Dendrochronological features of Castanea sativa Mill. in the Black Sea region of Turkey

Dendrochronological Features of Castanea sativa Mill. In The Eastren Black Sea Region of Turkey In this study, Dendrochronological features of Castanea sativa Mill, in the Eastren Black Sea Region of Turkey have been investigated between 2001-2002. With this purpose, four different localities in this region were selected for gathering the increment cores. Main aim of the investigation is to find out the standardized chronology of the species, which is one of the important tree species of Turkey. This long-lived tree can live 800-1000 years. Especially in the coast, due to its resistant wood against water and humudity, it is abundantly used to build home, ship, and art structure. However, Chestnut tree has been exposed to some detrimental effects. Such as, tea, hazelnut, corn etc. plantations and Phytophtora cambivora and Crypthonectria parasitica. From this point of view, dendrochronological studies on Chestnut trees are important for dating and dendroclimatology. The study area is located betwenn 40° 13'-4r 32' northern latitude and 37° 57'-42° 33' eastern longitude. Two different methods, semi-logarithmic and standardization, were used for creating annual ring curves. For examining the similarity degrees of the curves obtained from percentages of the curves, corelation coefficient, and pointer years were calculated. Relationships between ring width and temperature/precipitation in 1939-1988 and also sensitivities of the Chestnut trees in different enviromental conditions were investigated. Key Words : Dendrochronology, Tree-Ring, Castanea sativa, Eastren Black Sea Region. VI