False Ring Formation in Bald Cypress ( Taxodium distichum )

Abstract

False rings are intra-annual bands of high density xylem cells that form in response to an environmental condition that a causes a tree to form two bands of latewood cells during a single growing season. We examined whether precipitation and/or stream flow measurements coincided with false ring formation in adult bald cypress trees (Taxodium distichum (L.) Rich.). We collected increment cores from bald cypress growing along the Blackwater and Nottoway Rivers in Virginia, U.S.A. The frequency and timing of false rings was quantified for each core. Annual synchronicity of false ring formation occurred, indicating a common environmental trigger. At both sites, false ring formation in bald cypress appeared to be more common during years with late summer precipitation and associated high late summer stream flow. In years when moisture is available late in the growing season, dormant bald cypress trees resume earlywood formation and a false ring is formed. Therefore, false rings in bald cypress wood can serve as a proxy record of seasonal historical stream flow and precipitation.

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