Age, allocation and availability of nonstructural carbon in mature red maple trees.

The allocation of nonstructural carbon (NSC) to growth, metabolism and storage remains poorly understood, but is critical for the prediction of stress tolerance and mortality. We used the radiocarbon ((14) C) 'bomb spike' as a tracer of substrate and age of carbon in stemwood NSC, CO2 emitted by stems, tree ring cellulose and stump sprouts regenerated following harvesting in mature red maple trees. We addressed the following questions: which factors influence the age of stemwood NSC?; to what extent is stored vs new NSC used for metabolism and growth?; and, is older, stored NSC available for use? The mean age of extracted stemwood NSC was 10 yr. More vigorous trees had both larger and younger stemwood NSC pools. NSC used to support metabolism (stem CO2 ) was 1-2 yr old in spring before leaves emerged, but reflected current-year photosynthetic products in late summer. The tree ring cellulose (14) C age was 0.9 yr older than direct ring counts. Stump sprouts were formed from NSC up to 17 yr old. Thus, younger NSC is preferentially used for growth and day-to-day metabolic demands. More recently stored NSC contributes to annual ring growth and metabolism in the dormant season, yet decade-old and older NSC is accessible for regrowth.

Dynamics of low-temperature acclimation in temperate and boreal conifer foliage in a mild winter climate.

To provide baseline data for physiological studies of extreme low-temperature (LT) tolerance in boreal conifers, we profiled LT stress responses, liquid nitrogen (LN(2))-quench tolerance, and sugar concentrations in foliage of boreal-temperate species pairs in the genera Abies, Picea and Pinus, growing in an arboretum in a temperate oceanic climate from August 2006 through April 2007. The boreal species acclimated more rapidly and deeply than the temperate species, acquiring LN(2)-quench tolerance by late November, despite unusually warm conditions throughout the autumn and early winter. Maximum LT tolerance in the temperate species was in the -25 to -35 degrees C range, and was reached only after a period of freezing temperatures in late January and February. During LT acclimation in the temperate species, sigmoid temperature-relative electrolyte leakage (REL) curves shifted toward lower temperatures, whereas in boreal species there was both a temperature shift and a lowering of the maximum REL until it fell below a threshold associated with irreversible injury. These differences may reflect differences in mechanisms of LT acclimation and LT tolerance. The concentrations of total and individual sugars did not show a clear pattern that could differentiate the boreal and temperate groups. Raffinose and, in three of the six species, stachyose showed the closest association with LT tolerance. Sugar concentrations, principally sucrose, decreased during mild weather, perhaps because of respiratory losses or phloem export, and increased after periods of freezing temperatures. Low-temperature acclimation in boreal species appears to follow a rigid program that may affect their ability to avoid excessive respiratory losses in the event of continued climate warming in boreal regions.