Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

A model of stem growth and wood formation in Pinus radiata

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Trees Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Key message

A model of wood formation processes in pines predicted 80 % of mean wood density variation from inputs of carbohydrate allocation and tree water status from several varied sites.

Abstract

Numerous factors determine how wood properties vary as a tree grows. In order to model wood formation, a framework that considers the various xylogenetic processes is required. We describe a new model of xylem development and wood formation in pines (parameterised for the commercially important species, Pinus radiata D. Don). In this paper, we use as inputs simulated daily data from the CaBala stand growth model which, in turn, takes into account site and daily weather conditions, and silviculture. It incorporates a first attempt at predicting microfibril angle (the angle of cellulose microfibrils relative to the vertical axis of the cell, MFA) based on metrics of cambial vigour and carbohydrate allocation. It also predicts tracheid dimensions and wall thickness, and from these data, wood density. Pith-to-bark and intra-annual variation in predicted wood properties was realistic across a wide range of site types, although juvenile wood properties were weakly predicted. The model was able to explain 50 % of the variation in outerwood MFA and 70–80 % of the variation in outerwood and mean sample wood density respectively, from 17 study sites. The model, early results from which are very promising, provides a useful framework for testing concepts of how formation occurs, and to provide insights into areas where further research is needed.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Abe H, Nakai T (1999) Effect of the water status within a tree on tracheid morphogenesis in Cryptomeria japonica. Trees 14:124–129

    Google Scholar 

  • Almeida AC, Landsberg JJ, Sands PJ, Ambrogi MS, Fonseca S, Barddal SM, Bertolucci FL (2004) Needs and opportunities for using a process-based productivity model as a practical tool in Eucalyptus plantations. For Ecol Manag 193:167–177

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Anfodillo T, Deslauriers A, Menardi R, Tedoldi L, Petit G, Rossi S (2012) Widening of xylem conduits in a conifer tree depends on the longer time of cell expansion downwards along the stem. J Exp Bot 63:837–845

    Article  PubMed Central  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Apiolaza L, Chauhan S, Hayes M, Nakada R, Sharma M, Walker J (2013) Selection and breeding for wood quality A new approach. N Z J For 58:32–37

    Google Scholar 

  • Auty D, Gardiner B, Achim A, Moore J, Cameron A (2013) Models for predicting microfibril angle variation in Scots pine. Ann For Sci 70:209–218

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barnett JR (1973) Seasonal Variation in the ultrastructure of the cambium in New Zealand grown Pinus radiata D. Don. Ann Bot Lond 37:1005–1011

    Google Scholar 

  • Barnett JR, Bonham VA (2004) Cellulose microfibril angle in the cell wall of wood fibres. Biol Rev 79:461–472

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Battaglia M, Sands P (1997) Modelling site productivity of Eucalyptus globulus in response to climatic and site factors. Aust J Plant Physiol 24:831–850

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Battaglia M, Sands P, White D, Mummery D (2004) CABALA: a linked carbon, water and nitrogen model of forest growth for silvicultural decision support. For Ecol Manag 193:251–282

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bauerle WL, Oren R, Way DA, Qian SS, Stoy PC, Thornton PE, Bowden JD, Hoffman FM, Reynolds RF (2012) Photoperiodic regulation of the seasonal pattern of photosynthetic capacity and the implications for carbon cycling. Proc Natl Acad Sci 109:8612–8617

    Article  PubMed Central  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Boardman R (1988) Living on the edge—the development of silviculture in South Australian pine plantations. Aust For 51:135–156

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bogoslavsky L, Neumann PM (1998) Rapid regulation by acid pH of cell wall adjustment and leaf growth in Maize plants responding to reversal of water stress. Plant Physiol 118:701–709

    Article  PubMed Central  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bollhöner B, Prestele J, Tuominen H (2012) Xylem cell death: emerging understanding of regulation and function. J Exp Bot 63:1081–1094

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Burdon RD, Kibblewhite RP, Walker JC, Megraw RA, Evans R, Cown DJ (2004) Juvenile versus mature wood: a new concept, orthogonal to corewood versus outerwood, with special reference to Pinus radiata and P. taeda. For Sci 50:399–415

