Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : International audience
Trees can control their shape and resist gravity thanks to their ability to produce wood under tensile stress. This stress is known to be produced during the maturation of wood fibres but the mechanism of its generation remains unclear. This study focuses on the formation of the secondary wall in tension wood produced in artificially tilted poplar saplings. Thickness of secondary wall layer (SL) and gelatinous layer (GL) were measured from cambium to mature wood in several trees sampled at different times after tilting. Measurements on wood fibres produced before tilting show the progressive increase of secondary wall thickness during the growing season. After the tilting date, SL thickness decreased markedly from normal wood to tension wood while the total thickness increased compared to normal wood, with the development of a thick GL. However, even after GL formation, SL thickness continues to increase during the growing season. GL thickening was observed to be faster than SL thickening. The development of the unlignified GL is proposed to be a low cost, efficient strategy for a fast generation of tensile stress in broadleaved trees.
IAWA journal / International Association of Wood Anatomists.

hal-01229277
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01229277
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01229277/document
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01229277/file/AbediniClair-Iawa-TensionCellWallThickening_preprint_HAL.pdf
DOI : 10.1163/22941932-00000084

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : This paper presents a collection of wood species with important uses in musical instruments, in reference to historical and geographical cultural specificities, with ranges of viscoelastic vibrational properties by species. Data combine our experimental characterizations and extensive literature review, gathered in a specific relational database. An overview of vibrational properties' distribution on c.400 species is introduced. Two case studies of wood choices for a given function in different epochs or regions are presented: woods for European historical bows, and woods for idiophone bodies in different continents. Trends are contrasted: very different properties associated to historical changes in the first case; some common features over different regions in the second one.
Proceedings of the International Conference of COST Action IE0601 Wood Science for the Preservation of Cultural Heritage
Braga, Portugal

hal-00808403
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00808403
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00808403/document
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00808403/file/Vibrational_properties_tropical_wood_Bremaud_al.pdf

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
The study of decay resistance in wood is of interest for wood end-users but also for the global carbon balance since wood biodegradation is a key driver of forest ecosystem functioning through its impacts on carbon and nutrient cycling. We studied the density and wood extractive contents in order to understand decay resistance against soil microflora after 90 days exposure of sapwood and heartwood from three Neotropical wood species known for their decay resistance: Bocoa prouacensis, Vouacapoua americana, Inga alba. Decay resistance was correlated with density more than wood extractive content. The results highlighted different decay resistance strategies. In B. prouacensis, both sapwood and heartwood were highly resistant due to the high density and high content of antifungal wood extractives. In V. americana heartwood, decay resistance was due to the high synergistic-acting wood extractive content. Conversely, with the least dense wood species I. alba, we found that decay resistance was due to the antifungal wood extractives synthesized early in the sapwood. In conclusion, we showed that the three wood species with the same level of heartwood decay resistance performance had different decay resistance strategies according to the anatomic and defensive wood traits.
ISSN: 0964-8305

hal-01321162
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01321162
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01321162/document
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01321162/file/Art_Amusant_al_Diversity_decay_resistance_strategies_Int.Biodet.Biodegr._2014.pdf
DOI : 10.1016/j.ibiod.2014.06.012

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Springer Verlag/EDP Sciences
Résumé : International audience
Context: Woodcutting is a very old technology but scientific research is scarce on the subject. In the last 50 years much work on basic mechanisms as well as industrial processes has been done in France. Aims: The specific nature of wood introduces strong differences between wood and metal cutting processes. The paper focuses on French teams' contributions. Results: The basic aspects of the tool–material interaction for different basic modes in woodcutting are highlighted. In primary conversion such as sawing, veneer cutting or green wood chipping, huge progress comes from automation and the possibility of linking the process to log and product quality through new sensors. In secondary processing much has been done on the links between the cutting process, surface qualification and the properties of these surfaces for further processing, such as gluing or coating. Tool wear depends on the cutting process, timber quality, and species. Trade-offs are required in tool technology and coating technologies may improve tool life. Conclusion: A large amount of knowledge and innovation has come from 50 years of worldwide research effort, with France being particularly active in this period. The transfer of skills from metals cutting industry was often a key, but much is needed to move closer to both metal cutting sector and woodcutting skills among craftsmen.
ISSN: 1286-4560

hal-01135156
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01135156
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01135156/document
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01135156/file/Wood_machining_focus_French_research_Thibaut_al_2015.pdf
DOI : 10.1007/s13595-015-0460-2

