The effect of wood-boring beetles on the radial growth of Prosopis flexuosa DC. in the arid Chaco of Argentina

Traditionally, the effect of wood-boring insects has been related to mechanical damage, which in severe infestations results in breakage of branches and trunks. In contrast, few studies have evaluated the physiological effects of wood-borers on the radial growth of trees. Prosopis flexuosa is the main resource for rural inhabitants in the arid Chaco of Argentina and the cerambycid Torneutes pallidipennis is the principal cause of insect damage in these forests. The presence of annual growth rings in P. flexuosa allowed us to use dendrochronological methods to assess the effect of T. pallidipennis on radial tree growth. P. flexuosa with external infestation symptoms were sampled in Chancaní (Córdoba), central Argentina. Cores from “healthy” and “infested” branches were taken and processed following standard methods in dendrochronology. Generalized Linear Models were applied to compare the growth of healthy and affected tree-ring growth series. Our results showed a growth reduction in branches with cerambycid infestation. These data strongly suggest that the biological cycles of this heartwood-borer affect the growth and normal development of trees, in addition to “mechanical” effects previously proposed. Insects may produce weakening of the host plants and a pronounced reduction in radial tree growth in the most severe cases.

► Cerambycid beetles are important regulators of forest structure in arid ecosystems.
► Subcortical cavities of wood-boring larvae were recorded in this study.
► Prosopis flexuosa radial growth was evaluated in relation to this damage.
► Larger subcortical damages are correlated with a decrease in trees' vigor and growth.