Wood structural differences between trees of two tropical forests in Mexico

Abstract

A comparison was made of the wood structure of trees from a tropical rainforest and a tropical deciduous forest. Qualitative as well as quantitative differences were found. In the species from the tropical deciduous forest the wood is darker, harder and inclusions like crystals and resin are more abundant than in the rainforest species. Species from the deciduous forest have generally shorter and narrower vessel elements, shorter fibres and rays, greater pore abundance, greater specific gravity, and greater vessel wall thickness than the species from the rainforest. The basic statistics for both groups of species are given. The differences found are explained as related to climate, mainly to available moisture. Some evolutionary implications are also discussed.