Abstract
Clonal growth of Amazonian timber species is selected on height, on the assumption that this trait anticipates later performance. This study examined whether height, diameter and branching form a developmental chain, and whether genetic provenance modifies that trajectory. Thirty clones of Dipteryx ferrea from four provenances, established in an Amazonian clonal garden, were measured monthly on fourteen occasions. Linear mixed models, generalised models for the count traits and a within-clone path analysis with contemporaneous and lagged specifications were fitted. The chain held only when temporal precedence between traits was respected, and even then it was partial. The covariation between height and diameter was strong within clones and null between clones. The provenance effect could not be resolved with the available information, and the study specifies how many clones its resolution would require. The findings provide selection criteria for restoration and bound the reach of the evidence.
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