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Forests
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Ecological and Physiological Aspects of Xylem Formation in Trees
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Ecological and Physiological Aspects of Xylem Formation in Trees

A special issue of Forests (ISSN 1999-4907). This special issue belongs to the section "Forest Ecophysiology and Biology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 February 2022) | Viewed by 14558

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Celia M. Rodriguez-Dominguez

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Irrigation and Crop Ecophysiology Group, IRNAS-CSIC, Avda. Reina Mercedes 10, 41012 Sevilla, Spain
Interests: plant water relations; plant response to drought; ecophysiology; stomatal behaviour; plant hydraulics; plant-based sensors
Prof. Dr. Sergio Rossi

E-Mail Website
Co-Guest Editor
Département des Sciences Fondamentales, Université du Québec à Chicoutimi, 555 Boulevard de l’Université, Chicoutimi, QC G7H2B1, Canada
Interests: climate change; tree growth; tree reproduction; forest productivity; wood formation; treeline ecotone

Special Issue Information

Background:

The development of efficient plant hydraulic systems was essential for the evolution and divergence of vascular and seed plant lineages. This evolution appears to be driven towards maximizing photosynthesis and productivity. This link between hydraulic and photosynthetic systems is a result of the shared stomatal pathway of water and CO2 through the leaf. In supports of this is the observed covariation in hydraulic and stomatal traits from individuals to larger phylogenetic groups, which has played a pivotal role in the rise of the angiosperms in achieving global dominance. Yet, several questions remain (i) on the ecological consequences of xylem formation and adaptation from trees under the current climate change context that may draw new community assemblies and species distributions in the near future, and (ii) on the mechanistic connections of xylem formation—especially in leaves and roots—with the whole plant hydraulic function.

Aim and scope:

The aim of this Special Issue is to present exciting and innovative research on plant hydraulics, particularly on the formation of xylem tissues from individuals to plant communities, i.e., to bring new insights on the influences of the xylem formation within the plant life and within the functionality of communities. Due to the underrepresentation of the major resistors in plants (leaves, flowers, and roots), studies aimed at progressing our understanding of these organs and their role on the whole plant hydraulic function will be of great interest.

History:

From the first studies on how water moves through plant vascular systems, large advances have been made in several fields of plant hydraulics, through application of both empirical and modeling approaches. Over the last five decades, advances have mainly focused on disentangling the existence of hydraulic segmentation, the causes of embolism formation, and whether or not the refilling of non-functional vessels occurs routinely in plants. These are very important topics for understanding plant function, yet more advancements are needed to understand the mechanistic linkage between plant hydraulics and the expected changes in climatic conditions. In addition, there is also a lack of information on how xylem features are influenced by conditions at the time of their formation and the impacts of this on the plant and community life.

Cutting-edge research:

Concerning links among structural, hydraulic and water relations traits and corresponding adaptive behavior across different scales: Carins Murphy et al. 2012 Plant Cell Environ; Brodribb et al. 2010 New Phyt; Brodribb et al. 2013 New Phyt; Rosas et al. 2019 New Phyt; Field and Brodribb 2013 New Phyt.

Concerning connections among ecological patterns, hydraulic traits and plant physiology:

Choat et al. 2007 New Phyt; Larter et al. 2017 New Phyt; Xu et al. 2016 New Phyt; Blackman et al. 2012 Oecologia; Brodribb 2009 Plant Science.

Kind of papers:

Original research papers, reviews, technical papers, and perspective papers addressing questions related to (i) the effect of plant ontogeny on cavitation resistance; (ii) the effect of plant ontogeny and environmental factors, such as water deficits, rising CO2 concentration, different light conditions, or rising vapor pressure deficit on xylem anatomy; (iii) the translation of these changes of xylem function, if any, into the physiological performance of the plant; or (iv) anatomical and physiological adaptations of new xylem tissues from plants that have suffered irregular climatic conditions, such as extreme drought events, i.e., is there a ‘memory’ that makes plants adapt to changing environments through their new xylem growth?

Dr. Celia M. Rodriguez-Dominguez
Prof. Dr. Sergio Rossi
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Forests is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • xylem traits
  • hydraulic efficiency
  • hydraulic conductance
  • ontogeny
  • cavitation resistance
  • vascular development
  • drought
  • anatomy
  • xylem growth

