广西融水特色红心杉木优树材质性状变异规律研究

[目的]通过测定和分析广西融水种源红心杉木优树材质性状指标,以了解该地区红心杉木材性状变异规律。[方法]以广西融水种源60株20年生的红心杉木优树为研究材料,测定单株材积、红心率、基本密度、组织比量、管胞性状、微纤丝角等10个材质性状指标,分析各材性性状指标分布和变异规律及性状间的相关关系。[结果]表明:红心率、基本密度、木射线比量、管胞比量、管胞长、管胞宽、管胞长宽比等性状数据分布服从正态分布。融水两个地区红心杉优树轴向薄壁细胞比量的变异系数分别为35.08%和44.97%,变异较大。管胞比量变异系数分别为3.28%和3.56%,变异较小。红心率、木射线比量、管胞长、管胞宽、微纤丝角等性状差异极显著(P0.01),轴向薄壁细胞比量差异显著(P0.05)。10个材质性状间存在12对表型显著相关。[结论]测定的10个性状均是连续性数量性状。早、晚材的管胞长度、管胞宽度和管胞长宽比等性状数据呈从心材至边材逐渐增加的规律。作为重要经济性状的红心率与木射线比量呈极显著正相关(P0.01),单株材积与轴向薄壁细胞比量呈显著正相关(P0.05),而单株材积与基本密度的相关性不显著,这使红心杉木生长量与材性相结合的遗传改良成为可能。     

Changes in the morphology and functions of vacuoles during the death of ray parenchyma cells in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Cryptomeria japonica</Emphasis>

Changes in the morphology and functions of vacuoles provide useful information about the mechanism of cell death. In the present study, we monitored the morphology and contents of vacuoles during the death of ray parenchyma cells in the conifer Cryptomeria japonica. In differentiating xylem, ray parenchyma cells had large central vacuoles. In sapwood, vacuoles in ray parenchyma cells contained proteins, an indication that one of the main functions of these vacuoles might be protein storage. A dramatic decrease in the protein content of some vacuoles was detected in the intermediate wood before the initiation of vacuole rupture. Although vacuole rupture was detected from the intermediate wood to the outermost heartwood, some vacuoles were obviously enlarged in the inner intermediate wood. Condensed nuclei were first observed after the rupture of these large vacuoles in ray parenchyma cells. It seems plausible that the autolysis of the contents of ray parenchyma cells might be caused by the rupture of the enlarged vacuoles in the inner intermediate wood.     

Impregnation of radiata pine wood by vacuum treatment II: effect of pre-steaming on wood structure and resin content

Radiata pine sapwood and heartwood were dried using high-temperature, conventional-temperature, and air drying schedules with and without pre-steaming. They were then impregnated by vacuum treatment with double-distilled water, toluidine blue, and fluorescein dye. For sapwood, there were only minor differences in uptake between drying methods and when pre-steaming was used. Using microscopy, the primary flow pathways in sapwood were found to be the resin canal network and ray parenchyma cells, which provided conduction without large resistance. In heartwood, uptake was strongly influenced by pre-steaming the green lumber. After pre-steaming heart-wood, there was an increase in uptake from all surfaces but especially from the radial surfaces. Lower extractive contents, disruption of epithelial and ray parenchyma cells, and alteration of the condition of bordered pits were also associated with pre-steaming. It was therefore possible to classify flow paths in radiata pine heartwood five ways, according to uptake values and wood anatomical features.This research was presented in part at the 48th annual meeting of the Japan Wood Research Society, Shizuoka, April 1998.     

Study of the transverse liquid flow paths in pine and spruce using scanning electron microscopy

Samples of pine (Pinus sylvestris) and spruce (Picea abies) were impregnated with a low-viscous epoxy resin using a vacuum process. The epoxy was cured in situ and the specimens sectioned. Deposits of the cured epoxy was then observed in the wood cavities using a scanning electron microscope. The investigation concentrated on tracing the transverse movements of a viscous liquid in the wood, and special attention was therefore given to the cross-field area between ray cells and longitudinal tracheids. A damage hypothesis is proposed based on the results obtained in the present investigation in combination with those from earlier studies on linseed oil-impregnated pine: In addition to the morphology of the bordered pits, viscous liquid flow in wood is dependent on damage that occurs during the impregnation procedure. For pine sapwood, liquid flow is enabled through disrupted window pit membranes, which divide the longitudinal tracheids and the ray parenchyma cells. A mechanism accounting for the reduced permeability of pine heartwood is believed to be deposits of higher-molecular-weight substances (extractives) in the ray parenchyma cells and on the cell walls. In spruce the thicker ray cells in combination with the smaller pits, which are connected to the longitudinal tracheids, reduce permeability considerably.     