    Google Scholar 

  • Catesson AM, Roland JC (1981) Sequential changes associated with cell wall formation and fusion in the vascular cambium. IAWA Bull 2:151–162

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chan J (2012) Microtubule and cellulose microfibril orientation during plant cell and organ growth. J Microsc 247(1):23–32

  • Cosgrove DJ (2001) Wall structure and wall loosening. A look backwards and forwards. Plant Physiol 125:131–134

    Article  PubMed Central  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cosgrove DJ (2005) Growth of the plant cell wall. Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol 6:850–861

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Deckmyn G, Evans SP, Randle TJ (2006) Refined pipe theory for mechanistic modelling of wood development. Tree Physiol 26:703–717

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Deleuze C, Houllier F (1998) A simple process-based xylem growth model for describing wood microdensitometric profiles. J Theor Biol 193:99–113

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Denne MP (1971) Temperature and tracheid development in Pinus sylvestris seedlings. J Exp Bot 22:362–370

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Denne MP (1976) Effects of environmental change on wood production and wood structure in Picea sitchensis seedlings. Ann Bot Lond 40:1017–1028

    Google Scholar 

  • Denne MP, Dodd RS (1981) The environmental control of xylem differentiation. In: Barnett JR (ed) Xylem cell developement. Castle House Publications, Kent, pp 236–255

    Google Scholar 

  • Dodd RS, Fox P (1990) Kinetics of tracheid differentiation in Douglas-fir. Ann Bot Lond 65:649–657

    Google Scholar 

  • Donaldson L (2008) Microfibril angle: measurement, variation and relationships—a review. IAWA J 29:345–386

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Downes GM, Drew DM (2008) Climate and growth influences on wood formation and utilisation. South For 70:155–167

    Google Scholar 

  • Downes GM, Beadle C, Gensler W, Mummery D, Worledge D (1999) Diurnal variation and radial growth of stems in young plantation eucalypts. In: Wimmer R, Vetter RE (eds) Tree ring analysis. Biological, methodological and environmental aspects. CAB International, New York, pp 83–104

    Google Scholar 

  • Downes GM, Wimmer R, Evans R (2004) Interpreting sub-annual wood property variation in terms of stem growth. Wood fibre cell walls: methods to study their formation, structure and properties. Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Wood Science, pp 267–283

  • Drew DM, Pammenter NW (2007) Developmental rates and morphological properties of fibres in two eucalypt clones at sites differing in water availability. South Hemisph For J 69:71–79

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Drew DM, Downes GM, Battaglia M (2010) CAMBIUM, a process-based model of daily xylem development in Eucalyptus. J Theor Biol 264:395–406

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Drew DM, Richards AE, Cook GD, Downes GM, Gill W, Baker PJ (2013) The number of days on which increment occurs is the primary determinant of annual ring width in Callitris intratropica. Trees: 1–10

  • Duan H, Amthor JS, Duursma RA, O’Grady AP, Choat B, Tissue DT (2013) Carbon dynamics of eucalypt seedlings exposed to progressive drought in elevated [CO2] and elevated temperature. Tree Physiol 65(5):1313–1321

  • Duchesne L, Houle D, D’Orangeville L (2012) Influence of climate on seasonal patterns of stem increment of balsam fir in a boreal forest of Québec. Canada Agric For Meteorol 162–163:108–114

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Escamez S, Tuominen H (2014) Programmes of cell death and autolysis in tracheary elements: when a suicidal cell arranges its own corpse removal. J Exp Bot 65(5):1313–1321

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Evans R (1994) Rapid measurement of the transverse dimensions of tracheids in radial wood sections from Pinus radiata. Holzforschung 48:168–172

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Evans R, Ilic J (2001) Rapid prediction of wood stiffness from microfibril angle and density. For Prod J 51:53–57

    Google Scholar 

  • Feikema PM, Morris JD, Beverly CR, Collopy JJ, Baker TG, Lane PNJ (2010) Validation of plantation transpiration in south-eastern Australia estimated using the 3PG+ forest growth model. For Ecol Manage 260:663–678

