Abstract

VILLANUEVA DIAZ, José et al. Hydroclimatic Behavior of Conifers at Cerro El Potosí, Nuevo León, Mexico. Rev. mex. de cienc. forestales [online]. 2018, vol.9, n.49, pp.165-187. ISSN 2007-1132.  https://doi.org/10.29298/rmcf.v9i49.128.

Cerro El Potosi (El Potosí Hill) (CPO) has an elevation gradient from 2 200 to 3 719 m and is the habitat of a variety of conifers. The objectives of this study were to 1) integrate a dendrochronological network composed of Pinus culminicola, Pinus hartwegii, Pseudotsuga menziesii, and Pinus greggii; 2) develop a representative rainfall reconstruction, and 3) analyze the influence of atmospheric circulation phenomena on the interannual and multiannual rainfall variability at CPO. In order to fulfill these objectives, four climate-sensitive chronologies were developed, the longest one (1420-2010) being for Pinus hartwegii, and the shortest (1850-2010), for Pinus greggii. The association between chronologies indicates a common climatic signal, as corroborated by the Principal Component Analysis. A representative chronology for different elevations of CPO covering the 1700-2010 period was developed and used to reconstruct the January-September seasonal precipitation. The driest years in the reconstruction were 1785 and 1801, while the wettest years were 1791, 1832, and 1911. The El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) was found to exert a significant influence on rainfall (r= 0.53, p<0.01), through the Tropical Rainfall Index (TRI). The influence of hurricanes detected on the late wood chronologies indicates the potential to analyze the historical impact of this atmospheric disturbance on the production of ecosystem services for the region.

Keywords : Conifers; dendrochronology; El Niño Southern Oscillation; atmospheric circulation patterns; hydroclimate; climate variability.

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