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
Wood has a hierarchical structure involving several levels of organisation. The stiffness of wood relies on its capacity to transfer mechanical stress to its stiffest element at the lowest scale, namely crystalline cellulose. This study aims at quantifying to what extend crystalline cellulose contributes to wood stiffness depending on its moisture content. The crystal strains of cellulose were measured using X-ray diffraction on wet and dry specimens of spruce, based on a previously published methodology. The comparison between crystal strain and macroscopic strain shows that, during elastic loading, cellulose strain is lower than macroscopic strain. The means ratio of crystal/macroscopic strain amounts 0.85 for dry specimens and 0.64 for wet specimens. This strain ratio cannot be explained just by the projection effect due to the difference in orientation between cellulose microfibrils and cell wall, but results from deformation mechanisms in series with cellulose. Analysis shows that this series contribution represents a non-negligible contribution to wood compliance and is strongly moisture-dependent. This contribution amounts 9% for dry specimens and 33% for wet specimens, corresponding to a 4-fold increase in compliance for the series contribution. The origin of these strains is ascribed to mechanisms involving bending or shear strain at different scales, due to the fact that reinforcing element are neither perfectly straight nor infinitely long.
ISSN: 0266-3538

hal-01425031
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01425031
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01425031/document
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01425031/file/Art_Almeras_al_Contribution_cellulose_moisture-dependent_elastic_behavior_2017.pdf
DOI : 10.1016/j.compscitech.2016.11.025

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Springer Verlag
Résumé : International audience
We explored the relationship between soil processes, estimated through soil respiration (Rsoil), and the spatial variation in forest structure, assessed through the distribution of tree size, in order to understand the determinism of spatial variations in Rsoil in a tropical forest. The influence of tree size was examined using an index (Ic) calculated for each tree as a function of (1) the trunk cross section area and (2) the distance from the measurement point. We investigated the relationships between Ic and litterfall,root mass and Rsoil, respectively. Strong significant relationships were found between Ic and both litterfall and root mass. Rsoil showed a large range of variations over the 1-ha experimental plot, from 1.5 to 12.6 gC m−2 d−1. The best relationship between Ic and Rsoil only explained 17% of the spatial variation in Rsoil. These results support the assumption that local spatial patterns in litter production and root mass depend on tree distribution in tropical forests. Our study also emphasizes the modest contribution of tree size distribution-which is mainly influenced by the presence of the biggest trees (among the large range size of the inventoried trees greater than 10 cm diameter at 1.30 m above ground level or at 0.5 m above the buttresses)-in explaining spatial variations in Rsoil.
ISSN: 0032-079X

hal-00797064
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00797064

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD De Gruyter
Résumé : International audience
This study aims at better understanding the respective influences of specific gravity (γ), microfibril angle (MFA), and cell-wall matrix polymers on viscoelastic vibrational properties of wood in axial direction. The wide variations of properties between normal wood (NW) and compression wood (CW) are in focus. Three young bent trees (Picea abies, Pinus sylvestris and Pinus pinaster) that recovered verticality were sampled. Several observed differences between NW and CW were highly significant in terms of anatomical, physical (γ, shrinkage, CIELab colorimetry), mechanical (compressive strength), and vibrational properties. Specific dynamic modulus of elasticity (E'/γ) decreases with increasing MFA, and Young's modulus (E') can be satisfactorily explained by γ and MFA. Apparently, the type of the cell wall polymer matrix is not influential in this regard. The damping coefficient (tanδ) does not depend solely on MFA of NW and CW. The tanδ - E'/γ relationship evidences that, at equivalent E'/γ, the tanδ of CW is approx. 34% lower than that of NW. This observation is ascribed to the more condensed nature of CW lignins, and this is discussed in the context of previous findings in other hygrothermal and time/frequency domains. It is proposed that the lignin structure and the amount and type of extractives, which are both different in various species, are partly responsible for taxonomy-related damping characteristics.
ISSN: 0018-3830

hal-00808062
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00808062
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00808062/document
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00808062/file/Changes_viscoelastic_vibrational_Bremaud_al.pdf
DOI : 10.1515/hf-2011-0186