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fernández MP, Norero A, Vera JR, Pérez E (2011) A functional–structural model for radiata pine (Pinus radiata) focusing on tree architecture and wood quality. Ann Bot Lond 108:1155–1178

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fritts HC (1976) Tree rings and climate. Academic Press, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Fritts HC, Shashkin A, Downes GM (1999) TreeRing 3: a simulation model of conifer ring growth and cell structure. In: Wimmer R, Vetter RE (eds) Tree ring analysis: biological, methodological and environmental aspects. CAB International, Oxford, pp 3–32

    Google Scholar 

  • Fromm J (2013) Xylem development in trees: from cambial divisions to mature wood cells. In: Fromm J (ed) Cellular aspects of wood formation, vol 20. Springer, Berlin Heidelberg, pp 3–39

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Gavran M, Parsons M (2011) Australian plantation statistics 2011. Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences, Canberra

  • Gričar J, Zupančič M, Čufar K, Oven P (2007) Regular cambial activity and xylem and phloem formation in locally heated and cooled stem portions of Norway spruce. Wood Sci Technol 41:463–475

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harashima H, Schnittger A (2010) The integration of cell division, growth and differentiation. Curr Opin Plant Biol 13:66–74

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Haygreen JG, Bowyer JL (1982) Forest products and wood science: an introduction. Iowa State University Press, Ames, Iowa, p 495

  • Hölttä T, Mäkinen H, Nöjd P, Mäkelä A, Nikinmaa E (2010) A physiological model of softwood cambial growth. Tree Physiol 30:1235–1252

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Horacek P, Slezingerova J, Gandelova L, Wimmer R, Vetter R (1999) Effects of environment on the xylogenesis of Norway spruce (Picea abies [L.] Karst.). In: Vetter RE (ed) Tree-ring analysis: biological, methodological and environmental aspects, pp 35–53

  • Kellogg RM, Wangaard FF (1969) Variation in the cell wall density of wood. Wood Fibre Sci 1:180–204

    Google Scholar 

  • Kramer EM (2002) A mathematical model of pattern formation in the vascular cambium of trees. J Theor Biol 216:147–158

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kutschera U (2004) The biophysical basis of cell elongation and organ maturation in coleoptiles of rye seedlings: implications for shoot development. Plant Biol 6:158–164

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lachaud S (1989) Participation of auxin and abscisic acid in the regulation of seasonal variations in cambial activity and xylogenesis. Trees 3:125–137

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lachenbruch B, Moore J, Evans R (2011) Radial variation in wood structure and function in woody plants, and hypotheses for its occurrence. In: Meinzer FC, Lachenbruch B, Dawson TE (eds) Size- and age-related changes in tree structure and function, vol 4. Springer, Netherlands, pp 121–164

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Landsberg JJ, Sands P (2010) Physiological ecology of forest production: principles, processes and models. Academic Press, London, p 352

  • Larson P (1969) Wood formation and the concept of wood quality. Yale University, New Haven, p 54

    Google Scholar 

  • Larson P (1994) The vascular cambium: development and structure. Springer-Verlag, New York

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Lasserre J-P, Mason EG, Watt MS, Moore JR (2009) Influence of initial planting spacing and genotype on microfibril angle, wood density, fibre properties and modulus of elasticity in Pinus radiata D. Don corewood. For Ecol Manag 258:1924–1931

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li X, Wu HX, Southerton SG (2012) Identification of putative candidate genes for juvenile wood density in Pinus radiata. Tree Physiol 32:1046–1057

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lloyd C (2006) Microtubules make tracks for cellulose. Science 312:1482–1483

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lupi C, Rossi S, Vieira J, Morin H, Deslauriers A (2014) Assessment of xylem phenology: a first attempt to verify its accuracy and precision. Tree Physiol 34:87–93

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Meicenheimer RD, Larson P (1983) Empirical models for xylogenesis in Populus deltoides. Ann Bot Lond 51:491–502

    Google Scholar 

  • Meinzer FC, Bond BJ, Karanian JA (2008) Biophysical constraints on leaf expansion in a tall conifer. Tree Physiol 28:197–206

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Nonami H, Boyer JS (1989) Turgor and growth at low water potentials. Plant Physiol 89:798–804