Seasonal changes in gene expression at the sapwood-heartwood transition zone of black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia) revealed by cDNA microarray analysis

Heartwood is a determining factor of wood quality and understanding the biology of heartwood may allow us to control its formation. Heartwood formation is a form of senescence that is accompanied by a variety of metabolic alterations in ray parenchyma cells at the sapwood-heartwood transition zone. Although senescence has been studied at the molecular level with respect to primary growth, the cell maturation and death events occurring during heartwood formation have been difficult to study because of their location and timing. Analysis of global gene expression patterns during the transition from sapwood to heartwood may offer a powerful means of identifying the mechanisms controlling heartwood formation. Previously, we developed cDNA microarrays carrying 2567 unigenes derived from the bark/cambium region, sapwood and transition zone of a mature black locust tree. Here, we describe the use of these microarrays to characterize seasonal changes in the expression patterns of 1873 genes from the transition zone of mature black locust trees. When samples collected in summer and fall were compared, 569 genes showed differential expression patterns: 293 genes were up-regulated (> twofold) in summer (July 5) and 276 genes were up-regulated in fall (November 27). More than 50% of the secondary and hormone metabolism-related genes on the microarrays were up-regulated in summer. Twenty-nine out of 55 genes involved in signal transduction were differentially regulated, suggesting that the ray parenchyma cells located in the innermost part of the trunk wood react to seasonal changes. We established the expression patterns of 349 novel genes (previously unknown or no-hit), of which 154 were up-regulated in summer and 195 were up-regulated in the fall.     

Radial movement of sapwood-injected rubidium into heartwood of Japanese cedar (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Cryptomeria</Emphasis><Emphasis Type="Italic">japonica</Emphasis>) in the growing period

Rubidium solution was injected in the sapwood of a Japanese cedar cultivar in the growing period, and its radial movement in stem was traced to investigate the accumulation of alkali metals in the heartwood. Sapwood-injected Rb was detected in outer heartwood at 10 days after the treatment, and continued increasing at 20 days after. Radial movement of Rb toward heartwood was considered to occur soon after the treatment, and to decline at a certain point of the time after Rb injection ceased. However, Rb continued moving in heartwood probably by diffusion even after the cease of Rb injection. In a series of injection experiment, radial movement of injected Rb is not corresponding to the seasonality of both cambial activity and cytological changes of ray parenchyma accompanied with heartwood formation. From the results on Rb’s behavior, we conclude that accumulation of K and other alkali metals in heartwood of Japanese cedar has two steps, active transport from sapwood to outer heartwood via ray, and diffusion in heartwood, and that these processes proceed independently from both cambial activity and cytological changes of ray parenchyma.     

Ultrastructure of ray parenchyma cells in the wood of Melia azedarach L. (Meliaceae)

Summary The fine structure of ray parenchyma cells in the sapwood during its transformation to heartwood in Melia azedarach L. (Meliaceae) is described. They have thick walls with electron dense and opaque lamellations. Many branched and unbranched plasmodesmatal connections are present on their lateral and end walls. The cells in the outer sapwood show abundant starch which disappears completely in the inner sapwood ant at the sapwood-heartwood boundary. The morphological features of the starch grain during its depletion are described and their association with lipid formation is indicated. It is suggested that the phenolic materials in the heartwood cells are formed at the sapwood-heartwood boundary.Abbreviations Cy Cytoplasm - ER Endoplasmic reticulum - L Lipid droplet - M Mitochondrion - ML Middle lamella - MVB Multivesicular body - N Nucleus - P Pit-field - PC Pit cavity - PD Plasmodesmata - PL Plasmalemma - St Starch - V Vacuole - VS Vesicle - W Wall The authors thank the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research and University Grants Commission, New Delhi, India for the financial assistance     