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Royal Society
Résumé : International audience
Trees control their posture by generating asymmetric mechanical stress around the periphery of the trunk or branches. This stress is produced in wood during the maturation of the cell wall. When the need for reaction is high, it is accompanied by strong changes in cell organization and composition called reaction wood, namely compression wood in gymnosperms and tension wood in angiosperms. The process by which stress is generated in the cell wall during its formation is not yet known, and various hypothetical mechanisms have been proposed in the literature. Here we aim at discriminating between these models. First, we summarize current knowledge about reaction wood structure, state and behaviour relevant to the understanding of maturation stress generation. Then, the mechanisms proposed in the literature are listed and discussed in order to identify which can be rejected based on their inconsistency with current knowledge at the frontier between plant science and mechanical engineering.
Journal of the Royal Society Interface

hal-01392832
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01392832
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01392832/document
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01392832/file/AlmerasClair2016_JRSInterface_Critical%20review%20on%20the%20mechanisms%20of%20maturation%20stress%20generation%20in%20trees_HAL.pdf
DOI : 10.1098/rsif.2016.0550

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : International audience
A key element of the biomechanical design of trees is their ability to generate largemechanical stresses in wood at the stem periphery. This function is necessary for the tree tocontrol the orientation of its axes, and therefore to grow in height, maintain its branches at anoptimal angle or achieve adaptive reorientations (Fournier et al., 2013). This “maturationstress” appears in wood fibres during their cellular maturation when their secondary cell wallis thickening. In hardwoods, the stress asymmetry is generated by the formation of specificfibres with a very high tensile growth stress on the upper side of the inclined axis. Theresulting tension wood has microstructural features highly different from the normal wood.Tension wood in almost all temperate species has a specific gelatinous cell wall layer, calledG-layer, that is not lignified and highly mesoporous (Chang et al., 2015). It has been shownrecently, at the macroscopic scale, that cellulose tension appears during maturation and issynchronous with the development of this specific layer (Clair et al., 2011). Tropical species,like simarouba, are able to generate lignified tension wood fibres. The mechanisms of stressgeneration in tension wood fibres are not yet well known. The aim of our study is tounderstand these mechanisms and to know the spatial and temporal kinetics of the differentcell wall layers stiffening during maturation, in parallel with tensile stress generation.Contact-Resonance Atomic Force Microscopy, CR-AFM, was used here to address thisquestion on embedded samples (Arnould and Arinero, 2015) using dual resonance frequencytracking (DRFT, Rodriguez et al., 2007). Change in the contact modulus between, and within,each layer of the cell wall has been measured on several radial lines of developing fibres atdifferent steps. In order to understand the obtained results, and to estimate the sensitivity ofthe AFM indentation-like technique to the different cell wall components stiffness, an elasticanisotropic indentation model was used (Vlassak et al., 2003; Jäger et al., 2011). Finally,these mechanical measurements have been compared to topochemical data obtained on thesame fibres.
8th Plant Biomechanics International Conference
Nagoya, Japan

hal-01436113
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01436113

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Oxford University Press (OUP)
Résumé : International audience
The mechanism for tree orientation in angiosperms is based on the production of high tensile stress on the upper side of the inclined axis. In many species, the stress level is strongly related to the presence of a peculiar layer, called G-layer, in the fibre wall. The structure of G-layer has been recently described as a hydrogel thanks to N2 adsorption-desorption isotherms of supercritically dried samples showing a high mesoporosity (pores size from 2 to 50 nm). This led us to revisit the concept of G-layer that was until now only described from anatomical observation. Adsorption isotherms of both normal wood and tension wood have been measured on six tropical species. Measurements show that mesoporosity is high in tension wood with typical thick G-layer while it is much less with thinner G-layer, sometimes no more than normal wood. The mesoporosity of tension wood species without G-layer is as low as in normal wood. Not depending on the amount of pores, the pore sizes distribution are always centred around 6-12 nm. These results suggest that, among species producing fibres with G-layer, large structural differences of G-layer exist between species
ISSN: 0022-0957

hal-00387861
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00387861
DOI : 10.1093/jxp/erp133

