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Research
Interests
Functional and ecological wood anatomy
for trees and wood products, including
- Wood quality in relation to silviculture, environment
and genetics
- Tradeoffs among mechanics, hydraulics, and other
xylem functions
- Effects of rapid growth on wood and
physiology
- Juvenile/mature wood changes in softwoods and
hardwoods
- Determinants of sapwood quantity
- Interactions of disease with wood and bark structure
and function
Graduate Education
Graduate education is an important part of my program.
There are usually 3-5 M.S. and/or Ph.D. students in the lab, any of whom are
co-advised, usually with Rick Meinzer, but occasionally with other people.
Most students work on a dual degrees in Wood Science & Engineering and Forest
Science (meaning they do one research project whose thesis works for both
departments, and they take coursework that satisfies both departments.
The projects my students work on are varied, ranging from
plant physiology to wood science. In all cases I have the goal of
giving students a chance to gain and practice skills in logic, creativity,
analysis, synthesis, and communication; to take some risks; and to carry
through with their own ideas.
Program Goals and Objectives
My research program aims to increase our predictive
capabilities of how growth conditions affect wood structure, growth form, and
function of woody plants. Such capabilities are basic to tree physiology.
They will aid wood technologists by giving more information about the resource
they are or will be using, it will aid silviculturists by showing effects
of their practices on quality and value, it will aid tree breeders by indicating
which traits are interconnected with physiology and in what manner, and it will
aid ecosystem ecologists in devising functional species groups for traits such
as decay rate, water use efficiency, and susceptibility to predation by humans.
Following are the areas in which I work and/or have major interest.
1. Wood as a compromise structure for the many
functions of xylem
These
issues lead to many questions. Currently, Rick Meinzer's and
my lab are focusing on the determinants of tree height that are mediated
by wood structure through the fact that the wood has to transport water
efficiently, but it has to be sufficiently 'safe' that cells don't
become air-blocked (embolized). We have looked at a number of other
apparent tradeoffs: heartwood defense levels, the quantity of
sapwood produced, the relative roles of earlywood and latewood in water
transport, the roles of juvenile and mature wood in mechanical and
hydraulic features.
2. Wood quality patterns in 'new' resources
(as plants grow faster and are placed in environments with more extreme
climatic events)
Most of the characterization of wood quality in the
west has focused on a small handful of species, naturally grown, and old.
Some of our research is looking at the wood quality in the inner rings
(the juvenile wood); other research has looked at the effects of rapid
radial growth on mature wood properties.
4. Pathogen penetration into wood
Anatomical pathways of entry, and other putative roles of these
pathways.
How the
pathogens disrupt the physiology.
Localization of plant reactions, such as tylosis or gum formation.
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