Influence of sex and environmental conditions on the dynamics of wood formation in Cordillera cypress

Scientific background
The Cordillera cypress is an endemic conifer species of the Patagonian Andes whose geographical range covers contrasting climatic conditions. Patagonia is affected by both strong warming (mainly caused by the depletion of the ozone layer on the regional climate) and a significant reduction in the amount of annual rainfall. These climatic disruptions are affecting the cypress forests of the Cordillera, which are experiencing high mortality and major dieback throughout their whole distribution range.
We monitored the xylogenesis of Cordilleran cypress in order to better assess its sensitivity to environmental factors and to detect the first signs of decline. In particular, we will examine the influence of environmental conditions (mesic vs. xeric sites), climatic variations (contrasting growth years) and individual development (male vs. female trees) on the dynamics of wood formation.

Material and method
For four years, from 2018 to 2022, we monitored the growth of Cordilleran cypress trees growing in a closed, mixed and irregular forest on a hill near San Carlos de Bariloche (Patagonia, Argentina). Each year, we selected around twenty healthy, dominant trees, equally divided between males and females on two plots: one mesic and one xeric. Wood microcores were taken regularly (almost every week) from the selected trees throughout the southern growing season. In all, almost 1,700 microcores were collected over the four growing seasons monitored. In addition, in 2018, point dendrometers were installed on four trees near the mesic plot.

Skills to be acquired/developed during the course
During this course, the trainee will be able to develop his skills in:
-Wood anatomy laboratory techniques;
-Microscopy and image analysis;
-Data analysis, data presentation, R programming language;
-Scientific writing and presentation of results;
-English.

Contact
Email: cyrille.rathgeber@inrae.fr
Phone: 03 54 40 33 01