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 3792 KiB  
Article
Ready for Screening: Fast Assessable Hydraulic and Anatomical Proxies for Vulnerability to Cavitation of Young Conifer Sapwood
by Sabine Rosner, Sebastian Nöbauer and Klara Voggeneder
Forests 2021, 12(8), 1104; https://doi.org/10.3390/f12081104 - 18 Aug 2021
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2192
Abstract
Research Highlights: novel fast and easily assessable proxies for vulnerability to cavitation of conifer sapwood are proposed that allow reliable estimation at the species level. Background and Objectives: global warming calls for fast and easily applicable methods to measure hydraulic vulnerability in conifers [...] Read more.
Research Highlights: novel fast and easily assessable proxies for vulnerability to cavitation of conifer sapwood are proposed that allow reliable estimation at the species level. Background and Objectives: global warming calls for fast and easily applicable methods to measure hydraulic vulnerability in conifers since they are one of the most sensitive plant groups regarding drought stress. Classical methods to determine P12, P50 and P88, i.e., the water potentials resulting in 12, 50 and 88% conductivity loss, respectively, are labour intensive, prone to errors and/or restricted to special facilities. Vulnerability proxies were established based on empirical relationships between hydraulic traits, basic density and sapwood anatomy. Materials and Methods: reference values for hydraulic traits were obtained by means of the air injection method on six conifer species. Datasets for potential P50 proxies comprised relative water loss (RWL), basic density, saturated water content as well as anatomical traits such as double wall thickness, tracheid lumen diameter and wall/lumen ratio. Results: our novel proxy P25W, defined as 25% RWL induced by air injection, was the most reliable estimate for P50 (r = 0.95) and P88 (r = 0.96). Basic wood density (r = −0.92), tangential lumen diameters in earlywood (r = 0.88), wall/lumen ratios measured in the tangential direction (r = −0.86) and the number of radial cell files/mm circumference (CF/mm, r = −0.85) were also strongly related to P50. Moreover, CF/mm was a very good predictor for P12 (r = −0.93). Conclusions: the proxy P25W is regarded a strong phenotyping tool for screening conifer species for vulnerability to cavitation assuming that the relationship between RWL and conductivity loss is robust in conifer sapwood. We also see a high potential for the fast and easily applicable proxy CF/mm as a screening tool for drought sensitivity and for application in dendroecological studies that investigate forest dieback. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecological and Physiological Aspects of Xylem Formation in Trees)
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14 pages, 11018 KiB  
Article
Soil Effects on Stem Growth and Wood Anatomy of Tamboril Are Mediated by Tree Age
by Talita dos Santos Angélico, Carmen Regina Marcati, Sergio Rossi, Magali Ribeiro da Silva and Júlia Sonsin-Oliveira
Forests 2021, 12(8), 1058; https://doi.org/10.3390/f12081058 - 9 Aug 2021
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2566
Abstract
Soil influences the growth of trees and the characteristics of the wood; but could this influence change during the ontogeny of trees? To answer this question, we analyzed the wood anatomy of 9-year-old trees and 2-year-old saplings of Enterolobium contortisiliquum, known as [...] Read more.
Soil influences the growth of trees and the characteristics of the wood; but could this influence change during the ontogeny of trees? To answer this question, we analyzed the wood anatomy of 9-year-old trees and 2-year-old saplings of Enterolobium contortisiliquum, known as “tamboril”, growing in eutrophic and oligotrophic soil in the Brazilian Cerrado, and assessed the effect of age on plant–soil relationship. Sapwood samples were collected from the main stem, anatomical sections were prepared in the lab, and 12 anatomical wood traits were measured. Individuals in eutrophic soil had greater stem diameter and height than those in oligotrophic soil. Trees in eutrophic soil had vessel-associated parenchyma cells with abundant storage compounds. Fibers walls were 47% thicker and intervessel pits diameter were 14% larger in trees of eutrophic soil. A greater proportion of solitary vessels (74%) was observed in trees rather than in saplings (50%). The secondary xylem of trees was mainly formed by fibers (63%) whereas in saplings it was mainly formed by storage tissue (64%). Our study provides evidence that the influence of soil conditions on tree growth reflects variations in wood anatomical features. No significant response to soil type was observed in saplings, thus demonstrating that the relationship between soil type and wood growth is mediated by tree age. These findings help to develop reliable reforestation strategies in tropical ecosystems characterized by different levels of soil fertility. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecological and Physiological Aspects of Xylem Formation in Trees)
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16 pages, 5761 KiB  
Article
Analysis of the Structure and Hydraulic Function of Bordered Pits Using the Lattice Boltzman Method
by Wen Qu, Chunmei Yang, Yan Ma, Wenji Yu, Guangyi Qin and Yufei Jin
Forests 2021, 12(5), 526; https://doi.org/10.3390/f12050526 - 24 Apr 2021
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2767
Abstract
Fluid flow between adjacent tracheids is realized through bordered pits in the xylem of conifers. The pit has an extremely small size and a highly complex structure. This paper presents a mesoscopic analytical method for the relationship between the pit structure and its [...] Read more.
