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Geomorphological-related heterogeneity as reflected in tree growth and its relationships with climate of Monte Desert Prosopis flexuosa DC woodlands

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Across the Central Monte Desert district in Argentina, landform and soil variability drive radial growth of Prosopis flexuosa and its relation with precipitation.

Abstract

Desert forests grow under diverse ecological conditions, mainly resulting from the spatial heterogeneity of drylands with consequences on tree growth and its interactions with climate. In the Monte Desert, geomorphological processes generate landform and soil variability, determining the distribution and growth of plant species. Prosopis flexuosa DC., a dominant tree species in the Central Monte Desert, grows in territories characterized by a high variability of landform and soil. We applied classical dendrochronological and statistical analysis to disentangle the effect of spatial heterogeneity upon the species radial growth and its further relation with precipitation fluctuations. Trees from 11 plots distributed in seven P. flexuosa forests encompassing the most important geomorphological/landform units in the Central Monte Desert were analyzed. Tree-ring development at both high and low frequencies reflects spatial landform variability. Soil heterogeneity drives ring growth within landform. Regionally, precipitation influences radial growth at the beginning and the end of the growing season, while locally dependent mechanisms related to landform/soil variability emerged. In this sense, the negative influence of late-summer precipitation found for a riparian chronology is a function of soil permeability. Ring growth at the paleo-river environment depends on late spring and early mid-summer precipitation, with within-landform differences probably related to soil heterogeneity. In the case of inter-dune and lowland units, radial growth depends on early spring rainfall. Our findings highlight the influence of the heterogeneity of desert environments on tree growth. The information is relevant to management and conservation policies, particularly for the forests of P. flexuosa in Argentine Monte.

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Author contribution statement

Sergio Piraino designed the study, performed field work and statistical analysis and wrote the paper. Elena María Abraham contributed to design the study. Lita Diblasi contributed to perform the statistical analysis. Fidel Alejandro Roig-Juñent contributed to design the study and writing the manuscript.

Acknowledgments

The first author thanks CONICET for a PhD fellowship. The authors warmly thank the Aguero, Cordoba and Molina families for allowing sampling in their respective areas. Special thanks are due to Eduardo “Quique” Barrios, Hugo Debandi, Alberto Ripalta and Gualberto Zalazar for their field assistance. We thank the Dirección de Recursos Naturales Renovables of Mendoza province for allowing sampling. We would like to express our gratitude to the Communicating Editor and the anonymous reviewers for the detailed revision and constructive comments that greatly improved our manuscript.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratorio de Dendrocronología e Historia Ambiental, IANIGLA, CCT-CONICET-Mendoza, Avda. Ruiz Leal s/n, Parque Gral. San Martín, CC 330, PO Box 5500, Mendoza, Argentina

    Sergio Piraino & Fidel Alejandro Roig Juñent

  2. Laboratorio de Desertificación y Ordenamiento Territorial (LADyOT), IADIZA, CCT-CONICET-Mendoza, Avda. Ruiz Leal s/n, Parque Gral. San Martín, CC 330, PO Box 5500, Mendoza, Argentina

    Elena María Abraham

  3. Facultad de Ciencias Económicas, UNCuyo, Centro Universitario, 5500, Mendoza, Argentina

    Angela Diblasi

  4. Área de Ciencias Exactas/CCT-CONICET-Mendoza, Avda. Ruiz Leal s/n, Parque Gral. San Martín, CC 330, PO Box 5500, Mendoza, Argentina

    Angela Diblasi

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  1. Sergio Piraino
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  2. Elena María Abraham
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  3. Angela Diblasi
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  4. Fidel Alejandro Roig Juñent
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Correspondence to Sergio Piraino.

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Communicated by S. Leavitt.

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Piraino, S., Abraham, E.M., Diblasi, A. et al. Geomorphological-related heterogeneity as reflected in tree growth and its relationships with climate of Monte Desert Prosopis flexuosa DC woodlands. Trees 29, 903–916 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00468-015-1173-8

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