Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Cambial growth dynamics and climatic control of different tree life forms in tropical mountain forest in Ethiopia

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Trees Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Munessa Forest is a mountain forest in south-eastern Ethiopia experiencing seasonal rainfall variation. We investigated seasonal cambial activity and dormancy from increment rates of four different tree species belonging to varying life forms, namely, evergreen native conifer (Podocarpus falcatus), evergreen introduced conifer (Pinus patula), evergreen broadleaved tree (Prunus africana) and deciduous broadleaved tree (Celtis africana). Measurements of stem radius fluctuations were registered with the help of high-resolution electronic dendrometers. Daily amplitudes of stem diameter variations and daily and monthly net growth rates were determined and related to climatic variables measured at local climate stations. Thin sections of wood collected with a microcorer every 3–6 weeks allowed a visual control of newly formed wood cells during consecutive time intervals. Lack of water availability during the long dry season induced cambial dormancy of 5–7 months depending on life forms. After the onset of the short rainy season, stem swelling started quite synchronously with a variation of only single days in all studied species. Evergreen tree species were able to initiate wood formation during the short rainy season, whereas growth in the deciduous broadleaved species started in the long rainy season. The acquired data provide a basis for delineating the species-specific growth boundaries and the duration of the cambial growing season.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Abebe GT (2008) Ecology of regeneration and phenology of seven indigenous tree species in a dry tropical afromontane forest, Southern Ethiopia. Dissertation, University Addis Ababa

  • Assefa K (1986) Soil erosion and strategic policy: the case of Ethiopia. Department of Environmental Conservation, University of Helsinki, Helsinki

    Google Scholar 

  • Bekele-Tesemma A (2007) Useful trees of Ethiopia: identification, propagation and management in 17 agroecological zones. RELMA in ICRAF Project, Nairobi

    Google Scholar 

  • Biondi F (2001) A 400-year tree-ring chronology from the tropical treeline of North America. Ambio 30(3):162–166

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Biondi F, Hartsough PC, Estrada IG (2005) Daily weather and tree growth at the tropical treeline of North America. Arctic Antarctic Alp Res 37:16–24

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Borchert R (1999) Climatic periodicity, phenology and cambium activity in tropical dry forest trees. IAWA J 20(3):239–247

    Google Scholar 

  • Bräuning A, Homeier J, Cueva E, Beck E, Günter S (2008) Growth dynamics of trees in tropical mountain ecosystems. Ecol Stud 198:291–302

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bräuning A, Volland-Voigt F, Schnakenburg Pv (2009) Jahrringe als Ausdruck von Klimabedingungen und Lebensform: Wie wachsen Tropenbäume? Biologie in unserer Zeit 39:24–132

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brienen RJW, Zuidema PA (2006) Lifetime growth patterns and ages of Bolivian rain forest trees obtained by tree ring analysis. J Ecol 94(2):481–493

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cherubini P, Gartner BL, Tognetti R, Bräker OU, Schoch W, Innes JL (2003) Identification, measurement and interpretation of tree rings in woody species from Mediterranean climates. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 78:119–148

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Couralet C, Sass-Klaassen U, Sterck F, Bekele T, Zuidema PA (2005) Combining dendrochronology and matrix modelling in demographic studies: an evaluation for Juniperus rocera in Ethiopia. For Ecol Manag 216:317–330

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Couralet C, Sass-Klaassen U, Sahle Y, Sterck F, Bekele T, Bongers F (2007) Dendrochronological investigations on Juniperus procera from Ethiopian dry afromontane forests. TRACE 5:73–79

    Google Scholar 

  • Darbyshire I, Lamb H, Umer M (2003) Forest clearance and regrowth in northern Ethiopia during the last 3000 years. Holocene 13(4):537–546

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • De Luis M, Gricar J, Cufar K, Raventos J (2007) Seasonal dynamics of wood formation in Pinus halepensis from dry and semi-arid ecosystems in Spain. IAWA J 28(4):389–404

    Google Scholar 

  • Deslauriers A, Rossi S, Anfodillo T (2007) Dendrometer and intra-annual tree growth: what kind of information can be inferred? Dendrochronologia 25(2):113–124

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dessie G, Kleman J (2007) Pattern and magnitude of deforestation in the South Central Rift Valley region of Ethiopia. Mt Res Dev 27:162–168

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Downes G, Beadle C, Worledge D (1999) Daily stem growth patterns in irrigated Eucalyptus globulus and E. nitens in relation to climate. Trees 14:102–111

    Google Scholar 

  • Drew DM, Downes G, Grzeskowiak V, Naidoo T (2009) Differences in daily stem size variation and growth in two hybrid eucalypt clones. Trees 23:585–595

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eshete G, Stahl G (1999) Tree rings as indicators of growth periodicity of Acacias in the Rift Valley of Ehtiopia. For Ecol Manag 116:107–117

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • FAO, ISRIC, ISSS (1998) World references base for soil resources. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome

    Google Scholar 

  • February C, Stock WD (1998) An assessment of the dendrochronological potential of two Podocarpus species. Holocene 8(6):747–750

