Life Sciences Commons^™

Drought In Temperate Mesic Regions Leads To Micro-Density Anomalies In White Pine, Elise Miller

CSB and SJU Distinguished Thesis

Wood density and wood volume determine the amount of carbon fixed by trees; however, while we are beginning to understand normal seasonal variation in wood density, anomalies are common, and their drivers are poorly understood. In conifers, wood density normally increases continuously throughout the season, but intra-annual fluctuations in wood density can occur and have been linked to climatic events. The causes of these fluctuations in density at the micro-scale (hereafter micro-density anomalies) are still debated.

Mesic regions are experiencing more droughts, but micro-density anomalies are rarely studied in these ecosystems. This study examined micro-density anomaly distribution within the boles …