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Journal of Experimental Botany, Vol. 53, No. 379, pp. 2369-2379, December 1, 2002
© 2002 Oxford University Press

How do water transport and water storage differ in coniferous earlywood and latewood?

Received 10 May 2002; Accepted 23 July 2002

Jean-Christophe Domec1, and Barbara L. Gartner

Department of Wood Science and Engineering, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331, USA

1 To whom correspondence should be addressed. Fax: +1 541 737 3385. E-mail: jc.domec{at}orst.edu

The goal of this research project was to determine the water transport behaviour of earlywood versus latewood in the trunk of 21-year-old Douglas-fir [Pseudostuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco] trees. Specific conductivity (ks) and the vulnerability of xylem to embolism were measured on a single growth ring and in a subset of earlywood and latewood samples within the same ring. Earlywood/latewood ratio, trunk water potential ({Psi}) and relative water content (RWC) were used to predict differences in conductivities and vulnerability to embolism. Earlywood has about 11 times the ks of latewood, and up to 90% of the total flow occurred through the earlywood. Earlywood’s vulnerability to embolism followed the same trend as that of the whole wood, with 50% loss of conductivity at –2.2 MPa (P50). Latewood was more vulnerable to embolism than earlywood at high {Psi}, but as {Psi} decreased, the latewood showed very little further embolism, with a P50 <–5.0 MPa. The lowest trunk {Psi} estimated in the field was about –1.4 MPa, indicating that latewood and earlywood in the field experienced about 42% and 16% loss of ks, respectively. The higher vulnerability to embolism in latewood than in earlywood at field {Psi} was associated with higher water storage capacity (21.8% RWC MPa–1 versus 4.1% RWC MPa–1, latewood and earlywood, respectively). The shape of the vulnerability curve suggests that air seeding through latewood may occur directly through pores in the margo and seal off at lower pressure than earlywood pores.

Key words: Cavitation, earlywood, embolism, hydraulic conductivity, latewood, relative water content.


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