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Wiley
Résumé : International audience
The influence of conservation policies on environmental governance by indigenous peoples is not well understood. Our goal is to understand the role of conservation policies in the on-going social, spatial and temporal reorganisation of common natural resources management by the Wayãpi and Teko in French Guiana. Using socio-economic and land use variables, we explain their territorial reorganisation. We show how the delimitation of protected areas encourages identity claims and resources re-appropriation, which play a determining role in territorial reorganisation.Finally, we focus on the emergence of a new form of environmental governance based on “multi-sited” land use system.
ISSN: 0261-3050

Droits : info:eu-repo/semantics/OpenAccess
hal-01135244
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01135244
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01135244/document
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01135244/file/Tritsch_al_Toward_revival_indigenous_mobility_Bull.Lat.Am.Research_2015.pdf
DOI : 10.1111/blar.12204

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Springer Verlag
Résumé : International audience
Few studies have investigated the influence of environmental conditions on the within-treevariation in Eucalyptus wood traits. The genotype and environment effects and their interactionsinfluence the wood properties. Their evaluations are crucial to estimate the genotype values andto select with efficiency. Thus, the aim of this study was to better understand the effect ofground slope and wind speed on the spatial variation of basic density (ρ), stiffness (MOE) andmicrofibril angle (MFA) of Eucalyptus wood. Wood discs cut along the trunk were sampledfrom 150 six-year-old Eucalyptus grandis x E. urophylla hybrids growing in 3 contrastinggrowing conditions influenced by ground slope and wind regime. Near Infrared (NIR)calibrations previously developed for ρ, MOE and MFA were used to predict in our discs. 2-Dplots presenting the spatial variation of predicted wood traits were compared. The higher theground slope, the greater the magnitude of radial variation in ρ, principally in the medium zoneof the trunk. The spatial variation of wood stiffness seems to be sensitive to two environmentalconditions. The MFA radial decreases were more pronounced where the wind speed was higher.At the base and top of the trees, however, there was no significant effect of growing conditionson the radial variation of the wood properties considered here.
ISSN: 0931-1890

hal-01451896
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01451896
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01451896/document
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01451896/file/Art_Gril_al_Spatial_variation_wood_density_2016.pdf
DOI : 10.1007/s00468-015-1327-8

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
Résumé : International audience
The main biological function of reaction wood is to act as " muscle " for trees, enabling them to control their posture. The key property to achieve this function is the development of high mechanical stress during the formation of reaction wood cells, called " maturation strains ". Actually, reaction wood formation is basically the asymmetric formation of wood around the tree circumference, with higher maturation strains on the side where reaction wood is formed than on the opposite side. This asymmetry enables stems to bend upward or to compensate for the downward bending induced by gravity. At the cross section level, the performance in this biological function is linked not only to the magnitude of this asymmetry but also to an effect of the cross-sectional size (diameter) of the stem. Eccentric growth and variations in wood mechanical stiffness are second order effects that can modify this performance. Differences in maturation strains between reaction and non-reaction woods are related to their specific cell wall structure and composition. The swelling of the cell wall matrix during maturation and the effect of microfibril angle explain the differences in maturation strains between normal and compression wood. However, this mechanism fails in explaining the high maturation shrinkage of tension wood, and several hypotheses at the molecular levels are still under debate. How trees perceive their gravitational disequilibrium is also an open question for physiologists. Integrative biomechanical modelling (from the polymer level to the cell wall, cross section and whole tree levels) enables defining key variables that explain the performance of reaction wood as a system that insures the stem motricity. Maturation strains can be precisely measured only in recently formed wood at the tree surface, but their changes during the whole tree life can also be estimated by retrospective dendrochronological analysis through structural markers of reaction wood. Lastly, wood in living trees ensures general storage, defence, vascular and skeletal functions, that ask general questions about synergies and trade-offs as the structural characteristics of reaction wood can affect all these functions.
The Biology of Reaction Wood

