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Abstract
Several environmental factors necessary for tree growth undergo rhythmic and sometimes abrupt changes during the course of a year, and even during a day. Since wood cells are susceptible to outside influences during their differentiation, certain fluctuations of environmental conditions invariably leave a permanent imprint on xylem anatomy, and hence significantly influence wood quality. Such features as the width of annual increments, cell length, cell diameter, cell wall thickness, and the development of drought and frost rings are affected by environmental factors to some degree. The effects of environment on xylem differentiation may be either direct or indirect, since xylem differentiation is integrated with other physiological processes in the living tree (e.g., photosynthesis, respiration, translocation) which are also subject to environmental influences.
Parent Publication
Citation
Balatinecz, J.J.; Farrar, J.L. 1968. Tracheid development and wood quality in larch seedlings under controlled environment. In: Proceedings of the Eighth Lake States Forest Tree Improvement Conference; Res. Pap. NC-23. St. Paul, MN: U.S. Forest Service, North Central Forest Experiment Station. 28-36
