Bark, the neglected tree postural motor system

Poppinga, Simon; Speck, Thomas

doi:10.1111/nph.15481

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…2B-2D). The anatomical structure of bark in species with tensile stress is similar to that observed in Malvaceae species (Roth 1972;Kotina et al 2017;Clair et al 2019) or some extinct plants (Masselter et al 2017;Poppinga and Speck 2019), and here observed in various botanical families. Among these species we observed the presence of fibers with a G-layer in three cases (Carapa surinamensis, Supplementary data, Fig.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 83%

Mechanical stress in the inner bark of 15 tropical tree species and the relationship with anatomical structure

Lehnebach

Doumerc

Clair

et al. 2020

Botany

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Recent studies have shown that the inner bark is implicated in the postural control of inclined tree stems through the interaction between wood radial growth and tangential expansion of a trellis fiber network in bark. Assessing the taxonomic extent of this mechanism requires a screening of the diversity in bark anatomy and mechanical stress. The mechanical state of bark was measured in 15 tropical tree species from various botanical families on vertical mature trees, and related to the anatomical structure of the bark. Significant tensile or compressive longitudinal stresses were observed in the stems of most species. Tensile longitudinal stress was observed in various botanical families and was always associated with fibers arranged in a trellis-like structure and strong dilatation of rays. The highest tensile stress was recorded in species with gelatinous fibers forming a treillis. Compressive stress was typically associated with a large amount of sclereids in the bark, supporting the differentiation of sclereids as a potential origin of the generation of longitudinal compressive stresses in bark. In species exhibiting both a fibrous trellis structure and a significant amount of sclereids, the sign of longitudinal stress may depend on the balance between these two mechanisms.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 83%

Mechanical stress in the inner bark of 15 tropical tree species and the relationship with anatomical structure

Lehnebach

Doumerc

Clair

et al. 2020

Botany

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“…Rather, the stem is stabilised to a large degree by a fibre system within the secondary phloem (Fisher and Mueller 1983;Kempe et al 2014). These special fibre systems, fossil and recent, probably operate in quite the same manner like a "trellis" system (Poppinga and Speck 2019). There is ongoing progress in understanding plant stem constructions, and evidence was found recently that bark can also substantially contribute to mechanical behaviour in dicot trees (Clair et al 2019).…”

Section: The Tree-a Multifunctional Affairmentioning

confidence: 99%

From tree to architecture: how functional morphology of arborescence connects plant biology, evolution and physics

Roth‐Nebelsick

Miranda

Ebner

et al. 2021

Palaeobio Palaeoenv

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Trees are the fundamental element of forest ecosystems, made possible by their mechanical qualities and their highly sophisticated conductive tissues. The evolution of trees, and thereby the evolution of forests, were ecologically transformative and affected climate and biogeochemical cycles fundamentally. Trees also offer a substantial amount of ecological niches for other organisms, such as epiphytes, creating a vast amount of habitats. During land plant evolution, a variety of different tree constructions evolved and their constructional principles are a subject of ongoing research. Understanding the “natural construction” of trees benefits strongly from methods and approaches from physics and engineering. Plant water transport is a good example for the ongoing demand for interdisciplinary efforts to unravel form-function relationships on vastly differing scales. Identification of the unique mechanism of water long-distance transport requires a solid basis of interfacial physics and thermodynamics. Studying tree functions by using theoretical approaches is, however, not a one-sided affair: The complex interrelationships between traits, functionality, trade-offs and phylogeny inspire engineers, physicists and architects until today.

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3D Reticulated Actuator Inspired by Plant Up-Righting Movement Through a Cortical Fiber Network

Masselter

Speck

2021

Biomimetics

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Since most plant movements take place through an interplay of elastic deformation and strengthening tissues, they are thus ideal concept generators for biomimetic hingeless actuators. In the framework of a biomimetic biology push process, we present the transfer of the functional movement principles of hollow tubular geometries that are surrounded by a net-like structure. Our plant models are the recent genera Ochroma (balsa) and Carica (papaya) as well as the fossil seed fern Lyginopteris oldhamia, which hold a net of macroscopic fiber structures enveloping the whole trunk. Asymmetries in these fiber nets, which are specifically caused by asymmetric growth of the secondary wood, enable the up-righting of inclined Ochroma and Carica stems. In a tubular net-like structure, the fiber angles play a crucial role in stress–strain relationships. When braided tubes are subjected to internal pressure, they become shorter and thicker if the fiber angle is greater than 54.7°. However, if the fiber angle is less than 54.7°, they become longer and thinner. In this article, we use straightforward functional demonstrators to show how insights into functional principles from living nature can be transferred into plant-inspired actuators with linear or asymmetric deformation.

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Bark, the neglected tree postural motor system

Abstract: This article is a Commentary on Clair et al., 221: 209–217.

Cited by 3 publications

References 13 publications

Mechanical stress in the inner bark of 15 tropical tree species and the relationship with anatomical structure

Mechanical stress in the inner bark of 15 tropical tree species and the relationship with anatomical structure

From tree to architecture: how functional morphology of arborescence connects plant biology, evolution and physics

3D Reticulated Actuator Inspired by Plant Up-Righting Movement Through a Cortical Fiber Network

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