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“Plastic” and “static” behavior of vessel-anatomical features in Oriental beech (Fagus orientalis Lipsky) in view of xylem hydraulic conductivity

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Xylem anatomical traits can be categorized into two groups: plastic properties which show a high inter-annual variability, and static characteristics which vary in a more conservative range.

Abstract

Water conduction in broad-leaved trees depends mainly on the size, number, and arrangement of vessels, which vary from year to year in response to varying exogenous factors, thus contributing to a safe and/or efficient water transport. However, the nature of such compensation is not clear; in particular, it is not obvious which traits act independently and which ones coincidentally. To better understand these inter-relations, tree-ring width (TRW), vessel-related anatomical traits, and the theoretical hydraulic conductivity were measured or modeled in the last 50 growth rings of mature Oriental beech trees growing at different altitudes in northern Iran. The study trees followed similar strategies compensating the effects of external factors by modifying their vessel-anatomical features. TRW and the number of vessels per unit of area were highly but negatively correlated and both were affected by exogenous factors. However, a decrease in vessel frequency (VF) is not a mirror effect of wider tree rings, but trees actively control the number of vessels produced. Principal component analysis revealed that the features VF, TRW and relative total conductivity were more plastic, whereas average vessel-lumen area, tree-ring porosity, and relative specific conductivity behaved more static. Moreover, we suggest that in theoretical approaches, total hydraulic conductivity rather than the specific hydraulic conductivity is a better indicator of a tree’s hydraulic behavior in a given growing season.

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Acknowledgments

Particular acknowledgement is due to the DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service) for the financial support of R. Oladi during the laboratory works in Germany.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Wood Science and Technology, Faculty of Natural Resources, University of Tehran, PO Box 31585-4314, Karaj, Iran

    Reza Oladi & Kambiz Pourtahmasi

  2. Institute of Geography, University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Kochstrasse 4/4, 91054, Erlangen, Germany

    Achim Bräuning

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  1. Reza Oladi
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  2. Achim Bräuning
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Correspondence to Reza Oladi.

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Communicated by J. Lin.

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Oladi, R., Bräuning, A. & Pourtahmasi, K. “Plastic” and “static” behavior of vessel-anatomical features in Oriental beech (Fagus orientalis Lipsky) in view of xylem hydraulic conductivity. Trees 28, 493–502 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00468-013-0966-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00468-013-0966-x

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