    Article  PubMed Central  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Oda Y, Fukuda H (2012) Secondary cell wall patterning during xylem differentiation. Curr Opin Plant Biol 15:38–44

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • O’Hehir JF, Nambiar EKSN (2010) Productivity of three successive rotations of P. radiata plantations in South Australia over a century. For Ecol Manag 259:1857–1869

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Panteris E, Adamakis I-DS, Daras G, Hatzopoulos P, Rigas S (2013) Differential responsiveness of cortical microtubule orientation to suppression of cell expansion among the developmental zones of Arabidopsis thaliana root apex. PLoS One 8:e82442

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Paulina Fernández M, Norero A, Barthélémy D, Vera J (2007) Morphological trends in main stem of Pinus radiata D. Don: transition between vegetative and reproductive phase. Scand J For Res 22:398–406

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Philipson WR, Ward JM, Butterfield BG (1971) The vascular cambium: its development and activity. Chapman and Hall, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Pinkard EA, Bruce J (2011) Climate change and South Australia’s plantations: impacts, risks and options for adaptation. Department of Primary Industries of South Australia. http://pir.sa.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0011/233984/ForestrySA_impact_and_adaptation_report_FINAL_July_2011.pdf

  • Plomion C, Leprovost G, Stokes A (2001) Wood formation in trees. Plant Physiol 127:1513–1523

    Article  PubMed Central  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ridoutt BG, Sands R (1993) Within-tree variation in cambial anatomy and xylem cell differentiation in Eucalyptus globulus. Trees 8:18–22

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ridoutt BG, Sands R (1994) Quantification of the processes of secondary xylem fibre development in Eucalyptus globulus at two height levels. IAWA J 15:417–424

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rossi S, Anfodillo T, Menardi R (2006a) Trephor: a new tool for sampling microcores from tree stems. IAWA J 27:89–97

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rossi S, Deslauriers A, Anfodillo T (2006b) Assessment of cambial activity and xylogenesis by microsampling tree species: an example at the alpine timberline. IAWA J 27:383–394

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rossi S, Deslauriers A, Anfodillo T, Morin H, Saracino A, Motta R, Borghetti M (2006c) Conifers in cold environments synchronize maximum growth rate of tree-ring formation with day length. New Phytol 170:301–310

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rossi S, Deslauriers A, Griçar J, Seo J-W, Rathgeber CBK, Anfodillo T, Morin H, Levanic T, Oven P, Jalkanen R (2008) Critical temperatures for xylogenesis in conifers of cold climates. Glob Ecol Biogeogr 17:696–707

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rossi S, Simard S, Rathgeber C, Deslauriers A, De Zan C (2009) Effects of a 20-day-long dry period on cambial and apical meristem growth in Abies balsamea seedlings. Trees Struct Funct 23:85–93

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sands PJ (2004) 3PGPJS vsn 2.4—a user-friendly interface to 3-PG, the Landsberg and Waring model of forest productivity. Cooperative Research Centre for Sustainable Production Forestry, Hobart

  • Sauter JJ (1980) Seasonal variation of sucrose content in the xylem sap of salix. Z für Pflanzenphysiol 98:377–391

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sauter JJ (2000) Photosynthate allocation to the vascular cambium: facts and problems. In: Savidge R, Barnett JR, Napier R (eds) Cell and molecular biology of wood formation. BIOS Scientific Publishers, Oxford, pp 71–83

    Google Scholar 

  • Savidge RA, Wareing PF (1981) A tracheid-differentiation factor from pine needles. Planta 153:395–404

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Shepherd KR (1964) Some observations on the effect of drought on the growth of Pinus radiata D. Don. Aust For 28:7–22

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Skene DS (1969) The period of time taken by cambial derivatives to grow and differentiate into tracheids in Pinus radiata. Ann Bot Lond 33:253–262

    Google Scholar 

  • Skene DS (1972) The kinetics of tracheid development in Tsuga canadensis and its relation to tree vigour. Ann Bot Lond 36:179–187

    Google Scholar 

  • Steppe K, Lemeur R (2007) Effects of ring-porous and diffuse-porous stem wood anatomy on the hydraulic parameters used in a water flow and storage model. Tree Physiol 27:43–52

