Do six-year-old Eucalyptus clones maintain uniformity in growth and wood quality in different soils?

Purpose Soil physical-chemical characteristics are key factors to intraspecific variability in plant functional traits. However, little is known about how wood and leaf traits can interact to ensure similar tree growth and wood quality in sites with different edaphoclimatic conditions. Here, we investigated the effect of soil on the wood features, leaf traits, and plant growth in Eucalyptus urophylla and E. urophylla x grandis trees. Methods We evaluated the wood features, leaf traits and tree growth in 20 six-year-old trees from the same clone of each species. We applied linear models to verify the variability in these characteristics for both clones in two trial sites. Results Wood with larger vessels in a lower density, higher potential hydraulic conductivity, taller and wider rays, a higher fraction of vessels and parenchyma cells and a lower fraction of fibers were observed in trees from the trial site with higher availability of water and nutrients. Moreover, the trees had lower specific leaf area and higher leaf dry matter content in this trial site. Conclusion Our results show that trees studied have similar wood features that ensure safety and relative efficiency in water transport. In addition, we found different leaf traits strategies to optimize carbon uptake, thus maintaining similar productivity and wood quality in sites with different soil conditions.

Automated summary

Our study found that trees in sites with higher water and nutrient availability exhibited wood with larger vessels, lower density, higher potential hydraulic conductivity, taller and wider rays, a higher fraction of vessels and parenchyma cells, and a lower fraction of fibers. Additionally, these trees had lower specific leaf area and higher leaf dry matter content in the trial site with better soil conditions.