Sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh.) trees exhibit seasonal patterns of production, accumulation, and utilization of nonstructural carbohydrates that are closely correlated with phenological events and (or) physiological processes. The simultaneous seasonal patterns of both reserve and soluble carbohydrates in the leaves, twigs, branches, and trunks of healthy mature sugar maple trees were characterized. The concentrations of starch and soluble sugars (sucrose, glucose, fructose, xylose, raffinose, and stachyose) were determined. Starch, the major reserve carbohydrate in sugar maple, is low during the active photosynthetic growth season. Starch is accumulated in the xylem ray tissues in late summer and early fall. During the cold season, there is a close relationship between starch hydrolysisaccumulation and temperature. Soluble sugars increase when starch concentrations decrease during the cold months, and these sugars may play a role in cold tolerance. Patterns of change in the stem tissues are similar to those in the root tissues but with slight differences in the timing. RCsumC: L'Crable a sucre (Acer saccharum Marsh.) affiche des patrons saisonniers de production, d'accumulation et d'utilisation des glucides non-structuraux, Ctroitement corrClCs avec des Cvhements phCnologiques et (ou) physiologiques. Les auteurs ont caractCrisC les patrons saisonniers simultane's des glucide solubles et de rCserve dans les feuilles, les rameaux, les branches et les troncs d'Crables a sucre matures et en santC. 11s ont dCterminC les teneurs en amidon et en sucres solubles (saccharose, glucose, fructose, xylose, raffinose et stachyose). La teneur en amidon, principale rCserve en glucides de 1'Crable sucre, est faible au cours de la pCriode photosynthCtique active. L'amidon s'accumule dans les t'issus des rayons du xylkme vers la fin de I' CtC dCbut de I'automne. Au cours de la saison froide, on note une Ctroite relation entre hydrolyse et accumulation, selon la tempdrature. Les sucres solubles augmentent lorsque les teneurs en amidon diminuent, pendant les mois froids, et les sucres peuvent jouer un r61e dans la tolerance au froid.Les patrons de changements dans les tissus de la tige sont semblables a ceux qui surviennent dans les tissus des racines, mais avec un lCger ddcalage dans le temps.

Use of C3 carbon dioxide (CO2) fixation cycle by the sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh.), a dicotyledenous plant, and C4 carbon fixation cycle by 2 monocotyledenous plants, corn and cane, results in a physiological discrimination between 13C and 12C isotopes. Therefore, determination of 13C/12C ratio of maple syrup by mass spectrometry can be used to detect adulteration with cane and corn sugars. Four samples of pure maple syrup and 3 adulterated maple syrup samples were analyzed in a collaborative study. Results indicate that stable carbon isotope analysis can determine authenticity of maple products. Samples with δ13C values less negative than – 23.49%c (parts per thousand) can, with a high degree of confidence (95%), be classified as adulterated. The method has been adopted official first action.

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This study examines the effects of summer drought on the composition and profiles of cold-season reserve and soluble carbohydrates in sugar maple ( Acer saccharum Marsh.) trees (50–100 years old or ∼200 years old) in which the crowns were nondamaged or damaged by the 1998 ice storm. The overall cold season reserve carbohydrate profiles in twig wood tissue of drought-stressed (DS) trees and non-drought-stressed (NDS) trees were generally similar, although differences were observed in the amount of reserve carbohydrates in DS and NDS trees. The cold-season level of starch stored in DS trees in early autumn in the wood tissue was about one-third to one-fifth that in NDS trees. The cold season sugar content in the DS trees was significantly greater than can be attributed to degradation of stored starch, only. The level of sucrose in DS trees remained high throughout the winter until termination of dormancy and dehardening. The concentrations of winter glucose and fructose in DS trees attained peak levels at the time of dormancy termination and declined during dehardening. The profiles of glucose and fructose in DS and damaged DS trees were generally different from that of sucrose throughout the leafless phase. In contrast, profiles of glucose and fructose in NDS trees closely paralleled that of sucrose. Elevated levels of sucrose, glucose, and fructose in DS sugar maple trees during the cold season may function as osmoregulators for freeze protection. Low sugar level or lack of increase in sugar level following dehardening in DS trees may suggest limited change in cellular constituents in adapting to low temperatures.

To assess the effect of the ice storm of January 1998 on sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh.) tree health, starch, and soluble sugars in twigs from two damaged sugarbushes (younger: trees 50–100 years old, and older: trees approximately 200 years old) in northern New York were measured throughout the leafless phase (September 1998 – May 1999). Trees severely damaged by the ice storm exhibited signs of recovery during the first growth season (1998), that is, greater numbers of lateral (epicormic) shoots and increased wood production in the current year growth ring of branches at mid-crown, and high concentrations of starch in the twigs at the time of leaf drop. Differences in reserve and soluble sugar profiles between damaged and slightly damaged or undamaged sugar maple trees and between trees of the older sugarbush and those of the younger sugarbush indicate changes in cold season physiology of damaged trees in adapting to or tolerating cold temperature. In damaged trees of the younger and older sugarbushes, the profiles of sucrose, stachyose, raffinose, and xylose were similar to those of corresponding slightly damaged or undamaged trees throughout the cold season, except for late winter sucrose, glucose, and fructose profiles, which exhibited differences in concentration and profile configurations compared with respective slightly damaged or undamaged trees. A lower concentration of sucrose in damaged older tree wood tissue after dehardening in late winter and a lower concentration of "resynthesized" starch just prior to vernal growth were observed. The data indicate that the profiles of individual sugars can provide information on changes in physiological and biochemical processes in damaged trees during the cold season.Key words: starch, sucrose, glucose, fructose, raffinose, stachyose.