Radial growth in conifers and decidous trees a comparison : Dickenwachstum der Bäume

Wien

1981

S. 17-56

19 Abb., 73 Lit. Ang.

Unselbständiges Werk

200004858

Cambial activity, leading to a variety of cell types composing the xylem and phloem, is responsible fo ammassing the majority of biomase produced by woody plants. Owing to the economic and ecological significance of such productivity, the radial growth process in conifer and hardwood trees has been the long-time subject of intense study by forest scientists. This paper viewsthis work by examining the radial growth phenomenon and its interrelationship with other tree physiological processes. The patterns of growth will be presented for ringporous, diffuse-porous, and tracheid tree types at various stages of development and will bei developed in relationship to various phenological envetns. In order to present a comparison of radial growth in conifers and hardwoods, growth patterns will be discussed in terms of four principal functions of the xylem and phloem: (1) transport, (2) storage, (3) support and (4) protection. The environmental and tree factors which affect cambial growth will also be reviewed. Two relatively new concepts involving the xylem are its role in water and food storage and its allometric and physiological connections to the foliage. The "pipe" heory of water transport originially proposed by Shinozaki and others will be examined in light of present ecological and physiological knowledge concerning the storage and transport funtions of cambial derivatives.