Gonzalo Pérez-de-Lis

University of Santiago de Compostela | USC · Department of Botanic

Despite lignin being a key component of wood, the dynamics of tracheid lignification are generally overlooked in xylogenesis studies, which hampers our understanding of environmental drivers and blurs the interpretation of isotopic and anatomical signals stored in tree rings. Here, we analyzed cell wall formation in silver fir (Abies alba Mill.) tr...

The kinetics of wood formation in angiosperms are largely unknown because their complex xylem anatomy precludes using the radial position of vessels and fibers to infer their time of differentiation. We analyzed xylogenesis in ring‐porous ash (Fraxinus angustifolia) and diffuse‐porous beech (Fagus sylvatica) over 1 yr and proposed a novel procedure...

Interannual variability in the global land carbon sink is strongly related to variations in tropical temperature and rainfall. This association suggests an important role for moisture-driven fluctuations in tropical vegetation productivity, but empirical evidence to quantify the responsible ecological processes is missing. Such evidence can be obta...

Background and Aims The onset of spring growth and vessel formation were examined within three deciduous woody plant species, Acer rubrum, Populus balsamifera spp. trichocarpa, and Quercus rubra. We were broadly interested in the lag between onset of girth expansion to formation of mature and hydraulically conductive vessels within the new xylem....

Understanding the process of wood formation and its dynamics over the growing season is fundamental to interpret the isotopic signature of tree rings. Indeed, the isotopic signal recorded in wood does not only depend on the conditions influencing carbon, water, and nitrogen uptake in the leaves and roots, but also on how these elements are transloc...

Tree‐ring anatomy, microdensity and isotope records provide valuable intra‐annual information. However, extracting signals at that scale is challenged by the complexity of xylogenesis, where two major processes – cell enlargement and wall thickening – occur at different times and rates. We characterized the space‐for‐time association in the tree ri...

Key message This study presents a novel histologic approach to quantify the intra-annual dynamics of carbon sequestration in forming wood. This innovative approach, based on repeated measurements of xylem apparent density, is more direct, and more accurate than the previously published cellular-based approach. Moreover, this new approach, which was...

The wood anatomy of Copaifera lucens Dwyer was studied with an emphasis on its growth ring boundaries. Growth rings are visible to the naked eye and demarcated by marginal parenchyma bands and, sometimes, by thick-walled fibers in the latewood. Secretory canals are associated with marginal parenchyma bands, but not all marginal parenchyma bands are...

The wood anatomy of Copaifera lucens Dwyer was studied with an emphasis on its growth ring boundaries. Growth rings are visible to the naked eye and demarcated by marginal parenchyma bands and, sometimes, by thick-walled fibers in the latewood. Secretory canals are associated with marginal parenchyma bands, but not all marginal parenchyma bands are...

A quantitative method was tested to describe crown phenophases in relation to water content and to secondary growth in ring-porous species, based on the hypothesis that new shoots require hydrated tissues to maintain the necessary turgor for extension, leading to a reduction in dry matter content (DMC). We collected a three-year-old branch from 11...

In this study, we present the first tree-ring chronology for the tropical tree species Copaifera lucens and its climatic signal in southeastern Brazil. Tree-ring width series were compared with local climate indices using a drought index (Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index —SPEI), in monthly, bi-monthly and four-monthly scales. We...

The impact of climate on xylem structure and function has been profusely studied for a variety of species in the last decades, but the ecological role of ring porosity under increasing levels of environmental stress has been scarcely assessed. In this study, we analyse the timing of earlywood vessels occlusions by tyloses in two ring-porous species...

Environmental conditions and the structure of the dormant cambium are assumed to affect seasonal patterns of cambial activity, hence controlling allocation of non‐structural carbohydrates ( NSC ) to growth. However, seasonal dynamics of xylogenesis, and their connections with NSC content and dormant cambium size, have been rarely assessed along an...

Non-structural carbohydrates (NSC) play a central role in the construction and maintenance of a tree's vascular system, but feedbacks between the NSC status of trees and wood formation are not fully understood. We aimed to evaluate multiple dependencies among wood anatomy, winter NSC, and phenology for coexisting temperate (Quercus robur) and sub-M...

In woody plants, xylem tissue is involved in multiple key functions, such as long-distance water and nutrient transport, mechanical support, and storage. Tree phenology and carbohydrate availability are assumed to influence earlywood formation in ring-porous species, affecting hydraulic performance and wood production. However, the functional relat...

This study addresses relationships between leaf phenology, xylogenesis, and functional xylem anatomy in two ring-porous oak species, the temperate Quercus robur and the sub-Mediterranean Q. pyrenaica. Earlywood vessel (EV) formation and leaf phenology were monitored in 2012 and 2013. Ten individuals per species were sampled at each of three sites l...

Tree-ring growth of Pinus canariensis at high elevation on Tenerife, Canary Islands, has been suggested to be mainly controlled by drought-induced stress. Aspect of mountain slopes on this oceanic island strongly influences local water input, with trade winds maintaining humid weather conditions on windward, while leeward slopes remain much more ar...

• Context: The suitability of thinning to prevent forest growth decline as a result of global warming has not been tested extensively in Macaronesian Canary pine (Pinus canariensis Sweet ex Spreng.). • Aims: This study aimed to answer the following questions: (1) are tree growth patterns modified by the aspect and thinning intensity? (2) Is sensiti...

Little is known concerning the effects of wildfires on tree radial growth and their climatic response under contrasting regimes of fog water inputs on oceanic islands. On Tenerife, Canary Islands, windward slopes are humid with high-fog frequency due to influence of wet trade winds, while climate on leeward slopes is more arid. We used tree-ring re...