Montane subtropical forests of South America: advances in (hydro)climatic studies

Category: Time:
Tuesday, April 25, 2017 - 12:00 to 13:00
Access:
public
Room: Speaker:
M. Eugenia Ferrero

During the last few years, significant progress has been made in the development of ring-width chronologies in the subtropical forests of South America. Seasonally dry forests are characterized by a marked regionality in precipitation and the presence of numerous woody species that are poorly studied from the point of view of dendrochronology. However, dendrochronological records have made it possible to identify the responses of vegetation to climate in different places, and to develop climatic and hydrological reconstructions.

The purpose of this presentation is to catch up on the dendrochronological advances in subtropical forests, with emphasis on the Yungas, including the exploration of recently used woody species in dendroclimatic studies, and the responses of the different species to local and regional climate variations. These studies include reconstructions of river flows from the main subtropical Andes basins, which provide important information on changes of continental-scale climatic forcings (like SAMS) in South America, and hence on the characterization of the water resources.