Vessel-length distribution in stems of some American woody plants

Abstract

1. Vessel-length distribution in stems of some American woody plants. Can. J. Bot. 59: 1882-1892. Vessel-length distributions in some trees, shrubs, and a vine have been calculated from measurements of particle penetration and of air-volume flow through the xylem. In shrubs and diffuse-porous species, longest vessels were about 1 m long, but most of them were much shorter, the largest percentage in the 0-10 cm length class. In the two ring-porous species investigated (Quercus rubra and Fraxinus americana), the longest vessels often were as long as the tree's stem, but most of them were much shorter. In the grapevine (Vitis labrusca) which has large-diameter vessels (ca. 30Q km) a small percentage of the vessels was 8 m, but most of them were less than 5 m long. In a given species, lengths of the longest vessel were quite variable, but the distribution of the short lengths was more constant. In general, vessel lengths are correlated with vessel diameters: wide vessels are longer. Even in diffuse-porous species, the slightly narrower latewood vessels are somewhat shorter than the wider earlywood vessels. The method is a simplified version of that described by Skene and Balodis, but using a programmable desk calculator. It works best with diffuse-porous species in which vessels are randomly distributed in the stem, and less well in species with wide vessels, because as vessels reach the length of the stem itself, they cannot be randomly distributed.

Beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) branches show acclimation of xylem anatomy and hydraulic properties to increased light after thinning

“…To avoid artificial embolism induced by cutting the branch and transporting it to the laboratory, we cut 2 meter-long branches, longer than the longest vessel measured in the beech branches (63 cm, [33]), and enclosed them in a black airtight plastic bag which protected them from heat and dehydration. Branches were recut under water in the lab and PLC measurements were made rapidly as above.…”

Xylem hydraulic characteristics of subtropical trees from contrasting habitats grown under identical environmental conditions

“…The method used was modified from Zimmermann & Jeje (1981). An inert, carmine pigment, Colanyl (Hoechst) was used instead of latex paint.…”

“…The number of pigment-filled vessels in each section was counted using a dissection microscope at i40 magnification. Vessel length distribution was calculated according to Zimmermann & Jeje's (1981) adaptation of the work of Skene & Balodis (1968).…”

“…This indicated that the vessel length classes of these four species were not randomly arranged throughout the stem (Zimmermann & Jeje, 1981). The vulnerability of Cinnamomum camphora to cavitation was assessed using acoustic emissions, the hydraulic technique was used for the other species.…”

Resolving confusions about jarrah dieback - don’t forget the plants

“…One way to study the conductivity of sapwood is by gas flow under positive pressure (Zimmermann and Jeje 1981). If a piece of stem or root is cut shorter than the average length of its xylem vessels some of these vessels will be open at both ends.…”