Development and utilization of a method for growth history analyses by 14C dating in aseasonal tropical rain forest trees

2014 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 24405032
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)
• Allocation Type: Partial Multi-year Fund
• Section: 海外学術
• Research Field: Forest science
• Research Institution: Kochi University
• Principal Investigator: ICHIE Tomoaki 高知大学, 教育研究部自然科学系, 准教授 (80403872)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): TAYASU Ichiro 総合地球環境学研究所, 教授 (80353449) ; MATSUOKA Masayuki 高知大学, 教育研究部自然科学系, 准教授 (50399325) ; NANAMI Satoshi 大阪市立大学, 大学院理学研究科, 准教授 (70326247)
• Co-Investigator(Renkei-kenkyūsha): NIIYAMA Kaoru 独立行政法人森林総合研究所, 国際連携推進拠点, 拠点長 (70353795) ; TANAKA Kenzo 独立行政法人森林総合研究所, 植物生態研究領域, 主任研究員 (30414486)
• Research Collaborator: INOUE Yuta ; IGARASHI Shuichi ; YONEYAMA Aogu
• Project Period (FY): 2012-04-01 – 2015-03-31
• Keywords: 放射性炭素 / 熱帯雨林 / 東南アジア / 熱帯二次林 / 気候変動 / 人為的攪乱 / 成長履歴 / 植生回復

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Growth analyses from tree-ring chronology have been difficult in trees of aseasonal tropical areas, because they do not form clear annual rings due to no climate seasonality. This study was designed to establish a new technique and check its accuracy to determine tree growth rates of tropical rain forest trees during the past 50 years and also estimate fallow duration in tropical secondary forests from radiocarbon (14C) concentration in xylem tissue under the conditions of a drastic decrease in 14C content in atmospheric CO2 after the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty of 1963. As a result, we found a significant positive relation between the two growth rates of tropical rain forest trees determined from 14C dating and calculated from DBH data, which have been continuously recorded since 1969, in Pasoh Forest Reserve in Malaysia. We also clearly showed the estimation of fallow duration in tropical secondary forests with high accuracy by this method.

Free Research Field

樹木生理生態学