Differences in bark anatomy between stem and branches of Olea europaea L.

What is it about?

Bark has a complex anatomical structure, which is reflected in many vital functions that bark tissues perform simultaneously for woody plants. In addition to macroscopic characteristics of bark tissues in different tree parts, more detailed examination of bark traits at the cellular level provides further information on functional trade-offs among different cell types/tissues. Here, we examined and compared the bark anatomy of the stem and branches of olive trees. We found that the widths of bark tissues significantly differed in the stem and branches; all tissues were wider in the stem. At the same time, numerous similarities in the stem and branch bark anatomy were observed. For instance, annual phloem increments could not be determined in the youngest phloem adjacent to the cambium and a distinction between non-conducting and conducting phloem was not possible. Differences in the bark structure of the stem and branches of olive trees imply functional differences between these two tree parts and point to different ecological contexts. Moreover, branch bark trait values cannot be used to extrapolate to the main stem bark (or vice versa). Differences support previous studies that have reported that different tree parts are exposed to different microenvironments.

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