Are there tides within trees?

Abstract

Tree stem diameters and electrical stem potentials exhibit rhythmic variations with periodicities of 24-25 h. Under free-running conditions of constant light or darkness these rhythms were suggested to be mediated by the lunisolar gravitational force. To further unravel the regulation of tree stem diameter dilatations, many of the published time courses of diameter variations were re-evaluated in conjunction with the contemporaneous time courses of the lunisolar tidal acceleration. This was accomplished by application of the Etide program, which estimates, with high temporal resolution, local gravitational changes as a consequence of the diurnal variations of the lunisolar gravitational force due to the orbits and relative positions of Earth, Moon and Sun. In all instances investigated, it was evident that a synchronism exists between the times of the turning points of both the lunisolar tide and stem diameter variations when the direction of extension changes. This finding of synchrony documents that the lunisolar tide is a regulator of the tree stem diameter dilatations. Under the described experimental conditions, rhythms in tree stem diameter dilations and electrical stem potentials are controlled by the lunisolar gravitational acceleration.