Is Faurea rochetiana a potential candidate for Dendroclimate studies? Wood samples from semi-arid woodlands of southern Ethiopia

Abstract

Sustainable management of economically and ecologically important tree species such as Faurea rochetiana merely depend on acquiring reliable information on growth dynamics and structure in response to the changing climate. Formation of the growth ring boundaries is pre-requisite for conducting several denroclimatology studies. Hence, the objective was to verify the formation of growth ring boundaries of F. rochetiana. Fifteen sample discs were examined for macroscopic and microscopic wood anatomy features and compared with IAWA list of microscopic features of hardwood identification for wood anatomy characterization. The result revealed that the studied tree had indistinct growth ring boundaries. Consequently, the studied tree is not a potential candidate for further denderoclimate studies.