Anatomical, Chemical, and Ecological Factors Affecting Tree Species Choice in Dendrochemistry Studies

Abstract

Recently, element concentrations in tree rings have been used to monitor metal contamination, fertilization, and the effects of acid precipitation on soils. This has stimulated interest in which tree species may be suitable for use in studies of long‐term trends in environmental chemistry. Potential radial translocation of elements across ring boundaries can be a confounding factor in assessing environmental change. Thus, the selection of species which minimizes radial translocation of elements can be critical to the success of dendrochemical research. Criteria for the selection of species with characteristics favorable for dendrochemical analysis are categorized into (i) habitat‐based factors, (ii) xylem‐based factors, and (Hi) element‐based factors. Species with a wide geographic range and ecological amplitude provide an advantage in calibration and better controls on the effects of soil chemistry on element concentrations. The most important xylem‐based criteria are heartwood moisture content, permeability, and the nature of the sapwood‐heartwood transition. The element of experimental interest is important in determining which tree species will be suitable because all elements are not equally mobile or detectable in the xylem. Ideally, the tree species selected for dendrochemical study will be long‐lived, grow on a wide range of sites over a large geographic distribution, have a distinct heartwood with a low number of rings in the sapwood, a low heartwood moisture content, and have low radial permeability. Recommended temperate zone North American species include white oak (Quercus alba L.), post oak (Q. stellata Wangenh.), eastern redcedar (Juniperus virginiana L.), old‐growth Douglas‐fir [Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco] and big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata Nutt.). In addition, species such as bristlecone pine (Pinus aristata Engelm. syn. longaeva), old‐growth redwood [Sequoia sempervirens (D. Don) Endl.], and giant sequoia [S. gigantea (Lindl.) Deene] may be suitable for local purposes.

Inter-annual mobility of nitrogen between beech rings: a labelling experiment

“…4). This demonstrates that nitrogen is highly mobile across rings, consistently with other works [6]. This mobility of nitrogen can be attributed to the living cells of the abundant ligneous rays which are the vector of translocation towards the inner part of the tree and explain the homogenous redistribution of N especially for young trees.…”

Mineral nutrient concentrations in sapwood and heartwood: a literature review

“…Thus, a high proportion of N, P and K is located in the symplast of parenchyma ray cells [50,64,72] which is thought to be withdrawn during sapwood senescence [27,66,76]. In contrast, a substantial proportion of Ca and Mg in wood is located in the cell wall either adsorbed on negatively charged exchange sites or incorporated in the form of pectates or in the lignin matrix [17,44,48]. Ca and Mg are thus less mobile than N, P and K in the xylem [17,44].…”

“…In contrast, a substantial proportion of Ca and Mg in wood is located in the cell wall either adsorbed on negatively charged exchange sites or incorporated in the form of pectates or in the lignin matrix [17,44,48]. Ca and Mg are thus less mobile than N, P and K in the xylem [17,44]. It is worth noticing, however, that specific genera (e.g.…”

“…In the last 20 years, however, the emergence of dendrochemistry has yielded a large amount of new data on mineral element concentrations in heartwood and sapwood [17,66]. The picture emerging from these new data might be more complex than previously thought.…”

Radial variations in wood mineral element concentrations: a comparison of beech and pedunculate oak from the Belgian Ardennes

“…Thus, a growing amount of evidence suggests that soil acidification due to atmospheric pollution ("acid rain") leads to decreasing concentrations of calcium and magnesium and increasing concentration of aluminium in the wood [4,8,18,20,22]. However, non-uniform radial concentration profiles in the wood may also result from endogenous mechanisms not related to environmental change [6,9,12,23,29,31,34] and, accordingly, monitoring metal pollution using tree rings composition can be extremely difficult [14]. For instance, radial translocations of elements can occur when essential elements are resorbed from senescing wood at the time of heartwood formation.…”