Is size an issue of time? Relationship between the duration of xylem development and cell traits

Secondary growth is a process related to the formation of new cells that increase in size and wall thickness during xylogenesis. Temporal dynamics of wood formation influence cell traits, in turn affecting cell patterns across the tree ring. We verified the hypothesis that cell diameter and cell wall thickness are positively correlated with the duration of their differentiation phases.

Histological sections were produced by microcores to assess the periods of cell differentiation in black spruce [Picea mariana (Mill.) B.S.P.]. Samples were collected weekly between 2002 and 2016 from a total of 50 trees in five sites along a latitudinal gradient in Quebec (Canada). The intra-annual temporal dynamics of cell differentiation were estimated at a daily scale, and the relationships between cell traits and duration of differentiation were fitted using a modified von Bertalanffy growth equation.

At all sites, larger cell diameters and cell wall thicknesses were observed in cells that experienced a longer period of differentiation. The relationship was a non-linear, decreasing trend that occasionally resulted in a clear asymptote. Overall, secondary wall deposition lasted longer than cell enlargement. Earlywood cells underwent an enlargement phase that lasted for 12 d on average, while secondary wall thickness lasted 15 d. Enlargement in latewood cells averaged 7 d and secondary wall deposition occurred over an average of 27 d.

Cell size across the tree ring is closely connected to the temporal dynamics of cell formation. Similar relationships were observed among the five study sites, indicating shared xylem formation dynamics across the entire latitudinal distribution of the species.The duration of cell differentiation is a key factor involved in cell growth and wall thickening of xylem, thereby determining the spatial variation of cell traits across the tree ring.