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The Anatomy and Functioning of the Xylem in Oaks

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Oaks Physiological Ecology. Exploring the Functional Diversity of Genus Quercus L.

Part of the book series: Tree Physiology ((TREE,volume 7))

Abstract

Because of its economic and ecological importance, the genus Quercus has been relatively intensively studied for its anatomical and hydraulic characteristics, having often been testing ground for development of methods and hypotheses related to tree structure and function. However, despite long-withstanding interest, we are still far from having obtained a clear understanding of the hydraulic functioning of the species within this genus, the occurrence of trade-offs among various xylem properties and the prevalence of syndromes of characters under different environmental conditions. We conducted a review of the xylem anatomical literature of the genus Quercus , an undertaking that does not appear to have been carried out before. We also updated existing quantitative databases of vessel diameter and density, volumetric fractions of parenchyma, wood density and xylem hydraulic properties, to synthesise the main patterns of variation in the hydraulic architecture and functioning of the genus. We found that ring-porous (deciduous ) species have lower wood density , higher hydraulic conductivity, xylem that is more vulnerable to embolism and lower Huber values compared to diffuse-porous (evergreen ) species. We also report systematic differences among taxonomic groups, with species of sections Quercus and Lobatae having smaller but more numerous vessels, lower wood density , more vulnerable xylem, higher conductivity and lower Huber values as opposed to species of section Cerris . Many of these trends appeared to map onto environmental differences across the three main biomes where Quercus species are found, i.e. the temperate , the Mediterranean/semi-arid and the tropical biomes. Although limited by the coverage of the empirical data, our compilation contributes to characterise the hydraulic architecture and functioning of the genus as a function of taxonomic grouping, biome, ring-porosity and leaf phenology . Future investigations can benefit by the identification of the main factors responsible for these patterns and their likely ecological significance.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Kristoffel Jacobs for his help with data preparation. M.M. and J.M.V . are supported by the Spanish Government (grant CGL2013-46808-R), E.M.R.R. by the EU (Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellowship—No 659191) and by the Research Foundation—Flanders (FWO, Belgium). J.M.V . benefits from an ICREA Academia award.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. CREAF, 08193 Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona, Spain

    Elisabeth M. R. Robert, Maurizio Mencuccini & Jordi Martínez-Vilalta

  2. ICREA, Pg. Lluís Companys 23, 08010, Barcelona, Spain

    Maurizio Mencuccini

  3. Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona, Spain

    Jordi Martínez-Vilalta

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  1. Elisabeth M. R. Robert
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Correspondence to Elisabeth M. R. Robert .

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  1. Unit of Forest Resources, Agrifood Research and Technology Centre, Aragón, Zaragoza, Spain

    Eustaquio Gil-Pelegrín

  2. Unit of Forest Resources, Agrifood Research and Technology Centre, Aragón, Zaragoza, Spain

    José Javier Peguero-Pina

  3. Unit of Forest Resources, Agrifood Research and Technology Centre, Aragón, Zaragoza, Spain

    Domingo Sancho-Knapik

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Robert, E.M.R., Mencuccini, M., Martínez-Vilalta, J. (2017). The Anatomy and Functioning of the Xylem in Oaks. In: Gil-Pelegrín, E., Peguero-Pina, J., Sancho-Knapik, D. (eds) Oaks Physiological Ecology. Exploring the Functional Diversity of Genus Quercus L.. Tree Physiology, vol 7. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-69099-5_8

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