The growth stop phenomenon of baobabs (Adansonia spp.)identified by radiocarbon dating

Patrut Adrian, Woodborne Stephan, Von Reden Karl F., Hall Grant, Patrut Roxana Teodora, Rakosy Laszlo, Danthu Pascal, Leong Pock Tsy Jean-Michel, Lowy Daniel A., Margineanu Dragos. 2017. The growth stop phenomenon of baobabs (Adansonia spp.)identified by radiocarbon dating. Radiocarbon, 59 (2) : 435-448. International Radiocarbon Conference. 22, Dakar, Sénégal, 16 Novembre 2015/20 Novembre 2015.

https://doi.org/10.1017/RDC.2016.92

Article de revue ; Article de recherche ; Article de revue à facteur d'impact

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Quartile : Q2, Sujet : GEOCHEMISTRY & GEOPHYSICS

Liste HCERES des revues (en SHS) : oui

Thème(s) HCERES des revues (en SHS) : Histoire; Histoire, histoire de l'art, archéologie

Résumé : The article reports the growth stop phenomenon, which was documented only for baobabs, i.e. for trees belonging to the Adansonia genus. The identification of growth stop was enabled by radiocarbon dating, which allows a complex investigation of samples collected from the trunk/stems of baobabs. In several cases, the outermost rings of baobabs, which were close to the bark, were found to be old, with ages of several hundreds of years, instead of being very young. Dating results of samples collected from six baobabs are presented. For multistemmed baobabs, the growth stop may occur only for one or several stems. We identified four factors that may induce the growth stop: (i) stress determined by severe climate conditions, (ii) old age, (iii) the need to keep a stable internal architecture, and (iv) the collapse of stems that survive this trauma. Baobabs and their stems affected by growth stop may survive for several centuries, by continuing to produce leaves, flowers, and fruits. This phenomenon was associated with the capacity of baobabs to store large amounts of water in their trunks/stems in the rainy season. This reservoir of water is used during the dry season and allows the trees to survive prolonged drought periods.

Mots-clés Agrovoc : Adansonia, croissance, cerne, résistance à la sécheresse, teneur en eau, stress dû à la sécheresse, floraison, âge, datation au radiocarbone

Mots-clés géographiques Agrovoc : Madagascar

Classification Agris : F62 - Physiologie végétale - Croissance et développement
F40 - Écologie végétale

Champ stratégique Cirad : Axe 6 (2014-2018) - Sociétés, natures et territoires

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