Phenological comparison of the onset of vessel formation between ring-porous and diffuse-porous deciduous trees in a Japanese temperate forest

Initiation of vessel formation and vessel maturation indicated by secondary wall deposition have been compared in eleven deciduous broadleaved tree species. In ring-porous species the first vessel element formation in the current growth ring was initiated two to six weeks prior to the onset of leaf expansion, and secondary wall deposition on the vessel elements was completed from one week before to three weeks after leaf expansion. In diffuse-porous species, the first vessel element formation was initiated two to seven weeks after the onset of leaf expansion, and secondary wall deposition was completed four to nine weeks after leaf expansion. These results suggest that early maturation of the first vessel elements in the ring-porous species will serve for water conduction in early spring. On the contrary, the late maturation of the first vessel elements in the diffuse-porous species indicates that no new functional vessels exist at the time of the leaf expansion.