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Mechanical, chemical and X-ray analysis of wood in the two tropical lianas Bauhinia guianensis and Condylocarpon guianense: variations during ontogeny

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Abstract

Mechanical and chemical properties as well as microfibril angles of wood tissues from different ontogenetic stages are determined for the neotropical lianas Bauhinia guianensis and Condylocarpon guianense. The mechanical properties include the elastic moduli under bending and under dynamic torsion. The chemical analyses cover (i) the content of cellulose, lignin and hemicelluloses fractions, (ii) the monomeric composition of the uncondensed lignin, and (iii) the composition of the hemicelluloses with respect to neutral monosaccharides. By comparing the wood properties of these lianas with the corresponding properties of wood from self-supporting deciduous trees, common characteristics and differences are revealed. Additionally, the changes in the lignin and polysaccharides fractions as well as the variations in microfibril orientation that occur during ontogeny of the two liana species are discussed with regard to their implications for the mechanical properties of wood.

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Abbreviations

CWR:

cell wall residue

E-modulus:

longitudinal modulus of elasticity

G:

guaiacyl

S:

syringyl

T-modulus:

dynamic longitudinal torsion modulus

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Acknowledgement

We thank F. Gallenmüller (Plant Biomechanics Group, Botanischer Garten, Institut für Biologie II, Universität Freiburg, Germany) and U. Müller (Wageningen Agricultural University, Netherlands, Forestry Department) for collecting of plant material in French Guyana and S. Materna for performing some of the mechanical measurements. We thank Drs. H.-Ch. Spatz (Institute für Biologie III, Universität Freiburg), N.P. Rowe (Botanique et Bioinformatique de l'Architecture des Plantes, CNRS, Montpellier, France) and L. Köhler (Department of Botany and Plant Pathology, Michigan State University, USA) for helpful discussions and the anonymous reviewers for useful comments and suggestions. This work was supported by a PhD grant from the German Cusanuswerk to B. Hoffmann and by funds from the Franco–German programme PROCOPE. Both sponsorships are gratefully acknowledged.

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Hoffmann, B., Chabbert, B., Monties, B. et al. Mechanical, chemical and X-ray analysis of wood in the two tropical lianas Bauhinia guianensis and Condylocarpon guianense: variations during ontogeny. Planta 217, 32–40 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00425-002-0967-2

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