ISBN : 978-3-642-10813-6
hal-01452085
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01452085
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01452085/document
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01452085/file/Chap_Gril_al_Biomechanical_action_biological_functions_2014.pdf

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Wiley
Résumé : International audience
In order to progress in the understanding of mechanical stress generation, the mesoporosity of the cell wall and its changes during maturation of poplar (Populus deltoides x P. nigra) tension wood (TW) and opposite wood (OW) were measured by nitrogen adsorption–desorption. Variations in the thickness of the gelatinous layer (G-layer) were also measured to clarify whether the mesoporosity change simultaneously with the deposition of the G-layer in TW. Results show that mesoporous structures of TW and OW were very similar in early development stages before the deposition of G-layers. With the formation of the S2 layer in OW and the G-layer in TW, the mesopore volume decreased steeply before lignification. However, in TW only, the decrease in mesopore volume occurred together with the pore shape change and a progressive increase in pore size. The different patterns observed in TW revealed that pores from G-layers appear with a different shape compared to those of the compound middle lamella, and their size increases duringthe maturation process until stabilising in mature wood. This observation strongly supports the hypothesis of the swelling of the G-layer matrix during maturation as the origin of maturation stress in poplar tension wood.
ISSN: 0028-646X

hal-01081834
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01081834
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01081834/document
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01081834/file/Chang_al_Mesoporosity_changes_New-Phyto._2015.pdf
DOI : 10.1111/nph.13126

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé :  
The main aspects of wood mechanics are approached through the role played by wood as the building material of the tree. The main concepts used by nature: progressive setting up of tree weight and architecture, multifunctional role of wood and adaptability to hazard and long-term evolution, are clarified together with their consequence on the multilayered, anisotropic nature of wood. The technological choices of the plant world as the cellular structure, the use of composite with oriented fibres and hydro-carbonated polymers, as well as the systematic prestressing of every new layer, bear obvious consequences on the type of mechanical behaviour of wood. The local control of the level of prestressing through minor modifications of the cell-wall biosynthesis allows the tree to adapt to conditions of light exploration that will evolve according to time and risk occurrence. This analysis of wood genesis process permits in return to improve our understanding of the mechanical behaviour of the material in relation with the parameters of the microstructure.
Comptes Rendus de l'Académie des Sciences Série 2

hal-01032151
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01032151
DOI : 10.1016/S1620-7742(01)01380-0

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Fayard/Arthème
Résumé : La biomécanique des plantes est née d'une approche interdisciplinaire. Elle regroupe ainsi des biologistes, des forestiers ou des agronomes, et des mécaniciens (des matériaux et des structures et plus récemment des fluides). Elle s'intéresse à la façon dont les plantes se portent et croissent. En particulier comment les plantes terrestres croissent en hauteur " contre " la gravité et dans le vent ; mais aussi comment les plantes aquatiques et les algues se développent dans les courants.
Aux Origines des Plantes

hal-00795935
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00795935
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00795935/document
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00795935/file/BiomA_canique_plantes_Fournier_Moulia_Gril.pdf

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD De Gruyter
Résumé : International audience
Wallaba (Eperua falcata) is a tropical wood which is known to have naturally low swelling characteristics. Samples of wallaba heartwood were subjected to differential solvent extraction. Wood pieces that were extracted with methanol experienced significantly higher swelling after rehydration from oven dry to 96% relative humidity in comparison to non-extracted samples and samples extracted with other solvents. Methanol soluble wallaba heartwood extract was purified by high pressure liquid chromatography and the compounds present were characterised by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Methanol extract was found to contain a very high relative proportion of polar compounds which are proposed to bind to the polymeric cell wall by multiple hydrogen bonds restricting the association of water and therefore acting as natural anti-swelling agents.
ISSN: 0018-3830

hal-00856942
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00856942
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00856942/document
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00856942/file/Chemical_extractives_tropical_wood_Royer_al.pdf

