Dendroecological investigations on Swietenia macrophylla King and Cedrela odorata L. (Meliaceae) in the central Amazon

The width of the increment zones in the xylem of Swietenia macrophylla King and Cedrela odorata L. was investigated by dendroecological methods in a primary forest near Aripuana, Mato Grosso, Brazil (10degrees09'S, 59degrees26'W). The annual period of cambial cell division and its intra-annual variation were determined by dendrometer measurements of 30 trees of each species. Tree-ring width chronologies for Swietenia and Cedrela were developed from cross-dated increment curves of 33 out of 47 Swietenia and 51 out of 64 Cedrela trees. Simple correlations were computed between the radial growth increment and monthly precipitation for the period 1890-2000. In Swietenia, cambium activity occurred throughout almost the whole year, but in Cedrela it was restricted to the rainy period from September of the previous year to June of the current year. Tree-rings were formed annually in the juvenile and adult wood of Cedrela, while in Swietenia the annual formation of tree-rings was restricted to the adult wood. Consequently the age of the Swietenia trees could be dated by the tree-rings in good approximation, while age dating of the Cedrela trees was exact. Correlation analyses revealed a significant relationship between the precipitation at the beginning and at the end of the growth season and the width of the increment zones in the adult xylem of Swietenia. In contrast, the width of the growth increment in the xylem of Cedrela was significantly correlated with the precipitation in March and May of the previous growth period.