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Assessing the utility of direct and indirect methods for estimating tropical tree age in the Western Ghats, India

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Abstract

The knowledge of tree age is important for understanding tree growth and forest dynamics. It may be estimated by ‘direct’ methods involving growth ring counts, or by ‘indirect’ methods involving field measurements of growth rates. Direct methods are considered more accurate, but it is not clear if they are appropriate for all species, notably from the humid tropics. In this paper we assess the occurrence of annual growth rings and their utility for age estimation in three tropical tree species, Acrocarpus fraxinifolius, Dalbergia latifolia (Fabaceae) and Syzygium cumini (Myrtaceae), growing in traditional shade coffee plantations of the southern Western Ghats, India. These species previously were described as having “indistinct or absent” growth rings. We used anatomical studies, field measurements and computational methods to characterise growth rings and assess similarities between directly and indirectly estimated tree ages. Our study revealed that annual growth rings were characterised by different sets of anatomical features per species and were most distinct in the fast-growing deciduous A. fraxinifolius. Growth rates measured in the field showed annual periodicity in all three species, and reflected annual rainfall-drought cycles in D. latifolia and S. cumini. Direct age estimates were most similar to indirect estimates in D. latifolia, and least so in S. cumini. The results of direct age estimation by counting rings are consistent with them being annual in nature in tropical species with distinct and reliable annual growth ring formation. However, for species with poorly defined growth rings, indirect age estimation methods might be more useful.

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Acknowledgments

The study was funded by a Critical Ecosystems Partnership Fund Small Grant (CEPF-WG, administered by Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and Environment, India). Additional funds were provided by INRA (Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique), France; French Institute of Pondicherry, India; and CAFNET project (Connecting, enhancing and sustaining environmental services and market values of coffee agroforestry in Central America, East Africa and India, CAFNET-Europaid/ENV/2006/114-382/TPS). We thank Tata Coffee Ltd., BBTC Ltd. (Elkhill Group), Biodiversity Conservation India Ltd., and Kabinakad Estate, and several individual farmers who provided permissions and valuable research support. We thank S. Ramalingam for preparing dendrometer bands, S. Aravajy and N. Barathan for tree identifications, Nicole Salel for preparing microscope slides, G. Jayapalan for compiling climate data, and J.D. Murugesh and A. Prathap for field assistance. We also thank Christine Heinz and Pierre Détienne for discussions on growth ring identification, and Paulo Botosso and three reviewers for helpful suggestions on the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. French Institute of Pondicherry, UMIFRE 21/USR 3330, CNRS-MAEE, 11 St. Louis Street, Pondicherry, 605001, India

    Cheryl D. Nath & Raphaël Pélissier

  2. INRA, UMR AMAP, 34000, Montpellier, France

    Cheryl D. Nath

  3. Université Pierre et Marie Curie, UMR 7207 CNRS/MNHN/UPMC, MNHN, CP38, 57 rue Cuvier, 75231, Paris Cedex 05, France

    Anaïs Boura

  4. Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, UMR 7207 CNRS/MNHN/UPMC, CP38, 57 rue Cuvier, 75231, Paris Cedex 05, France

    Dario De Franceschi

  5. IRD, UMR AMAP, 34000, Montpellier, France

    Raphaël Pélissier

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  1. Cheryl D. Nath
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Correspondence to Cheryl D. Nath.

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Communicated by S. Leavitt.

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Nath, C.D., Boura, A., De Franceschi, D. et al. Assessing the utility of direct and indirect methods for estimating tropical tree age in the Western Ghats, India. Trees 26, 1017–1029 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00468-012-0679-6

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