseas Development Administration Report, London. 20 pp.Google Scholar
Wyant, J. G. & Reid, R. S. 1992. Determining the age of Acacia tortilis with ring counts for South Turkana, Kenya: a preliminary assessment. African Journal of Ecology 30:176–180.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wyk, P. Van. 1972. Trees of the Kruger National Park. Purnell & Sons. Cape Town, South Africa, 128–167.Google Scholar
Zahner, R. 1968. Water deficits and growth of trees. Pp. 191–254 in Kozlowski, T. T. (ed.). Water deficits and plant growth 2. Academic Press, New York.Google Scholar