Can age be predicted from diameter for the obligate seeder Allocasuarina littoralis (Casuarinaceae) by using dendrochronological techniques?
Alana L. Burley A D , Stephen Phillips A and Mark K. J. Ooi B CA School of Environmental and Applied Sciences, Griffith University, PMB 50 Gold Coast Mail Centre, Qld 9726, Australia.
B Institute for Conservation Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia.
C Biodiversity Conservation Science Section, Policy and Science Division, Department of Environment and Conservation (NSW), PO Box 1967, Hurstville, NSW 2220, Australia.
D Corresponding author. Present address: School of Anthropology, Geography and Environmental Studies, The University of Melbourne, 221 Bouverie St, Carlton, Vic. 3010, Australia. Email: a.burley@pgrad.unimelb.edu.au
Australian Journal of Botany 55(4) 433-438 https://doi.org/10.1071/BT06160
Submitted: 1 August 2006 Accepted: 12 December 2006 Published: 20 June 2007
Abstract
In fire-prone regions, assessing stand age of obligate-seeding species provides an estimate of time since last fire. If a relationship exists between tree age and diameter, measuring the stem diameter of trees is a simple field method for determining age-class distribution within a stand. In this study, we examined whether age of the obligate seeder Allocasuarina littoralis could be estimated from diameter by using dendrochronological applications. Analysis of radial samples established that A. littoralis puts down annual growth rings. The relationship between the number of growth rings and stem diameter was tested for both male and female stems by using regression analysis. For female plants, this relationship varied significantly between sites. In contrast, male stems provided a strong relationship between age (as a function of the number of growth rings) and diameter, regardless of site. A regression model estimating age from stem diameter, based on male trees only, was subsequently developed and tested with data collected from trees of known age. Predicted estimates from stem diameter were within 3.76 years of the true age. Field measures of stem diameters can therefore provide a tool for estimating the fire history, especially time since last fire, in areas where stands of this species occur.
Acknowledgements
Thanks go to Nick Currie, Brenton Hunt and Vaughn Penfold for their help with sample collection and to the Griffith University OTS staff for their helpful advice and procuring the required materials. A Burley received financial support from a Patience Thoms Honours Scholarship from Griffith University during this study. Two anonymous reviewers provided valuable and constructive comments to the improvement of the manuscript. Thanks go also to Felicia Pereoglou, Samantha Ward and Marama Hopkins for their assistance in the field.
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