Abstract Sustainable forestry requires accurate ecological information such as species composition, growth rates and recruitment dynamics. Tree growth rates are usually obtained through long-term periodic re-measurements of individual trees or through the analysis of tree growth rings in stem cross sections. However, tree growth ring analysis was traditionally thought to be only possible in biomes with strong seasonality such as those found in high latitude temperate regions. A lack of data on the occurrence and characteristics of tree rings in tropical trees may be due to a lack of investigations. Here we characterise the growth rings of 183 tree species from seven forest types across an altitudinal gradient in northern and central Peru at macro- and microscopic levels. A correspondence analysis showed an association between phylogenetic relatedness and the level of distinctiveness in the growth rings. Deciduous species of seasonally dry tropical forests were associated with distinct growth rings and mainly delimited by marginal parenchyma, while indistinct growth rings were associated with evergreen trees from lowland Amazonian and pre-montane wet forests. Additionally, for the first time the presence of growth ring boundaries defined by marginal phloem is reported in two tropical tree species, Gallesia integrifolia (Spreng.) Harms and Vochysia mapirensis Rusby. This contribution represents the most exhaustive record to date of the occurrence and anatomy of growth rings in trees of the Peruvian tropics, which can be used to inform future dendrochronological studies.

中文翻译：

---

表征秘鲁树木的年轮：树木生态学相关领域潜在应用的木材解剖学概述

摘要 可持续林业需要准确的生态信息，如物种组成、增长率和补充动态。树木生长率通常是通过对个别树木的长期定期重新测量或通过对茎横截面树木年轮的分析来获得的。然而，传统上认为树木年轮分析只能在季节性强的生物群落中进行，例如在高纬度温带地区发现的生物群落。缺乏关于热带树木年轮发生和特征的数据可能是由于缺乏调查。在这里，我们在宏观和微观水平上描述了秘鲁北部和中部海拔梯度上来自七种森林类型的 183 种树种的年轮特征。对应分析显示了系统发育相关性与年轮独特性水平之间的关联。季节性干燥热带森林的落叶树种与明显的年轮相关，主要由边缘薄壁组织界定，而模糊的年轮与来自亚马逊低地和前山地湿林的常绿乔木相关。此外，首次在两种热带树种 Gallesia integrifolia (Spreng.) Harms 和 Vochysia mapirensis Rusby 中报告了由边缘韧皮部定义的年轮边界的存在。这一贡献代表了迄今为止秘鲁热带树木年轮发生和解剖的最详尽记录，可用于为未来的树木年代学研究提供信息。