Xylogenesis under climatic stress : wood anatomical evidence of harsh conditions

Balzano, Angela (author), Merela, Maks (author), Krže, Luka (author), Čufar, Katarina (author)

Xylogenesis – the process of secondary xylem formation – is tightly regulated by hormonal, physiological, and environmental signals, but becomes highly vulnerable under extreme climatic stress. Drought, heatwaves, and late frosts can disrupt key stages of cambial activity, cell production, differentiation, and maturation, leading to the formation of distinct anatomical anomalies in the wood of individual tree rings. We present examples of wood anatomical features collected during xylogenesis experiments in (1) Mediterranean and semi-arid, (2) arid and semi-arid, as well as (3) cold and arctic biomes. The most typical features of Mediterranean and semi-arid biomes – L-type IADFs showing xylogenetic plasticity – are shown in Pinus pinea, Arbutus unedo and Quercus ilex. Drought-induced disruptions of xylogenesis in arid and semi-arid biomes are illustrated by E-IADFs in Arbutus unedo and dark rings in Pinus halepensis. Finally, frost rings in Rhododendron myrtifolium and blue rings in Pinus sylvestris are presented as typical wood anatomy anomalies that occur due to disrupted cambial production and cell differentiation at the beginning or the end of vegetation period in the harsh conditions of cold arctic biomes.

• Language: English
• Keywords: xylogenesis = wood formation, wood, anomalies in tree rings, intra-annual density fluctuation (IADF), dark ring, frost ring, blue ring
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: BF - Biotechnical Faculty
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Publication date: 01.01.2025
• Year: 2025
• Number of pages: Str. 65-76
• Numbering: Let. 74, št. 1
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-171425
• UDC: 630*811.2
• ISSN on article: 2590-9932
• DOI: 10.26614/les-wood.2025.v74n01a05
• COBISS.SI-ID: 246582275
• Publication date in RUL: 26.08.2025

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Les
• Publisher: Biotehniška fakulteta, Oddelek za lesarstvo, Biotehniška fakulteta, Oddelek za lesarstvo, Založba Univerze
• ISSN: 2590-9932
• COBISS.SI-ID: 290940672

Licences

• License: CC BY-SA 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
• Description: This Creative Commons license is very similar to the regular Attribution license, but requires the release of all derivative works under this same license.

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Title: Nastajanje lesa in podnebni stres : lesno-anatomski dokazi ostrih razmer

Abstract

Ksilogenezo - proces nastajanja sekundarnega ksilema (lesa) - uravnavajo hormonski, fiziološki in okoljski signali, vendar proces lahko zmotijo ekstremni podnebni dogodki. Suša, vročinski valovi in (pozne) zmrzali lahko prekinejo ključne faze kambijeve aktivnosti, celične produkcije, diferenciacije in nastanka zrelih celic, kar vodi v nastanek izrazitih anatomskih anomalij v lesu posameznih branik. Predstavljamo primere anatomskih sprememb lesa, zbranih med našimi raziskavami nastajanja lesa v (1) sredozemskih in polsušnih, (2) sušnih in polsušnih ter (3) hladnih in arktičnih biomih. Najbolj značilne lastnosti sredozemskih in polsušnih biomov, so znotraj-letne variacije gostote IADF tipa L. Te kažejo ksilogenetsko plastičnost in so prikazane pri vrstah Pinus pinea, Arbutus unedo in Quercus ilex. Motnje ksilogeneze v sušnih in polsušnih biomih, ki jih povzroča suša, ponazarjajo IADFi tipa E, ki smo jih zaznali pri vrsti Arbutus unedo in temne branike pri vrsti Pinus halepensis. Nazadnje so predstavljene mrazne branike pri vrsti Rhododendron myrtifolium in modre branike pri Pinus sylvestris, kjer je bila zaradi zmrzali motena kambijeva produkcija in/ali diferenciacija celic na začetku ali na koncu vegetacijske dobe v ostrih razmerah hladnih arktičnih biomov.

• Keywords: ksilogeneza = nastajanje lesa, les, anomalije v branikah, znotraj-letna variacija gostote = IADF, temna branika, mrazna branika, modra branika

Projects

• Funder: ARIS - Slovenian Research and Innovation Agency
• Project number: P4-0015-2020
• Name: Les in lignocelulozni kompoziti