biologia plantarum

Biologia plantarum 57:591-596, 2013 | DOI: 10.1007/s10535-013-0320-6

Wood ontogeny during the first year of hybrid poplar development

J. Ďurkovič^1,*, A. Kaňuchová¹, F. Kačík², M. Mamoňová³, A. Lengyelová⁴

¹ Department of Phytology, Technical University, SK-96053, Slovakia

² Department of Chemistry and Chemical Technologies, Technical University, Zvolen, Slovakia

³ Department of Wood Science, Technical University, Zvolen, Slovakia

⁴ Forest Research Institute, National Forest Centre, Zvolen, Slovakia

During the first year of hybrid poplar development, we assessed radial growth dynamics quantified by the proportion of secondary xylem tissue within the stem area, the vessel area percentage, the content of both lignin and cellulose, the lignin monomeric composition, and the macromolecular properties of cellulose. The intraannual radial growth dynamics in the proportion of secondary xylem tissue was fitted by the Gompertz regression line whereas changes in the vessel area percentage were fitted maximally by a cubic regression line. Under constant temperature and photoperiod, this study revealed that nonlinear patterns of radial growth dynamics are the result of a developmental programme which drives cambial activity and ageing. The increased proportion of guaiacyl units found may be important for the greater stability of the lignin structure in the first year of hybrid poplar development. The tensile strength of juvenile wood was ensured by the trade-off between a slight increase in the degree of polymerization of cellulose and a slight decrease in the content of cellulose during ageing.

Keywords: cellulose; guaiacyl; lignin; Populus tremula; Populus × canescens; syringyl; xylem

Subjects: wood ontogeny; cellulose; guaiacyl; lignin; suringyl; xylem; stem anatomy; rhamnose; arabinose; xylose; mannose; glucose; galactose; poplar

Received: July 11, 2012; Accepted: January 9, 2013; Published: September 1, 2013  Show citation