The influence of heartwood on the pulping properties of Acacia melanoxylon wood

The pulping wood quality of Acacia melanoxylon was evaluated in relation to the presence of heartwood. The sapwood and heartwood from 20 trees from four sites in Portugal were evaluated separately at 5% stem height level in terms of chemical composition and kraft pulping aptitude. Heartwood had more extractives than sapwood ranging from 7.4% to 9.5% and from 4.0% to 4.2%, respectively, and with a heartwood-to-sapwood ratio for extractives ranging from 1.9 to 2.3. The major component of heartwood extractives was made up of ethanol-soluble compounds (70% of total extractives). Lignin content was similar in sapwood and heartwood (21.5% and 20.7%, respectively) as well as the sugar composition. Site did not influence the chemical composition. Pulping heartwood differed from sapwood in chemical and optical terms: lower values of pulp yield (53% vs 56% respectively), higher kappa number (11 vs. 7), and lower brightness (28% vs 49%). Acacia melanoxylon wood showed an overall good pulping aptitude, but the presence of heartwood should be taken into account because it decreases the raw-material quality for pulping. Heartwood content should therefore be considered as a quality variable when using A. melanoxylon wood in pulp industries     

Clonal variation of carbon content in wood of Larix kaempferi (Japanese larch)

Variations in carbon content in wood among 102 clones, selected from almost the entire natural distribution area, were investigated in Larix kaempferi. The average carbon content was 50.50%, 50.94%, and 50.80% in sapwood, heartwood, and whole wood, respectively. The difference in carbon content between clones was significant. The clonal repeatabilities were 0.46, 0.38, and 0.44 in heartwood, sapwood and whole wood, respectively. The coefficients of variation in the clonal mean carbon content were only 0.43%, 0.42%, and 0.41% in heartwood, sapwood, and whole wood, respectively. This small genetic variation and resulting small relative genetic gain of carbon content indicate that the genetic improvement of carbon content by selection has a small effect on the genetic improvement of carbon sequestration capacity by selection in L. kaempferi.     

Induction of the biosynthesis of agatharesinol, a norlignan, in sapwood sticks of Cryptomeria japonica under humidity-regulated circumstances

To establish an experimental approach for studying the biosynthetic pathway of agatharesinol, a norlignan, induction of the formation of agatharesinol in Cryptomeria japonica (Japanese cedar, sugi) was attempted. Wood sticks were prepared from the sapwood immediately after cutting a sugi tree down, and they were allowed to stand in desiccators in which the humidity was adjusted to 76% and 88%, and in a room. When the wood sticks were allowed to stand in 76% humidity and in a room, they dried rapidly and no formation of agatharesinol was demonstrated by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. These results suggest that in the sapwood dried rapidly, the cells that were biologically active in the sapwood, probably ray parenchyma cells, die rapidly and completely before the biosyntheses of secondary metabolites including agatharesinol was wholly established. The wood sticks allowed to stand in 88% humidity, on the other hand, dried gradually compared with the sticks placed in 76% humidity and in a room, and agatharesinol was formed as one of the predominant ethyl acetate extractives. These results suggest that delaying the drying of the sapwood sticks can control the dying period to an appropriate length for the ray parenchyma cells, during which the biosynthesis of agatharesinol is induced. Part of this study was presented at the 54th Annual Meeting of the Japan Wood Research Society, Sapporo, August 2004     

Responses ofQuercus sapwood to infection with the pathogenic fungus of a new wilt disease vectored by the ambrosia beetlePlatypus quercivorus

Quercus serrata andQ. crispula wilt during the summer in wide areas along the Sea of Japan. Mass attacks of trees by an ambrosia beetle (Platypus quercivorus) are characteristic before appearance of the wilting symptoms. This study investigated the pathogenic effects of a fungus detected specifically in the wilting trees. This hyphomycete fungus,Raffaelea sp., has a distribution that correlates with the discolored xylem area called wound heartwood in which vessels are dysfunctional. Tylosis formation around the hyphae indicates vessel dysfunction. In areas with discoloration, the fungal hyphae were invading living ray parenchyma cells from the vessel lumen. As a protective reaction the ray cells exuded yellow substances into the vessels, but these substances seemed ineffective against the fungal activity, probably because the fungus disperses along the beetle's gallery before enough substance can accumulate. It should allow wide discoloration in sapwood. Cambium was not necrotic around the fungus. The cytological process in the host was as follows: (1) synthesis of secondary metabolites by the stimuli of oak fungus; (2) exudation of yellow substances into vessels; and (3) dysfunction of vessels and wound heartwood formation. In regard to wilting of trees, the pathogenicity of the fungus should be assessed by its ability to stop sap flow.     

