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 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 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 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 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
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 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

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 Springer Verlag
Résumé : International audience
A feasibility study of glulam was carried out in French Guiana using local wood species. The aim was to determine gluing parameters affording satisfactory behaviour to manufactured glulam in a tropical climate. Three abundant wood species, with special properties, were selected for the study and Resorcinol-Phenol-Formaldehyde resin was used for bonding. Three industrial parameters were considered: adhesive spread rate, closed assembly time and gluing pressure. Delamination and shearing tests were carried outin accordance with European Standards. The tests revealed the influence of wood properties and manufacturing parameters on joint resistance. In fact, the results showed that specific gravity and the shrinkage coefficientgreatly influenced the gluing step. Indeed, wood with a medium specific gravity needed more adhesive and more pressure than wood with a high specific gravity. In addition, planning and lamella thicknesswere found to affect glue joint resistance.
ISSN: 0018-3768

hal-00856933
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00856933
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00856933/document
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00856933/file/Feasibility_glued_laminated_timber_Bourreau_al.pdf

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Springer Verlag
Résumé : International audience
The anisotropy of vibrational properties influences the acoustic behaviour of wooden pieces and their dependence on grain angle (GA). As most pieces of wood include some GA, either for technological reasons or due to grain deviations inside trunks, predicting its repercussions would be useful. This paper aims at evaluating the variability in the anisotropy of wood vibrational properties and analysing resulting trends as a function of orientation. GA dependence is described by a model based on transformation formulas applied to complex compliances, and literature data on anisotropic vibrational properties are reviewed. Ranges of variability, as well as representative sets of viscoelastic anisotropic parameters, are defined for mean hardwoods and softwoods and for contrasted wood types. GA-dependence calculations are in close agreement with published experimental results and allow comparing the sensitivity of different woods to GA. Calculated trends in damping coefficient (tanδ) and in specific modulus of elasticity (E′/ρ) allow reconstructing the general tanδ-E′/ρ statistical relationships previously reported. Trends for woods with different mechanical parameters merge into a single curve if anisotropic ratios (both elastic and of damping) are correlated between them, and with axial properties, as is indicated by the collected data. On the other hand, varying damping coefficient independently results in parallel curves, which coincide with observations on chemically modified woods, either "artificially", or by natural extractives.
ISSN: 0043-7719

hal-00804242
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00804242
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00804242/document
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00804242/file/Anisotropy_wood_variational_properties_Bremaud_al_2011.pdf
DOI : 10.1007/s00226-010-0393-8

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 Springer Verlag
Résumé : International audience
Tension wood of Laetia procera (Poepp.) Eichl. (Flacourtiaceae), a neo-tropical forest species, shows a peculiar secondary wall structure, with an alternance of thick and thin layers, while opposite wood of this species has a typical secondary wall structure (S1 + S2 + S3). Samples for the study of microstructural properties were collected upon the estimation of growth stresses in the living tree, in order to analyze the correlation of the former with the latter. Investigation using optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and UV microspectrophotometry allowed the description of the anatomy, ultra-structure and chemistry of this peculiar polylaminate secondary wall. In the thick layers, cellulose microfibril angle is very low (i.e., microfibril orientation is close to fibre axis) and cellulose microfibrils are well organized and parallel to each other. In the thin layers, microfibrils (only observable in the inner layer) are less organized and are oriented with a large angle relative to the axis of the cell. Thick layers are lightly lignified although thin layers show a higher content of lignin, close to that of opposite wood secondary wall. The more the wood was under tensile stress, the less the secondary wall was lignified, and lower the syringyl on guaiacyl lignin units' ratio was. The innermost layer of the secondary wall looks like a typical S3 layer with large microfibril angle and lignin occurrence. The interest of this kind of structure for the understanding of stress generation is discussed.
ISSN: 0931-1890

hal-00194923
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00194923
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00194923/document
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00194923/file/Trees_RuelleYoshidaClairThibaut_submitted2006.pdf
DOI : 10.1007/s00468-007-0128-0

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Oxford University Press (OUP)
Résumé : International audience
Functional ecology has long considered the support function as important, but its biomechanical complexity is only just being elucidated. We show here that it can be described on the basis of four biomechanical traits, two safety traits against winds (SW) and self-buckling (SB), and two motricity traits involved in sustaining an upright position, tropic motion velocity (MV) and posture control (PC). All these traits are integrated at the tree scale, combining tree size and shape together with wood properties. The assumption of trait constancy has been used to derive allometric scaling laws, but it was more recently found that observing their variations among environments and functional groups, or during ontogeny, provides more insights into adaptive syndromes of tree shape and wood properties. However, over-simplified expressions have often been used, possibly concealing key adaptive drivers. An extreme case of over-simplification is the use of wood basic density as a proxy for safety. Actually, since wood density is involved in stiffness, loads and construction costs, the impact of its variations on safety is non-trivial. Moreover, other wood features, especially the microfibril angle (MFA), are also involved. Furthermore, wood is not only stiff and strong, but it also acts as a motor for MV and PC. The relevant wood trait for that is maturation strain asymmetry. Maturation strains vary with cell wall characteristics such as MFA, rather than with wood density. Finally, the need for further studies about the ecological relevance of branching patterns, motricity traits and growth responses to mechanical loads is discussed.
ISSN: 0022-0957

hal-00909904
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00909904
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00909904/document
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00909904/file/Integrative_biomechanics_for_tree_Fournier_al.pdf
DOI : 10.1093/jxb/ert279

