Observation of cell shapes in wood cross-sections during water adsorption by confocal laser-scanning microscopy (CLSM)

Deformation behaviors of cell cross-sections from wood blocks were observed during water adsorption by confocal laser-scanning microscopy. In the tangential (T) direction, cells swelled linearly with increasing moisture content, whereas in the radial (R) direction, cell deformation varied from cell to cell, and some cells showed even shrinkage. This confirms that the well-known swelling/shrinking anisotropy for intact wood blocks is T>R.