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fonti P, von Arx G, Garcia-Gonzalez I, Eilmann B, Sass-Klaassen U, Gärtner H, Eckstein D (2010) Studying global change through investigation of the plastic response of xylem anatomy in tree rings. New Phytol 185:42–53

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Fritzsche F, Abate A, Fetene M, Beck E, Weise S, Guggenberger G (2006) Soil–plant hydrology of indigenous and exotic trees in an Ethiopian montane forest. Tree Physiol 26:1043–1054

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Fritzsche F, Zech W, Guggenberger G (2007) Soils of the Main Ethiopian Rift Valley escarpment: a transect study. Catena 70:209–219

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gebrekirstos A (2006) Stable carbon isotopes and plant water relations in the Acacia savanna woodlands of Ethiopia: implications for reforestation and paleoclimatic reconstructions. Cuvillier Verlag, Göttingen

    Google Scholar 

  • Gebrekirstos A, Mitlöhner R, Teketay D, Worbes M (2008) Climate-growth relationships of the dominant tree species from semi-arid savanna woodland in Ethiopia. Trees 22:631–641

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gebrekirstos A, Teketay D, Fetene M, Worbes M, Mitlöhner R (2009) Stable carbon isotope ratios in tree rings of co-occurring species from semi arid tropics in Africa: patterns and climatic signals. Global Planet Change 66:253–260

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gourlay ID (1995) Growth ring characteristics of some African Acacia species. J Trop Ecol 11:121–140

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gruber M (1989) Einbettung von Pflanzenteilen in Polyethylenglykol. Mikrokosmos 78(4):124–126

    Google Scholar 

  • Häckel H (1993) Meterologie. Ulmer Verlag, Stuttgart

  • Jacoby G (1989) Overview of tree-ring analysis in tropical regions. IAWA Bull n.s. 10/2:99–108

    Google Scholar 

  • Liphschitz N, Lev-Yadun S, Rosen E, Waisel Y (1984) The annual rhythm of activity of the lateral meristems (cambium and phellogen) in Pinus helepensis Mill. and Pinus pinea L. IAWA Bull n.y. 5/4:263–274

  • Nyssen J, Poesen J, Moeyersons J, Deckers J, Haile M, Lang A (2004) Human impact on the environment in the Ethiopian and Eritrean highlands—a state of art. Earth Sci Rev 64:273–320

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rossi S, Anfodillo T, Menardi R (2006) Trephor: a new tool for sampling microcores from tree stems. IAWA J 27:89–97

    Google Scholar 

  • Sass-Klaassen U, Couralet C, Sahle Y, Sterck F (2008) Juniper from Ethiopia contains a large-scale precipitation signal. Int J Plant Sci 169:1057–1065

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schöngart J, Piedade MT, Ludwigshausen S, Horna V, Worbes M (2002) Phenology and stem-growth periodicity of tree species in Amazonian floodplain forests. J Trop Ecol 18:581–597

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schweingruber FH, Börner A, Schulze ED (eds) (2006) Atlas of woody plant stems. Springer, Berlin

    Google Scholar 

  • Taddesse B (1995) Deforestation and environmental degradation in Ethiopia: the case of Jam Jam province. Northeast Afr Stud 2(2):139–156

    Google Scholar 

  • Volland-Voigt F, Bräuning A, Ganzhi O, Peters T, Maza H (2010) Radial stem variations of Tabebuia chrysantha (Bignoniaceae) in different tropical forest ecosystems of southern Ecuador. Trees (this volume)

  • Wils THG, Eshetu Z (2007) Reconstructing the flow of the River Nile from Juniperus procera and Prunus africana tree rings (Ethiopia)—an explorative study on cross-dating and climate signal. TRACE 5:277–284

    Google Scholar 

  • Wils THG, Robertson I, Eshetu Z, Sass-Klaassen U, Koprowski M (2009) Periodicity of growth rings in Juniperus procera from Ethiopia inferred from crossdating and radiocarbon dating. Dendrochronologia 27:45–58

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Worbes M (1999) Annual growth rings, rainfall-dependent growth and long-term patterns of tropical trees from the Caparo Forest Reserve in Venezuela. J Ecol 87:391–403

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

We are indebted to the German Research Foundation for funding this project (BR 1895/15-1).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Geography, Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nuremberg, Kochstr. 4/4, 91054, Erlangen, Germany

    Julia Krepkowski & Achim Bräuning

  2. World Agroforestry Centre, United Nations Avenue, Giggiri Road, P.O. Box 30677-00100, Nairobi, Kenya

    Aster Gebrekirstos

  3. Institute of Plant Physiology, University of Bayreuth, Universitaetsstr. 30, 95447, Bayreuth, Germany

    Simone Strobl

Authors
  1. Julia Krepkowski
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Achim Bräuning
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Aster Gebrekirstos
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Simone Strobl
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Julia Krepkowski.

Additional information

Communicated by A. Bräuning.

Contribution to the special issue “Tropical Dendroecology”.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Krepkowski, J., Bräuning, A., Gebrekirstos, A. et al. Cambial growth dynamics and climatic control of different tree life forms in tropical mountain forest in Ethiopia. Trees 25, 59–70 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00468-010-0460-7

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00468-010-0460-7

Keywords

Search

Navigation