Parenchyma represents a critically important living tissue in the sapwood of the secondary xylem of woody angiosperms. Considering various interactions between parenchyma and water transporting vessels, we hypothesize a structure-function relationship between both cell types. Through a generalized additive mixed model approach based on 2,332 woody angiosperm species derived from the literature, we explored the relationship between the proportion and spatial distribution of ray and axial parenchyma and vessel size, while controlling for maximum plant height and a range of climatic factors. When factoring in maximum plant height, we found that with increasing mean annual temperatures, mean vessel diameter showed a positive correlation with axial parenchyma proportion and arrangement, but not for ray parenchyma. Species with a high axial parenchyma tissue fraction tend to have wide vessels, with most of the parenchyma packed around vessels, whereas species with small diameter vessels show a reduced amount of axial parenchyma that is not directly connected to vessels. This finding provides evidence for independent functions of axial parenchyma and ray parenchyma in large vesselled species and further supports a strong role for axial parenchyma in long-distance xylem water transport.

Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University 1300 Centre St Boston MA 02130 USA

Department of Biology College of Charleston Charleston SC 29424 USA

Department of Biology Faculty of Science University of Hradec Králové Rokitanského 62 500 03 Hradec Králové Czech Republic

Department of Crop Sciences Tropical Plant Production and Agricultural Systems Modelling Göttingen University Grisebachstrasse 6 37077 Göttingen Germany

Department of Forest Biomaterials NC State University Raleigh NC 27695 8005 USA

Forest Ecology and Conservation Group Department of Plant Sciences University of Cambridge Downing Street Cambridge CB2 3EA UK

Institute of Evolutionary Ecology and Conservation Genomics Ulm University Albert Einstein Allee 11 D 89069 Ulm Germany

Institute of Systematic Botany and Ecology Ulm University Albert Einstein Allee 11 89081 Ulm Germany

Instituto de Biología Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México Tercer Circuito s n de CU Mexico DF 04510 Mexico

Laboratory for Applied Wood Materials Empa Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Testing and Research St Gallen 9014 Switzerland

Museo de Múzquiz A C Zaragoza 209 C P 26340 Melchor Múzquiz Coahuila Mexico

North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences 11 West Jones St Raleigh NC 27601 USA

USDA ARS Water Management and Systems Research Unit Fort Collins CO 80526 USA

Zheng JingminG College of Forestry Beijing Forestry University Beijing 100083 China

Citace poskytuje Crossref.org

Variations in wood anatomy in Afrotropical trees with a particular emphasis on radial and axial parenchyma