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Springer Verlag
Résumé : International audience
Radial trends of vibrational properties, including the specific dynamic modulus (E'/r) and damping coefficient (tand), were investigated for 3 tropical rainforest hardwood species, Simarouba amara, Carapa procera and Symphonia globulifera by free-free flexural vibration test. The microfibril angle (MFA) was estimated through X-Ray diffraction. Consistent patterns of radial variations were observed for all studied properties. E'/r was found to decrease from pith to bark, which is strongly related to the increasing pith-bark trend of MFA. The variation of tand along the radius can be partly explained by MFA, and partly by the gradient of extractives due to heartwood formation. The coupling effect of MFA and extractives could be separated through the analysis of log(tand) - log(E'/r) diagram. For the studied species, the extractive content putatively associated to heartwood formation generally tends to decrease the wood damping coefficient. However, this weakening effect of extractives was not observed for inner part of the heartwood, suggesting the mechanical action of extractives was reduced during their chemical ageing.
ISSN: 1435-0211

hal-00797055
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00797055
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00797055/document
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00797055/file/Radial_variations_vibrational_Zhang_al.pdf

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : International audience
Some morphological and biochemical taxonomic markers are also affecting factors of dynamic mechanical properties of wood. Thus, could these properties reflect the classification/phylogeny of taxa? This work is a first insight into this question. It relied on the gathering (through experimental campaigns and exhaustive literature review) of a large database on the viscoelastic (i.e. including damping) vibrational properties of 445 woody species. relationship between damping was confirmed at a wide interspecific scale, but described no more than 40% of not in a way that could be easily related to the phylogenetic tree. Damping was a bit more -Papilionoideae and, to a lesser extent, Lauraceae, Cupressaceae and Moraceae) damping than average, independently While for some other families no clear characteristics could be observed at least with the present number of represented species. In the future, increasing the amount of data and compiling anatomical and chemical markers / affecting factors will allow further analysis at sub-family levels, and a better understanding of this wide topic.
6th Plant Biomechanics Conference PBM09
Cayenne, French Guiana

hal-00808398
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00808398
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00808398/document
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00808398/file/Mechanical_damping_wood_Bremaud_al.pdf

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Springer Verlag/EDP Sciences
Résumé : International audience
Context and aim : This study aimed to examine the effect of the tension wood G‐layer on the viscoelastic properties of wood. Methods : Tension wood and opposite wood samples were obtained from six French Guianese tropical rainforest species (Sextonia rubra, Ocotea guyanensis, Inga alba, Tachigali melinoni, Iyranthera sagotiana and Virola michelii); the tension wood of the former three of these species had a Glayer, whilst the tension wood from the latter three had no Glayer. Tensile dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) was performed on green never dried wood samples in the longitudinal direction with samples submerged in a water bath at a temperature (30°C) and frequency (1 Hz) representative of the conditions experienced by wood within a living tree. Then, DMA was repeated with samples conditioned to an air-dried state. Finally, samples were oven-dried to measure longitudinal shrinkage. Results : Tension wood did not always have a higher longitudinal storage (elastic) modulus than opposite wood from the same tree regardless of the presence or absence of a G‐layer. For the species containing a G‐layer, tension wood had a higher damping coefficient and experienced a greater longitudinal shrinkage upon drying than opposite wood from the same species. No difference was found in damping coefficients between tension wood and opposite wood for the species that had no G‐layer. Conclusion : It is proposed that the different molecular composition of the G-layer matrix has an influence on the viscoelasticity of wood, even if a biomechanical gain is not yet clear. This study shows that rheological properties and longitudinal shrinkage can be used to detect the presence of a G‐layer in tension wood.
ISSN: 1286-4560

hal-00677460
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00677460
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00677460/document
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00677460/file/Clair2.pdf
DOI : 10.1007/s13595-011-0164-1