Improvement of penetrability of sugi wood by impregnation of bacteria using sap-flow method

The sap flow method of wood impregnation was conducted to aid the movement of bacteria through the living tree, thereby accelerating their distribution through wood within a short time. When log-pond water containing mixed species of bacteria were introduced in the living trees by butt-end dipping and then laid horizontally for 6 months, bacteria could be delivered by sap flow vertically through the sapwood tracheids up to the high portions from the butt-end of trees; they could be detected in the ray parenchymal cells. The sap-flow method was assumed to deliver the bacteria to sapwood and heartwood at high levels of standing sugi (Cryptomeria japonica D. Don) trees. Degradation of the pit membranes was observed even at more than 3 m upward from the butt-end after the treatment in sapwood, as well as around the butt-end of the trees. The uptake of the aqueous dye solutions in sapwood of the treated logs were about eight times more than those of control specimens after 8h.Part of this report was presented at the 40^th annual meeting of the Japan Wood Research Society, Tsukuba, April 1990; the 41^st annual meeting of Japan Wood Research Society, Matsue, April 1991; and the IUFRO 4^th international conference on wood drying, Rotorua, New Zealand, August 1994     

Dependence of shear strength on wood properties in cultivated Larix sibirica

Abstract

Mechanical properties are very important in structural uses of wood. In the case of larch wood, shear strength (SS) may be a limiting property, because the wood is brittle and it splinters easily. In this study, SS of Siberian larch (Larix sibirica) wood was studied in relation to its axial and radial location and to some other wood properties in the part of the trunk that produces logs of good carpentry quality. SS increased by 21–23% from the pith to the outer heartwood at each studied height (butt, 4.5 and 9 m), and it was at its most approximately 7% higher at the butt than at the other studied heights. The main reason for the radial increase in SS was the increase in density caused by wood maturation, but other factors also affected SS, depending on the grouping mode (combined material, radial/axial location). An exception was sapwood, for which no factors affecting SS could be identified. Thus, sapwood may behave differently from heartwood regarding use, even unexpectedly. The results suggest that mature heartwood, but not juvenile wood and sapwood, of Larix sibirica should primarily be used in products that require high SS.     

Heartwood,its function and formation

Summary Some of the changes which occur in wood during the transition from sapwood to heartwood have been reviewed. The nature of these changes suggest that heartwood formation is a regulatory process serving to keep the amount of sapwood at an optimum level. The pattern formed by the transition of cells from sapwood to heartwood suggests that heartwood development is controlled by a centripetally-translocated growth-active substance. The nature of the heartwood transformation is indicative of a developmental process rather than a deterioration of cell function with age so that death of the parenchyma cells is the result and not the cause of heartwood formation.The assistance of Jeanette Gregory, transmission electron microscopy; Dianne Higginbotham, scanning electron microscopy; N. Omar, statistical analysis; C. Taylor, photography; F. R. Humphreys, D. Edwards, D. Adamson, R. C. Foster, and F. V. Mercer, critical comments, is acknowledged. The scanning electron microscopy was undertaken at the Electron Microscopy Unit, Sydney University with the kind co-operation of C. Nockolds. The permission of Marcia Lambert to use unpublished data in Table 2 is also acknowledged.     

Profile of bordered pit aspiration in Cryptomeria japonica using confocal laser scanning microscopy: pit aspiration and heartwood color

Nine trees of Cryptomeria japonica from six elite tree clones with a broad range of heartwood colors were selected. The profiles of pit aspiration percentage (ASP) of earlywood and latewood from pith to bark for green and air-dry conditions were determined to study the relationship between heartwood color and pit aspiration. Confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) observations showed that the ASP of earlywood was low in sapwood and high in heartwood in the green condition. Pit aspiration increased in intermediate wood when compared with sapwood. On the other hand, latewood pits did not aspirate during heartwood formation. Comparing the air-dry condition with the green condition, sapwood pits aspirated during drying in both earlywood and latewood; however, there was no significant difference in pit aspiration of heartwood. There was no significant difference between samples with red and black heartwoods for ASP. The difference in ASP between individual trees was larger than that by heartwood color. The general advantage of CLSM over light microscopy is that serial optical sections along the Z axis can be obtained for any moisture condition, without the need for thin sectioning or embedding.     

Separating Norway spruce heartwood and sapwood in dried condition with near-infrared spectroscopy and multivariate data analysis

Norway spruce [Picea abies (L.) Karst.] heartwood and sapwood have differing wood properties, but are similar in appearance. An investigation was made to see whether near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) could be used with multivariate statistics for separation between heartwood and sapwood in dry state on tangential longitudinal surfaces. For classification of wood into sapwood and heartwood, partial least square (PLS) regression was used. Orthogonal signal correction (OSC) filtering was used on the spectra. This study shows that a separation of sapwood and heartwood of spruce is possible with NIR spectra measured in a laboratory environment. The visible-wavelength spectra have significant influence on the predictive power of separation models between sapwood and heartwood of spruce. All 44 specimens in the calibration set were correctly classified into heartwood and sapwood. Validation of the model was done with a prediction set of 16 specimens, of which one was classified incorrectly.     

