Changes in the intensity of heartwood formation in Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) ontogenesis

Abstract

An essential stage in woody plant ontogeny (heartwood (HW) formation) determines tree resistance to weather conditions, wood quality (moisture, colour, resistance to biodegradation), and regulates the proportion of functionally active sapwood (SW) in the total trunk biomass. In this study, the patterns of HW formation depending on tree age and cambial age within the same tree were studied in the North-West of Russia in Scots pine in a lingonberry pine forest. It is shown that HW either repeats the trunk profile or shows a maximum proportion on average at the height of 1.5 m. Models using the square root transformation and logarithm transformation have been proposed to predict the number of annual rings in HW depending on the cambial age. Multiple regression is proposed to predict the radial width in HW. Validation of the developed models on random trees gave a good result. HW formation begins at the age of 17–18 years and continues at the rate of 0.3 rings per year for 20–30-year-old trees, 0.4–0.5 rings per year for 70–80-year-old trees, and about 0.7 rings per year for 180-year-old trees. The lifespan of xylem parenchyma cells ranged from 10–15 years in 20-year-old trees to 70 years in 180-year-old trees. At the age of the previous felling (70–80 years) the HW area in the trunk biomass is about 20%, and in 180-year-old pine forests, it increases to 50%. These data can be used to assess the role of old-growth forests in carbon sequestration.