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Tracheid length in relation to seedling height in conifers

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Summary

Changes in tracheid length during the development of primary and secondary xylem are analysed in relation to the division and elongation of cambial initials, in first year seedlings ofPinus sylvestris andPicea sitchensis. During primary and early secondary growth tracheid length varies with leaf internode length, but this relationship soon becomes obscured during later secondary growth. Correlations between seedling height and tracheid length thus depend on variation in tracheid length with radial xylem increment before and after terminal bud production. Since the relation between shoot and tracheid length is a complex one, the clonseness of the correlation varies with environmental treatment, but overall, a doubling of shoot length increased tracheid length by about 10%.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Forestry and Wood Science, University College of North Wales, Bangor, Wales

    M. P. Denne

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  1. M. P. Denne
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Additional information

I am grateful to ProfessorS. D. Richardson andDr. G. K. Elliott for many helpful suggestions. This work was financed by a grant from the Natural Environment Research Council. Plants were grown from seed kindly supplied by the Forestry Commission Research Division (Scotland and North England).

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Denne, M.P. Tracheid length in relation to seedling height in conifers. Wood Sci.Technol. 5, 135–146 (1971). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01134224

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