Resistance of Pinus leucodermis heartwood and sapwood against the brown-rot fungus Coniophora puteana

Abstract

This study assessed the decay resistance of Pinus leucodermis wood to the brown-rot fungus Coniophora puteana. Based upon the median weight losses of 30.65% for heartwood and of 34.68% for sapwood obtained in the biological tests, both the heartwood and sapwood material examined was classified as not durable (durability class 5) according to the CEN/TS 15083-1 classification. Total extractives were low, 3.93% in heartwood and 1.00% in sapwood, while lignin content was 22.60% and 25.41% in heartwood and sapwood, respectively. It is highly recommended to use protective treatments before using P. leucodermis wood in outdoor conditions.     

On the origin of phenolic compounds in the wood rays of Abies alba

Summary The development and localization of phenolic compounds in sapwood and heartwood of Abies alba Mill. have been studied using cytological and UV-microspectrophotometric methods. The synthesis of phenolic substances was apparently initiated in vesicles developing from rough ER of the ray parenchyma cells in sapwood. They are different from the phenolic material in the pit membrane and cell wall of heartwood. There was no indication to suggest that the polyphenols in the cell wall of heartwood were either derived from or identical with the phenolic substances in the lumina of ray cells.Dedicated to Prof. Dr. H. von Pechmann on the occasion of his 70th birthdayWe are thankful to Professor Dr. Walter Liese for his support and to Mrs. R. Schultze and Miss R. Endeward for technical assistance.     

Characteristics of normal and discoloured wood of Ilomba (Pycnanthus angolensis Exell)

Summary In the West African Ilomba wood (Pycnanthus angolensis Exell) discolourations frequently develop after felling, which lead to serious degradation with regard to utilization. Therefore, structure and chemical composition of normal and discoloured wood were investigated in order to characterize the original wood and give a detailed account of the reactions which lead to discolourations. According to the results Ilomba, in normal condition, is all sapwood, which explains its high reactivity. The species does not have the ability to develop heartwood; only false heartwood is formed, initiated by exogenous influences. Discolourations arising in the wood after felling are reddish-brown, due to the deposition of extraneous compounds in the lumina of the ray cells. Soluble sugars disappear and the permeability decreases as a result of tyloses development. From discoloured wood only 60% of extraneous compounds could be extracted as compared to the normal sapwood, thus indicating that polymerisation of extraneous compounds takes place. Discoloured wood appears even more susceptible to decay than the bright sapwood. The pH-value increases from about 5.5 to 7.5 during discolouration, and bacteria present within the reddish-brown zones are involved in that process.We are indebted to Mrs. R. Endeward for assistance in the experimental work, to Prof. N. Parameswaran for support in the REM work, to Fa. Bernhard, Wangen and to Mr. K.-G. Dahms, Hamburg, for the supply of Ilomba wood. Acknowledgement is given to Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft for financial support     

Chemical characterization of Pinus halepensis sapwood and heartwood

ABSTRACT

This paper describes the chemical composition of sapwood (SW) and heartwood (HW) of Pinus halepensis Mill stem. Extractives were first isolated by accelerated solvent extraction and then analysed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The cellulosic polysaccharide content present in the pre-extracted wood samples was determined with acid hydrolysis and GC. The hemicelluloses content was determined with acid methanolysis and GC. Free monomers were additionally analysed by GC. The amount of lignin was determined gravimetrically by the Klason lignin method and the acid-soluble lignin was determined by a UV method. Formic and acetic acids in wood were determined after alkaline hydrolysis and analysed by HP-SEC. It was found that lipophilic and hydrophilic extractives were more abundant in heartwood (1.6% and 2.5%) than in sapwood (1.1% and 1.8%). Celluloses content was higher in sapwood (42.5%) than in heartwood (39.7%), whereas lignin, hemicelluloses and sugar monomer contents were more abundant in heartwood (28.9%, 26.8% and 0.3%) than in sapwood (28.0%, 24.5% and 0.2%). The variation in acetic and formic acids and ash contents between sapwood (0.7%, 0.2% and 0.5%) and heartwood (0.6%, 0.1% and 0.4%) was small. The acetylation degrees were found to be slightly similar in sapwood (0.4) and heartwood (0.3).