Key message Distance from the tree tip strongly influences axial variations in the elasticity (MOE) and strength (MOR) of fresh Scots pine wood, with both properties increasing towards the base of the stem. Abstract Scots pine ( Pinus sylvestris L.), one of Europe's most used timber species, is valued in the construction, furniture, and paper industries. The anatomical structure of Scots pine wood follows the universal conduit...

Key message Early rewetting influenced growth variability and hydraulic uniformity in Pedunculate oak wood on disturbed peatland. Long-term study highlighted vessel widening's importance in adapting to water availability changes. Abstract Pedunculate oak ( Quercus robur L.) is a widely recognized flood-tolerant tree that thrives on fertile and moist soil conditions, such as on or close to peatland ecosystems. In the frame of c...

Key message An exceptionally high number of blue rings were formed within and between Scots pine trees from Estonia in 1976: a year that is well known for its outstanding summer heatwave over Western Europe, but its extreme autumnal cooling over Eastern Europe has so far been neglected in scientific literature. Abstract ‘Blue rings’ (BRs) are visual indicators of less lignified cell walls typically formed towards the end of a...

The largest explosive volcanic eruption of the Common Era in terms of estimated sulphur yield to the stratosphere was identified in glaciochemical records 40 years ago, and dates to the mid-thirteenth century. Despite eventual attribution to the Samalas (Rinjani) volcano in Indonesia, the eruption date remains uncertain, and the climate response only partially understood. Seeking a more global perspective on summer surface tem...

Although wood anatomical features can provide yearly resolved climatic information at sub-seasonal resolution, the occurrence of intra-annual density fluctuations (IADFs) might be triggered by several abiotic factors under different ecological settings. Here, we use information on cambial age and tree-ring width to standardize the frequency of IADFs in European black pines from three different mountain slopes in the central Ap...

Angiosperm hydraulic performance is crucially affected by the diameters of vessels, the water conducting conduits in the wood. Hydraulic optimality models suggest that vessels should widen predictably from stem tip to base, buffering hydrodynamic resistance accruing as stems, and therefore conductive path, increase in length. Data from 257 species (609 samples) show that vessels widen as predicted with distance from the stem a...