Ecological implications of wood anatomy, ring growth and shoot allometry of Mediterranean maquis species

Wood anatomical and structural features are key elements in the water relations of plants. To verify if the plants grown in four sites characterized by different climatic gradients modify the distribution of biomass were recorded biometric and wood features in five shrub species (3 individual for species) asQuercus ilex,Arbutus unedo,Phyllirea latifolia,Pistacia lentiscus,Cistus monspeliensistypical of Mediterranean ecosystems in the Sardinia region.The characterization of the species has required the measurement of the following parameters: leaf area (Aleaf), leaf dry weight (PS), specific leaf area (SLA), amplitude of the growth rings and mean diameter of the xylem vessels of the basal portion of the stem. The research has also provided the integration of dendrochronological analysis of ring woody with climate data (precipitation and temperature) of the study sites examined and the analysis of the anatomical features of the wood at the ultrastructural level. Through the observation of digitized photos of microsections transverse, have been measured wood vessels diameter. Our results suggested that aridity, rather than winter temperature, controls stem xylem response in the studied shrub species.The study aims to provide information on the ecological role of plant species under study and the functions of the conduction is the key to survival in conditions of stress caused summer aridity.