Dendrochronological potential and precipitation-growth relationships of Tapirira guianensis in a tropical savanna

Tropical savannas remain underexplored in dendrochronological research despite their ecological importance and high climatic sensitivity. This study evaluated the dendrochronological potential and climate-growth relationships of Tapirira guianensis Aubl. in the Brazilian Cerrado. Basal stem discs were collected from 14 trees. Growth-ring anatomy was examined in five individuals, and ring-width series from all 14 trees were cross-dated and standardized. Growth-ring boundaries were distinguished by thick-walled and radially flattened latewood fibers. The full ring-width record covered 1974-2017, with at least two trees contributing from 1980 onwards and all 14 trees represented during 2001-2017. The dataset showed a strong common growth signal with a mean interseries correlation ( r Bar) of 0.62 and an expressed population signal of 0.96. Climate-growth analyses for 2001-2017 revealed positive associations with precipitation during the rainy period (r = 0.56), spring (r = 0.62), and November (r = 0.66) of the current growing year, and July of the previous growing year (r = 0.53). However, none remained significant after adjustment for multiple comparisons. These exploratory associations suggest a possible contribution of water availability to radial growth variability. Complementary exploratory analyses of minimum, maximum and mean temperature, vapor pressure deficit, and Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI) yielded no associations that remained significant after adjustment for multiple testing, either under conventional tests or a phase-randomization sensitivity analysis. These findings support the dendrochronological potential of T. guianensis at the study site, while the limited number of trees and short climate-growth analysis interval constrain generalization. Broader sampling and longer records are needed to evaluate the consistency of growth responses across populations and environmental conditions.