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Ecophysiology and Plasticity of Wood and Phloem Formation

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Dendroecology

Part of the book series: Ecological Studies ((ECOLSTUD,volume 231))

Abstract

Long-lived plants need to continuously adjust their structure to fit the changing environmental constraints. Xylem and phloem growth represent both the means used to achieve these structural adjustments and a good indicator of plant success and performance. This chapter reviews the growth dynamics of the xylem and phloem and explores how resource availability and environmental variation provides important context for understanding the impacts of global change. We first illustrate the intra-annual patterns of xylem and phloem growth in different areas of the world to highlight the variations caused by the environment. Then, the components of the growth process, from timing (phenology) to the rates and the characteristics of xylem anatomy are presented to explain how these components are marking valuable indications of the way plants growth respond to changing environmental conditions. Finally we discuss how wood formation can contribute to advancements in ecophysiology and dendroecology.

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Acknowledgments

This chapter was partly funded by the CRSNG Discovery Grant of A. Deslauriers. P. Fonti received support from the Swiss National Science Foundation (projects INTEGRAL-121859 and LOTFOR-150205). The authors thank the European Science Foundation supporting the LESC Strategic Workshop and the COST Action STReESS—Studying Tree Responses to extreme Events: a SynthesiS (FP1106) for creating the favorable environment for the realization of this work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Département des Sciences Fondamentales, Université du Québec à Chicoutimi, 555 Boulevard de l’Université, Chicoutimi, QC, Canada, G7H 2B1

    Annie Deslauriers & Sergio Rossi

  2. Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL, Zürcherstrasse 111, 8903, Birmensdorf, Switzerland

    Patrick Fonti

  3. Laboratoire d’Étude des Ressources Forêt-Bois (LERFoB), UMR INRA-AgroParisTech 1092, Centre INRA de Nancy, 54280, Champenoux, France

    Cyrille B. K. Rathgeber

  4. Department of Forest Yield and Silviculture, Slovenian Forestry Institute, Vecna Pot 2, 1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia

    Jozica Gričar

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  1. Annie Deslauriers
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  2. Patrick Fonti
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  3. Sergio Rossi
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  4. Cyrille B. K. Rathgeber
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Correspondence to Annie Deslauriers .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto de Investigaciones en Recursos, Naturales, Agroecología y Desarrollo Rural, Universidad Nacional de Río Negro, El Bolsón, Río Negro, Argentina

    Mariano M. Amoroso

  2. Department of Forest and Conservation Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

    Lori D. Daniels

  3. School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

    Patrick J. Baker

  4. Pyrenean Institute of Ecology (IPE-CSIC), Zaragoza, Spain

    J. Julio Camarero

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Deslauriers, A., Fonti, P., Rossi, S., Rathgeber, C.B.K., Gričar, J. (2017). Ecophysiology and Plasticity of Wood and Phloem Formation. In: Amoroso, M., Daniels, L., Baker, P., Camarero, J. (eds) Dendroecology. Ecological Studies, vol 231. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-61669-8_2

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