Compartmentalization: A Conceptual Framework for Understanding How Trees Grow and Defend Themselves

Abstract

The purpose of this chapter is to describe a conceptual framework for understanding how trees grow and how they and other perennial plants defend themselves. The concept of compartmentalization has developed over many years, a synthesis of ideas from a number of investigators. It is derived from detailed studies of the gross morphology and cellular anatomy of the wood and bark of roots and stems in healthy angiosperms and gymnosperms. It is based on research in tree physiology and the chemistry of wood and bark. It is founded on observations of trees injured in the field by wind, snow, ice, fire, animals, and insects, as well as during pruning, coppicing, sugaring, and other forest and orchard management practices. It is based on experimental studies of natural and artificial wounds with and without controlled inoculations with selected pathogenic and saprophytic microorganisms. These microbes have included wood-decaying Basidiomycetes and Ascomycetes, wood-staining Ascomycetes and Fungi Imperfecti, canker fungi, and a myriad of woodinhabiting bacteria. The end result of all these studies is an integrating concept that involves defenses laid down by trees prior to injury and defenses laid down by trees after injury.