The Anthropocene concept raises awareness of human-induced planetary changes but is criticized for being ‘too global’. We examined the social–ecological memory that emerges from people-tree relationships in South American temperate territories, Chile. We integrated dendrochronology (analysis of tree rings of 35 memorial trees; 17 species) with dendrography (participant observation complemented with semi-structured and go-along interviews with 14 interviewees; six women, eight men). We found that assemblages of people–tree relationships reflect marked historical changes in the territory, associated with the historical clearing of forests, which may be imprinted in both tree growth rings and in the social meanings and practices associated with memorial trees. In devastated territories, practices of tree care emphasize interconnectedness, multispecies collaborations, and the blurring of boundaries between humans and other-than-humans. We discuss some of the interdisciplinary and relational insights of our study, which may prove valuable for future research, political agendas, and educational programs in South America and beyond.

人类世概念提高了人们对人类引起的地球变化的认识，但被批评为“过于全球化”。我们研究了南美温带地区智利的人与树关系中产生的社会生态记忆。我们将树木年代学（对 17 种 35 棵纪念树的年轮进行分析）与树木学（参与者观察辅以对 14 名受访者（六名女性、八名男性）的半结构化和随行访谈）进行了整合。我们发现，人与树关系的组合反映了该地区的显着历史变化，与历史上森林砍伐有关，这可能会烙印在树木的年轮以及与纪念树相关的社会意义和实践中。在受灾地区，树木护理实践强调相互联系、多物种合作以及人类与非人类之间界限的模糊。我们讨论了我们研究中的一些跨学科和相关见解，这些见解可能对南美洲及其他地区的未来研究、政治议程和教育项目有价值。