The Need for Better Insight into Tree Wood Composition
Trees consist of two key types of wood. Sapwood is the
lighter, outer region of a tree's wood, which conducts
water and stores nutrients. It plays an active physiolog-
ical role in supporting leaf function and photosynthesis.
Heartwood, the darker, inner core, is composed of older,
metabolically inactive wood that provides mechan-
ical strength and increased resistance to decay.
Accurately measuring the amount and distribution of
these wood types is important for many reasons. For
example, sapwood volume is closely linked to a tree's
hydraulic efficiency and maintenance respiration, while
heartwood is more resistant to insect and pathogen
damage, and contributes more to structural integrity.
Moreover, understanding how trees allocate volume to
sapwood versus heartwood helps scientists and urban
managers better estimate above-ground biomass,
carbon sequestration, and potential wood yield.
However, existing methods to estimate heartwood
and sapwood volumes typically focus only on the
main stem and make broad assumptions about shape
and structure. They rarely consider branches, even
though branches can account for a large propor-
tion of total tree volume—especially in urban trees
with open-grown form and expanded crowns. >>
Dr. Arseniou setting up the terrestrial laser scanner during a field campaign.
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