TREE-RING STUDIES IN INDIA PAST APPRAISAL, PRESENT STATUS AND FUTURE PROSPECTS

A large number of tree species, especially of conifers growing in the Himalaya and a few broad-leaved taxa in the peninsular region, have been dendrochronologically analyzed in India. This paper is a review providing information as regards the present status and future prospects of tree-ring research in India. Many trees are recorded to have datable tree rings but only some of them have been used for climate reconstruction and other aspects, e.g., glacial fluctuation or palaeo-seismic dating. In future not only ring width which is widely used so far, but also other tree-ring parameters need to be analyzed for a better understanding of the regional climate and its linkage with other climatic phenomena in a global perspective.