Fluid flow between adjacent tracheids is realized through bordered pits in the xylem of conifers. The pit has an extremely small size and a highly complex structure. This paper presents a mesoscopic analytical method for the relationship between the pit structure and its hydraulic characteristics through mathematical modeling using the lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) and curved boundary treatment. Mongolian Scots pine were selected as the research subject of this study, and the bordered pit structure parameters was collected by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and the original geometric features were maintained for direct modeling analysis. The model revealed the relationship between various components of the bordered pit and liquid flow velocity/resistance, indicating that margo is the main factor affecting flow resistance. Further anatomical investigation separately analyzed the influence of change in a single factor, including pit diameter, pit aperture diameter, pit depth, torus diameter, and margo thickness, on the overall flow and pressure drop to confirm the importance of various factors in this relationship. Additionally, the influence of pore size and pore location distribution in the margo on the flow rate and pressure drop was further analyzed quantitatively. The results showed that the flow rate through individual pores is the result of the combined effect of pore area and radial position of the pore in the margo. Our study promotes the research and application of the mesoscopic model LBM in simulating flow conditions in the complex flow field of pits, which realizes the numerical analysis of the flow field model based on individualized real bordered pits. In comparison with the classical macroscopic model, the accuracy and effectiveness of the proposed model are proved. This research can provide a promising method for analyzing the physiological and ecological functions of conifer and realizing the efficient utilization of wood resources. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecological and Physiological Aspects of Xylem Formation in Trees)
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14 pages, 2001 KiB  
Article
Transition Dates from Earlywood to Latewood and Early Phloem to Late Phloem in Norway Spruce
by Jožica Gričar, Katarina Čufar, Klemen Eler, Vladimír Gryc, Hanuš Vavrčík, Martin de Luis and Peter Prislan
Forests 2021, 12(3), 331; https://doi.org/10.3390/f12030331 - 11 Mar 2021
Cited by 18 | Viewed by 3251
Abstract
Climate change will affect radial growth patterns of trees, which will result in different forest productivity, wood properties, and timber quality. While many studies have been published on xylem phenology and anatomy lately, little is known about the phenology of earlywood and latewood [...] Read more.
Climate change will affect radial growth patterns of trees, which will result in different forest productivity, wood properties, and timber quality. While many studies have been published on xylem phenology and anatomy lately, little is known about the phenology of earlywood and latewood formation, also in relation to cambial phenology. Even less information is available for phloem. Here, we examined year-to-year variability of the transition dates from earlywood to latewood and from early phloem to late phloem in Norway spruce (Picea abies) from three temperate sites, two in Slovenia and one in the Czech Republic. Data on xylem and phloem formation were collected during 2009–2011. Sensitivity analysis was performed to determine the specific contribution of growth rate and duration on wood and phloem production, separately for early and late formed parts. We found significant differences in the transition date from earlywood to latewood between the selected sites, but not between growth seasons in trees from the same site. It occurred in the first week of July at PAN and MEN and more than two weeks later at RAJ. The duration of earlywood formation was longer than that of latewood formation; from 31.4 days at PAN to 61.3 days at RAJ. In phloem, we found differences in transition date from early phloem to late phloem also between the analysed growth seasons; from 2.5 weeks at PAN to 4 weeks at RAJ Compared to the transition from earlywood to latewood the transition from early phloem to late phloem occurred 25–64 days earlier. There was no significant relationship between the onset of cambial cell production and the transition dates. The findings are important to better understand the inter-annual variability of these phenological events in spruce from three contrasting temperate sites, and how it is reflected in xylem and phloem anatomy. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecological and Physiological Aspects of Xylem Formation in Trees)
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13 pages, 2534 KiB  
Article
Contribution of Xylem Anatomy to Tree-Ring Width of Two Larch Species in Permafrost and Non-Permafrost Zones of Siberia
by Margarita I. Popkova, Vladimir V. Shishov, Eugene A. Vaganov, Marina V. Fonti, Alexander V. Kirdyanov, Elena A. Babushkina, Jian-Guo Huang and Sergio Rossi
Forests 2020, 11(12), 1343; https://doi.org/10.3390/f11121343 - 17 Dec 2020
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2658
Abstract
Plants exhibit morphological and anatomical adaptations to cope the environmental constraints of their habitat. How can mechanisms for adapting to contrasting environmental conditions change the patterns of tree rings formation? In this study, we explored differences in climatic conditions of permafrost and non-permafrost [...] Read more.
Plants exhibit morphological and anatomical adaptations to cope the environmental constraints of their habitat. How can mechanisms for adapting to contrasting environmental conditions change the patterns of tree rings formation? In this study, we explored differences in climatic conditions of permafrost and non-permafrost zones and assessed their influence on radial growth and wood traits of Larix gmelinii Rupr (Rupr) and Larix sibirica L., respectively. We quantified the contribution of xylem cell anatomy to the tree-ring width variability. Comparison of the anatomical tree-ring parameters over the period 1963–2011 was tested based on non-parametric Mann-Whitney U test. The generalized linear modeling shows the common dependence between TRW and the cell structure characteristics in contrasting environments, which can be defined as non-specific to external conditions. Thus, the relationship between the tree-ring width and the cell production in early- and latewood are assessed as linear, whereas the dependence between the radial cell size in early- and latewood and the tree-ring width becomes significantly non-linear for both habitats. Moreover, contribution of earlywood (EW) and latewood (LW) cells to the variation of TRW (in average 56.8% and 24.4% respectively) was significantly higher than the effect of cell diameters (3.3% (EW) and 17.4% (LW)) for the environments. The results show that different larch species from sites with diverging climatic conditions converge towards similar xylem cell structures and relationships between xylem production and cell traits. The work makes a link between climate and tree-ring structure, and promotes a better understanding the anatomical adaptation of larch species to local environment conditions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecological and Physiological Aspects of Xylem Formation in Trees)
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