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DENDROCLIMATIC INVESTIGATION IN PAKISTAN, USING PICEA SMITHIANA (WALL) BOISS., PRELIMINARY RESULTS

MOINUDDIN AHMED^*, MUHAMMAD WAHAB AND NASARULLAH KHAN

Abstract: Dendroclimatic studies were carried out in Picea smithiana dominated forests of Chera and Naltar, located in Himalayan region of Pakistan. Six hundred year (1400-2006 AD) dated chronologies are presented. Each chronology obtained from highly correlated (0.65 to 0.73 correlation) wood samples. These chronologies were standardized using the program ARSTAN, so that long-term climatic trends could be detected. Various chronology statistics were discussed. Climate and growth response of Picea smithiana was analyzed using response function (RF) analysis. Overall response function analysis was highly significant, showed 37 to 40% variance due to climate. The results presented in this paper are encouraging for long term climatic reconstruction using this species. However more investigations are suggested to improve the results.

Laboratory of Dendrochronology and Ecology of Pakistan, Department of Botany, Federal Urdu University of Arts, Science and Technology, Gulshan-e-Iqbal Karachi-Pakistan