POTENTIAL OF FITZROYA-CUPRESSOIDES TREE-R INGS FOR CLIMATE RECONSTRUCTION DURING THE HOLOCENE IN CHILE AND ARGENTINA

Fitzroya cupressoides (alerce) tree rings has a high potential for rec onstructing past climatic conditions. In this paper, we discuss dendro chronological studies of alerce in Chile and Argentina, and we compare tree-ring width chronologies for different sites. These chronologies has been used for regional temperature reconstructions for the last 36 20 years. Tree-rings from alerce have been also used to dating glacial fluctuations in Patagonia and for reconstructing past changes in the regional atmospheric circulation (ENSO events and fluctuations in the eastern Pacific anticyclone positions). Our study emphasizes the need of developing a spatial grid of tree-rings chronologies as well as tem porally expanding the available records. Cooperative work between Sout h American countries in combination with international scientific team s should be encouraged.