Soil Effects on Stem Growth and Wood Anatomy of Tamboril Are Mediated by Tree Age

Talita Dos Santos Angélico,Magali Ribeiro Da Silva,Júlia Sonsin-Oliveira,Carmen Regina Marcati,Sergio Rossi

doi:10.3390/f12081058

Talita Dos Santos Angélico, Magali Ribeiro Da Silva + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/f12081058

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Abstract

Soil influences the growth of trees and the characteristics of the wood; but could this influence change during the ontogeny of trees? To answer this question, we analyzed the wood anatomy of 9-year-old trees and 2-year-old saplings of Enterolobium contortisiliquum, known as “tamboril”, growing in eutrophic and oligotrophic soil in the Brazilian Cerrado, and assessed the effect of age on plant–soil relationship. Sapwood samples were collected from the main stem, anatomical sections were prepared in the lab, and 12 anatomical wood traits were measured. Individuals in eutrophic soil had greater stem diameter and height than those in oligotrophic soil. Trees in eutrophic soil had vessel-associated parenchyma cells with abundant storage compounds. Fibers walls were 47% thicker and intervessel pits diameter were 14% larger in trees of eutrophic soil. A greater proportion of solitary vessels (74%) was observed in trees rather than in saplings (50%). The secondary xylem of trees was mainly formed by fibers (63%) whereas in saplings it was mainly formed by storage tissue (64%). Our study provides evidence that the influence of soil conditions on tree growth reflects variations in wood anatomical features. No significant response to soil type was observed in saplings, thus demonstrating that the relationship between soil type and wood growth is mediated by tree age. These findings help to develop reliable reforestation strategies in tropical ecosystems characterized by different levels of soil fertility.

Highlights

Trees growing in eutrophic soil had larger stem diameters and heights (25.5–43.0 cm and 10–16 m, respectively) compared to those growing in oligotrophic soil (14.6–22.0 cm and 3.7–7.5 m, respectively) (Table 2; Figure 1)
Saplings had stem diameters ranging from 2.46 to 2.76 cm and heights ranging from 0.65 to 0.90 m in eutrophic soil compared to those growing in oligotrophic soil
Individuals growing in eutrophic soil were taller and larger than those growing in Individuals growing in eutrophic soil were taller and larger than those growing in oligotrophic soil

Summary

Introduction

Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Environmental conditions influence the biological processes involved in plant development, affecting the final growth. Variations in the secondary growth of woody plants can be an answer to gradients in resource availability. Identifying the influence of environmental conditions in wood structure and function of trees growing under different conditions is of particular interest because the environment directly affects xylem cell differentiation, i.e., enlargement and secondary wall thickening, and, the efficiency of water and nutrient transport from roots to leaves [1,2,3]

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