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Uggla C, Magel E, Moritz T, Sundberg B (2001) Function and dynamics of auxin and carbohydrates during earlywood/latewood transition in scots pine. Plant Physiol 125:2029–2039

    Article  PubMed Central  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Vaganov EA, Hughes MK, Shashkin AV (2006) Growth dynamics of conifer tree rings: an image of past and future environments. Springer-Verlag, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Vavrčík H, Gryc V, Vichrová G (2013) Xylem formation in young Norway spruce trees in Drahany Highland, Czech Republic. IAWA J. 34:231–234

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Walcroft AS, Silvester WB, Whitehead D, Kelliher FM (1997) Seasonal changes in stable carbon isotope ratios within annual rings of Pinus radiata reflect environmental regulation of growth processes. Funct Plant Biol 24:57–68

    Google Scholar 

  • Wardrop AB (1981) Lignification and xylogenesis. In: Barnett JR (ed) Xylem cell development. Castle House Publications, Kent

    Google Scholar 

  • Wardrop AB, Harada H (1965) The formation and structure of the cell wall in fibres and tracheids. J Exp Bot 16:356–371

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wilson BF (1964) A model of cell production by the cambium of conifers. In: Zimmerman MH (ed) The formation of wood in forest trees. Academic Press, New York, pp 19–36

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Wilson BF, Howard RA (1968) A computer model for cambial activity. For Sci 14:77–90

    Google Scholar 

  • Wimmer R, Downes GM, Evans R (2002) Temporal variation of microfibril angle in Eucalyptus nitens grown in different irrigation regimes. Tree Physiol 22:449–457

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Winship LJ, Obermeyer G, Geitmann A, Hepler PK (2010) Under pressure, cell walls set the pace. Trends Plant Sci 15:363–369

    Article  PubMed Central  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Woodruff DR, Bond BJ, Meinzer FC (2004) Does turgor limit growth in tall trees? Plant Cell Environ 27:229–236

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wu HX, Ivković M, Gapare WJ, Baltunis BS, Powell MB, McRae TA (2008) Breeding for wood quality and profit in radiata pine: a review of genetic parameters. N Z J For Sci 38(1)

  • Zhang J, Nieminen K, Serra JAA, Helariutta Y (2014) The formation of wood and its control. Curr Opin Plant Biol 17:56–63

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Zweifel R, Zimmerman L, Newbery DM (2005) Modeling tree water deficit from microclimate: an approach to quantifying drought stress. Tree Physiol 25:147–156

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Zweifel R, Steppe K, Sterck FJ (2007) Stomatal regulation by microclimate and tree water relations: interpreting ecophysiological field data with a hydraulic plant model. J Exp Bot 58:2113–2131

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This work was funded by Forest and Wood Products Australia (FWPA), Forestry SA, Hancock Victoria Plantations (HVP), Scion and the CSIRO Sustainable Agriculture Flagship. Thank you to Warwick Gill for embedding and sectioning work, Jody Bruce and Michael Battaglia for their advice during the setting up of model scenarios in Cabala. Also thanks to staff at CSIRO (Dale Worledge), Forestry SA (Jim O’Hehir, Don McGuire and Stuart Adam), HVP (Stephen Elms and Ross Gillies) and Scion (Jonathan Harrington), all of whom contributed to the work in various important ways. Thanks to Chris Beadle, Daniel Mendham and Patrick Mitchell for helpful comments on earlier versions of the manuscript.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. CSIRO Sustainable Agriculture Flagship, Private Bag 12, Hobart, TAS, 7001, Australia

    David M. Drew

  2. Forest Quality Pty. Ltd., P.O. Box 293, Huonville, TAS, 7109, Australia

    Geoff Downes

Authors
  1. David M. Drew
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Geoff Downes
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Geoff Downes.

Additional information

Communicated by R. Grote.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Drew, D.M., Downes, G. A model of stem growth and wood formation in Pinus radiata . Trees 29, 1395–1413 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00468-015-1216-1

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00468-015-1216-1

Keywords

Search

Navigation