Growth stress is critical to the survival of trees. CD BioSciences helps our customers to assess growth stress in trees to provide key knowledge to gain insight into the biophysical mechanisms of cell wall formation, and also to develop appropriate techniques to prevent defects due to growth stress. Our reliable scientific services will greatly accelerate your research progress in the field of tree growth stress.

Background

Tree growth stress is the mechanical stress that is permanently supported by the wood in a living tree during growth, maintaining the vertical growth of the trunk and the growth of branches at a certain angle. It is the result of the combined action of two mechanisms: increased self-weight of the tree and cell wall maturation. When external factors interfere with the original growth state, this internal tree stress adjusts its size and distribution in the tree, self-regulating to resist external forces and try to return to the original growth state.

The presence of growth stresses in trees is initially recognized by their technical consequences, such as checks at log ends after crosscutting, or lumber distortion after sawing. The strain release resulting from any cutting operation, combined with information from the wood constitutive equation, is also a common method of estimating growth stresses. When logs are used as raw material for timber products, the growth stresses present in the stems often lead to problems such as crooked sawn lumber and reduce the final yield to a large extent. The study of tree growth stress is therefore not only critical for plant biomechanics and ecophysiology but is also important in wood engineering.

Fig.1 Example of growth stress assessment performed on a large tree population. (Gril, 2017)

Our Services

We offer our clients growth stress assessment services that provide useful information for understanding how these stresses occur during growth, thus offering the possibility of developing effective solutions to reduce them. Our services include, but are not limited to:

• Measurement of the surface growth stress
• We use strain gauges to help our customers measure surface growth stress in trees. This method is suitable for determining local strains quickly and accurately.
• We use alternative techniques such as the single-hole method to provide a rapid assessment of large numbers of trees.
• Measurement of residual stress distributions
  We have developed several methods to assess the three-dimensional stress distribution within the stem volume, which typically involve tree felling and progressive log destruction steps. Based on the deformation measured at each cutting step, combined with data on the mechanical properties of the material, we are able to obtain pre-existing stresses by back-calculation.

Applications

• Development of non-destructive techniques for measurement of growth strain and stress.
• Evaluation of growth stress in various wood types including normal wood, compression wood and gelatinous fiber in tension wood.
• Development of solutions to practical problems related to reactive wood and large growth stress.

Our Advantages

• Cutting-edge biophysical analysis platform
• Efficient technical support
• Time-saving and competitive price
• Detailed after-sales service

CD BioSciences provides efficient and high-quality services related to plant biomechanical analysis to biotechnology companies and research institutions worldwide, using a state-of-the-art experimental platform. If you need scientific assistance in assessing tree growth stress, please contact us directly for more details.

Reference

1. Gril, J.; et al. Tree growth stress and related problems. Journal of Wood Science. 2017, 63(5): 411-432.

• Modeling of Wood Cell Wall and Fibre Properties
• Measurements of Wood Cell Wall Properties
• Modeling of Growth Stress Profiles Inside Tree Stems
• Analysis of Bending Stress in Plant Stems
• Wind Load Estimation for Trees
• Mechanical Analysis of Root Anchorage