New formula and conversion factor to compute tree species basic wood density from a global wood technology database.

Vieilledent, G.; Fischer, F. J.; Chave, J.; Guibal, D.; Langbour, P.; Gerard, J.

doi:10.1101/274068

Home/Archive/bioRxiv

bioRxiv · 10.1101/274068

New formula and conversion factor to compute tree species basic wood density from a global wood technology database.

Vieilledent, G.·Fischer, F. J.·Chave, J.·Guibal, D.·Langbour, P.·Gerard, J.

View original source ↗Export metadata ↓

Abstract

Premise of the studyBasic wood density is an important ecological trait for woody plants. It is used to characterize species performance and fitness in community ecology, and to compute tree and forest biomass in carbon cycle studies. While wood density has been historically measured at 12% moisture, it is convenient for ecological purposes to convert this measure to basic wood density, i.e. the ratio of dry mass over green volume. Basic wood density can then be used to compute tree dry biomass from living tree volume.\n\nMethodsHere, we derive a new, exact formula to compute the basic wood density Db from the density at moisture content w denoted Dw, the fibre saturation point S, and the volumetric shrinkage coefficient R. We estimated a new conversion factor using a global wood technology database where values to use this formula are available for 4022 trees collected in 64 countries (mostly tropical) and representing 872 species.\n\nKey resultsWe show that previous conversion factors used to convert densities at 12% moisture into basic wood densities are inconsistent. Based on theory and data, we found that basic wood density could be inferred from the density at 12% moisture using the following formula: Db = 0.828D122. This value of 0.828 provides basic wood density estimates 4-5% smaller than values inferred from previous conversion factors.\n\nConclusionsThis new conversion factor should be used to derive basic wood densities in global wood density databases. This would prevent overestimating global forest carbon stocks and allow predicting better tree species community dynamics from wood density.

Source connections

Published article ↗

Explore related subjects

plant biology Preprint

Keep this discovery

Explore connections, maps & timelines

BibTeX RIS

Vieilledent, G., Fischer, F. J., Chave, J., Guibal, D., Langbour, P., Gerard, J.. 2018-03-01. New formula and conversion factor to compute tree species basic wood density from a global wood technology database.. https://doi.org/10.1101/274068

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related preprints

bioRxiv2026

Specialisation of photosynthetic biochemistry in C4 chloroplasts potentiates distinct cell-specific functionality of different chloroplast-to-nucleus retrograde signalling pathways.

Chloroplasts are key environmental sensors for plant cells. Upon exposure to abiotic stresses such as excess sunlight and heat, reactive oxygen species (ROS) in chloroplasts are sensed to trigger chloroplast-to-nucleus signalling pathways for acclimatory nuclear gene expression. There is extensive biochemical- and cell type-specialisation of chloroplasts, such as those in heat-resilient plants performing C4 photosynthesis, but how these specialisations intersect with chloroplast-to-nucleus signalling remains unclear. Here we show that specific chloroplast-to-nucleus signalling networks are functional in specialised leaf cell types of the C4 model species, Setaria viridis. RNA-sequencing, electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy and metabolomics on cell type-enriched fractions, complemented with mutant analyses provided evidence for cell-specific enrichment of chloroplast-to-nucleus retrograde signalling pathways correlating with the photosynthetic specialisation in these cell types. Singlet oxygen (1O2)-responsive beta-cyclocitral ({beta}-CC) /dihydroactinidiolide (DHA) signalling and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)-responsive 3'-phosphoadenosine 5'-phosphate (PAP) signalling pathways were specific to mesophyll cells, in line with enrichment of photosystem II and linear electron flow to photosystem I, respectively in this cell type. In contrast, bundle sheath cells were enriched for the rapid, ROS-independent retrograde signalling pathway mediated by the Calvin cycle product, dihydroxyacetone phosphate (DHAP), consistent with the exclusive localisation of the Calvin cycle to C4 bundle sheath cells. Taken together, our results provide insights into how chloroplast- and cell type-specialisation intersect with stress signalling in plant cells and identify photosynthetic biochemistry as a key driver of cell-specific cellular signalling.

plant biology↗

bioRxiv2026

The periplasmic substrate-binding protein ThuE is required for sucrose uptake and multiplication of Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato DC3000 in tomato leaves

Phytopathogenic bacteria depend on host-derived carbon for successful colonization of plant tissue. While sucrose is among the most abundant sugars in the leaf apoplast, the steps that limit its acquisition by Pseudomonas syringae are not known. In this study, we used base editing to generate mutants of six candidate sucrose utilization genes in P. syringae pv. tomato DC3000 (Pto). Loss of either the sucrose hydrolase ScrB or both levansucrases had no detectable effect, whereas the growth defect in the loss of the outer membrane porin mutant scry was overcome by raising external sucrose. Loss of the periplasmic substrate-binding protein ThuE impaired growth both in vitro and in planta, reducing bacterial populations to approximately two orders of magnitude lower in tomato leaves. Sucrose import through a single non-redundant inner membrane ABC transporter is therefore required for Pto multiplication in planta and serves as a potential target for controlling bacterial speck disease.

plant biology↗

bioRxiv2026

Spatial expression evolution of duplicated genes post-whole genome duplication in cultivated tomato

The mechanisms by which whole genome duplication contributes to expression divergence of duplicate genes, which can impact the evolution of form and function, has been a long-standing question in evolutionary biology. We compared expression patterns of paralogs derived from the most recent Solanaceae-specific genome triplication event across 23 tissues and inferred ancestral expression states to investigate patterns of expression evolution. While the partitioning of ancestral expression states is traditionally considered the second most common (after the gene loss) trajectory of duplicate expression evolution, we found that the ancestral expression states tended to be retained by most (~66%) duplicates, with ~6% of gene lineages experiencing expression gain events and ~20% experiencing expression losses. The genes that gained expression in fruit tissues are significantly enriched with functions associated with fruit quality. Notably, asymmetrical expression divergence is prevalent among duplicates, especially when ancestral genes were either not expressed or were highly expressed. Our study demonstrates the utility of integrating paralog expression comparisons with phylogenetic analyses to document the potential evolutionary history of spatial expression patterns and gain insight into how expression divergence contributes to the evolution of function across tissues.

plant biology↗