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : For their survival, plants need to grow in height to access light resource while ensuring their mechanical stability. Growth in height amplifies the mechanical constraints due to wind and gravity. Nevertheless these constraints represent morphogenetic signals that plants respond to by modifying their growth. There are two regulatory processes of growth by mechanical signals: thigmomorphogenesis and gravitropism. Thigmomorphogenesis expresses by a reduction of growth in height and an increase of growth in girth under the effect of mechanical signals. This is a way for plants to grow with controlling slenderness of their axes to avoid buckling (beating down). In some cases (storm, sudden exposure to a new mechanical environment) this process is not sufficient to prevent buckling, gravitropism then acts to restore axes orientation in case of no lethal buckling. With measuring several traits, we have demonstrated that these processes have a fundamental ecological role in the control of tree habit and the vertical structuration of ecosystems. As studies of climate changes seem to predict a higher frequency of storms it is important to study the diversity of their efficiency.
Colloque Adaptation au Changement Climatique de l'Agriculture et des Ecosystèmes

hal-00797377
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00797377

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Springer Verlag
Résumé : International audience
Grain deviations and high extractives content are common features of many tropical woods. We aimed at clarifying their respective impact on vibrational properties, referring to African Padauk (Pterocarpus soyauxii Taub.), a species selected for its interlocked grain, high extractives content, and uses in xylophones. Specimens were cut parallel to the trunk axis (L), and local variations in grain angle (GA), microfibril angle (MFA), specific Young's modulus (E'L/ρ, where r stands for specific gravity) and damping coefficient (tanδL), were measured. GA dependence was analyzed by a mechanical model which allowed to identify the specific Young's modulus (E'3/ρ) and shear modulus (G'/ρ) along the grain (3), as well as their corresponding damping coefficients (tanδ3, tanδG). This analysis was done for native and then for extracted wood. Interlocked grain resulted in 0-25° GA and in variations of a factor 2 in E'L/ρ and tanδL. Along the grain, Padauk wood was characterized, as compared to typical hardwoods, by a somewhat lower E'3/ρ and elastic anisotropy (E'/G'), due to a wide microfibril angle plus a small weight effect of extracts; and a very low tanδ3 and moderate damping anisotropy (tanδG/tanδ3). Extraction affected mechanical parameters in the order: tanδ3 ≈ tanδG > G'/ρ >> E'3/ρ. That is, extractives' effects were nearly isotropic on damping but clearly anisotropic on storage moduli.
ISSN: 0043-7719

hal-00544382
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00544382
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00544382/document
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00544382/file/Identification_anisotropic_vibrational_properties_Bremaud_al.pdf
DOI : 10.1007/s00226-010-0348-0

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Springer Verlag
Résumé : International audience
Extractives can affect vibrational properties tanδ (damping coefficient) and E'/ρ (specific Young's modulus) but this is highly dependent on species, compounds, and cellular locations. This paper investigates such effects for African Padauk (Pterocarpus soyauxii Taub.), a tropical hardwood with high extractives content and a preferred material for xylophones. 5 groups of 26 heartwood specimens with large, yet comparable, ranges in vibrational properties were extracted in different solvents. Changes in vibrational properties were set against yields of extracts and evaluation of their cellular location. Methanol (ME) reached most of compounds (13%), located about half in lumen and half in cell-wall. Water solubility was extremely low. tanδ and E'/ρ were very strongly related (R2≥0.93), but native wood had abnormally low values of tanδ, while extraction shifted this relation towards higher tanδ values. ME extracted heartwood became in agreement with the average of many species, and close to sapwood. Extractions increased tanδ as much as 60%, irrespective of minute moisture changes or of initial properties. Apparent E'/ρ was barely changed (+2% to -4%) but, after correcting the mass contribution of extracts, was in fact slightly reduced (down to -10% for high E'/ρ), and increasingly so for specimens with low initial values of E'/ρ.
ISSN: 0043-7719

hal-00804236
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00804236
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00804236/document
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00804236/file/Effect_extractives_vibrational_properties_Bremaud_al.pdf
DOI : 10.1007/s00226-010-0337-3

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Oxford University Press (OUP)
Résumé : International audience
Gravitropism is necessary for plants to control the orientation of their axes while they grow in height. In woody plants, stem re-orientations are costly because they are achieved through diameter growth. The functional diversity of gravitropism was studied to check if the mechanisms involved and their efficiency may contribute to the differentiation of height growth strategies between forest tree species at the seedling stage. Seedlings of eight tropical species were grown tilted in a greenhouse, and their up-righting movement and diameter growth were measured during three months. Morphological, anatomical and biomechanical traits were measured at the end of the survey. Curvature analysis was used to analyse the up-righting response along the stems. Variations in stem curvature depend on diameter growth, size effects, the increase in self-weight, and the efficiency of the gravitropic reaction. A biomechanical model was used to separate these contributions. Results showed that (1) gravitropic movements were based on a common mechanism associated to similar dynamic patterns, (2) clear differences in efficiency (defined as the change in curvature achieved during an elementary diameter increment for a given stem diameter) existed between species, (3) the equilibrium angle of the stem and the anatomical characters associated to the efficiency of the reaction also differed between species, (4) the differences in gravitropic reaction were related to the light requirements: heliophilic species, compared to more shade-tolerant species, had a larger efficiency and an equilibrium angle closer to vertical. This suggests that traits determining the gravitropic reaction are related to the strategy of light interception and may contribute to the differentiation of ecological strategies promoting the maintenance of biodiversity in tropical rain forests.
ISSN: 0022-0957

hal-00797023
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00797023
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00797023/document
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00797023/file/Functional_diversity_gravitropic_Almeras_al.pdf