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
Studies on tree biomechanical design usually focus on stem stiffness, resistance to breakage or uprooting, and elastic stability. Here we consider another biomechanical constraint related to the interaction between growth and gravity. Because stems are slender structures and are never perfectly symmetric, the increase in tree mass always causes bending movements. Given the current mechanical design of trees, integration of these movements over time would ultimately lead to a weeping habit unless some gravitropic correction occurs. This correction is achieved by asymmetric internal forces induced during the maturation of new wood. The long-term stability of a growing stem therefore depends on how the gravitropic correction that is generated by diameter growth balances the disturbance due to increasing self weight. General mechanical formulations based on beam theory are proposed to model these phenomena. The rates of disturbance and correction associated with a growth increment are deduced and expressed as a function of elementary traits of stem morphology, cross-section anatomy and wood properties. Evaluation of these traits using previously published data shows that the balance between the correction and the disturbance strongly depends on the efficiency of the gravitropic correction, which depends on the asymmetry of wood maturation strain, eccentric growth, and gradients in wood stiffness. By combining disturbance and correction rates, the gravitropic performance indicates the dynamics of stem bending during growth. It depends on stem biomechanical traits and dimensions. By analyzing dimensional effects, we show that the necessity for gravitropic correction might constrain stem allometric growth in the long-term. This constraint is compared to the requirement for elastic stability, showing that gravitropic performance limits the increase in height of tilted stem and branches. The performance of this function may thus limit the slenderness and lean of stems, and therefore the ability of the tree to capture light in a heterogeneous environment.
ISSN: 0022-5193

hal-00534316
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00534316
DOI : 10.1016/j.jtbi.2008.10.011

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : International audience
The main biological function of reaction wood is to act as “muscle” for trees, enabling them to control their posture and right stems when they are permanently disturbed from their set-point inclination by gravity or winds. The key property to achieve this function is the development of high mechanical stress during the formation of reaction wood cells, called “maturation strains”. Moreover, this function is basically performed through the asymmetric formation of wood (in quantity or quality) around the tree circumference. This asymmetry enables stems to bend upward or to compensate for the downward bending induced by gravity, as an asymmetric force associated to maturation strains creates a bending moment (i.e. one side of the stem “pulls” the other one). We will discuss the traits (cross sectional size and shape, wood features as G fibers or microfibril angle, eccentric growth even in usual or extreme cases as buttresses, total biomass growth and height of center of mass, stem lean and set-point angle) involved to understand how the posture control works. We will give simple formulas to estimate a “muscle efficiency” from biomechanical modeling. We will give practical methods to estimate all the involved traits, especially maturation strains from direct and indirect measurements, in peripheral functional wood or by retrospective dendrochronological analysis. Then, we will illustrate how tree stem tropisms and especially gravitropism, widely studied by physiologists, are key processes in natural ecosystems, through practical examples from tropical rainforest tree communities and regeneration of European mixed beech forests. Using the previous definition of postural control efficiency, we will show that the cross section size is rapidly a limiting factor, opposing the extreme strategies of flexible small stems, which bend easily but also right themselves quickly, to stiff big stems. Lastly, as wood in living trees ensures general storage, defence, vascular and skeletal functions, we will ask general questions about synergies and trade-offs between posture control and other functions.
Botany 2014 : new frontiers in botany
Boise, United States

hal-01627031
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01627031

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Springer Verlag/EDP Sciences
Résumé : International audience
In the dense tropical rainforest understorey, saplings exhibit different growth strategies aiming at reaching light levels better fitting their ecology. Investing mainly in height growth, at the expense of their width, a lot are close to mechanical instability. Tachigali melinonii, a long living heliophilic tree species, is frequently observed to be extremely slender and supported by neighbours. Such observations suggest an active growth control through the perception of mechanical environment. * Mechanical environment or light availability, which one is the most influent on growth and slenderness (H/D)? To test this question, we recorded growth of control and staked saplings of two species with contrasting habits and ecology: T. melinonii, and Dicorynia guianensis, along a natural light gradient. * Dicorynia, the more stable, responded more clearly to the staking treatment, showing slenderness increase when light is available, whereas for Tachigali, only light availability governed growth. * For Tachigali, growth allocation is mainly governed by light availability and ontogeny, whereas Dicorynia is probably similar to the average tree strategy, using the thigmomorphogenetic physiological process to control its stability.
ISSN: 1286-4560

hal-00534019
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00534019
DOI : 10.1051/forest/2009104