CAMBIAL ACTIVITY IN ALASKAN WHITE SPRUCE

Abstract

Cambial activity in white spruce stems in Alaska was observed during a 2‐year period in 50–60‐year‐old natural stands. Mitotic index was used as a measure of the rate of periclinal division of fusiform cells in the cambial zone. Anticlinal divisions were relatively rare, averaging only one per 27S periclinal divisions in most stems. Mitotic index, at any given time, appeared uniform throughout the cambial zone of an internode, among internodes of the same tree, and even among trees growing at markedly different rates. Diurnal variation in mitotic index was observed. There were three distinct growing season periods: early, grand, and late. Early period activity was characterized by reactivation of periclinal division, erratic mitotic indices, and an approximate doubling of the number of cambial zone cells per radial file (NCZ). Production of the first new xylem and phloem elements marked the beginning of the grand period. Rate of cell production in the cambial zone remained about equal to derivative production for the next 45–50 days, when about 80 % of annual xylem and phloem increment occurred. There was a drop in NCZ at the beginning of the late period coincident with a decline in mitotic index, and NCZ soon dropped to the dormant level. Complete termination of cambial activity was gradual, extending through late August and perhaps into September.