Improving the equation of nonlinear relationships between cell anatomical parameters of conifer wood

Key message

We propose an improved exponential equation for the nonlinear dependence of cell measurements on the seasonal cell production in conifer wood. These changes shall simplify the model towards ease in understanding, interpretation and analysis.

Abstract

With methodological development, quantitative parameters of wood cellular structure have featured as dendroclimatic indicators in various studies. But to disentangle climatic impacts in different wood anatomical characteristics, relationships between them have to be described quantitatively and extricated. This study investigates exponential description of the non-linear dependences of conifer wood cell measurements on their seasonal production in cambial zone. Improvement to the equation of exponential model was suggested, simplifying the interpretation and analysis and providing biological meaning to all numerical parameters of the model. This new equation was demonstrated for 630 tree rings from 20 to 40-year-old trees of Siberian spruce (Picea obovata Ledeb.) in Siberia, collected at the experimental plantation, as well as for its subsets from plots of various planting density, demonstrating plausible value of the new proposed numerical parameter of model and dependence of the other parameter on the stand density, probably based on the tree height. Limitation for successful fitting of this exponential model was demonstrated, based on representativity of wide and narrow rings within sample; we proposed possible way to overcome it in certain cases.