Gartner 98-70480 This project describes sabbatical-year activities designed to increase the PI's ability to integrate research in Ecophysiology and wood science through research and visits to labs. The funded work involves research on evergreen oak seedlings (Quercus ilex) in a glasshouse, asking how wood accommodates the simultaneous needs to transport water and to provide mechanical support. The PI expects that seedlings grown at high angels from vertical will use more of their stem for specialized mechanical support, and thus will have less cross-section available for water transport. The PI will measure mechanical, hydraulic, and growth characteristics of the seedlings, followed by investigating their wood anatomy. If other funds are available, the PI will supplement this research with a study of branches at different angles on older trees in the field, and PI will visit laboratories where other scientists are working with trees and wood. The site visits will help the PI put research in context and increase the PI's knowledge of these research areas in Europe. Further understanding of how wood functions in living trees will help the PIs understand drought adaptations, and will give the PIs more predictive power on how our forest manipulations will affect wood quality for forest products.
