Abstract:

Some approaches of quantitative anatomy, micrological image analysis and X-ray microdensitometry were used to explore the anatomical properties of cambial cells and different xylem cells at different phases in this paper, and the histological relationships between cambial cells and xylem cells were discussed. The dynamic changes were determined in the anatomical properties of cambial cells and xylem cells during cambial active phase. No significant differences in tangential and radial width of cambial fusiform cell, length of vessel element, ratio of fiber and ray tissue were found among different stages. However, there existed significant differences in fiber length and width, ratio of fiber wall to lumen, microfibril angle, cell wall percentage, ratio of vessel tissue and distributing frequency of vessel. The radial variation of wood density within annual ring had a close relationship to that of the productivity and anatomical properties of xylem cells at different stages. Correlation analysis indicated that cambial cell number had strong negative correlations with fiber length, ratio of fiber length to width and ratio of fiber wall to lumen, and a positive correlation with fiber width. Meanwhile, the radial width of cambial fusiform cell had negative correlations with fiber length, ratio of fiber length to width and ratio of ray tissue, and a positive correlation existed between tangential width of cambial fusiform cell and fiber width. In conclusion, the histological correlations between cambial fusiform cell and wood fiber were stronger than cambial fusiform cell and vessel element.

Key words: Populus tomentosa, Cambium activity, Xylem cell, Dynamic changes, Anatomical properties