Interactions between wind and trees control energy exchanges between the atmosphere and forest canopies. This energy exchange can lead to the widespread damage of trees, and wind is a key disturbance agent in many of the world's forests. However, most research on this topic has focused on conifer plantations, where risk management is economically important, rather than broadleaf forests, which dominate the forest carbon cycle. This study brings together tree motion time-series data to systematically evaluate the factors influencing tree responses to wind loading, including data from both broadleaf and coniferous trees in forests and open environments. We found that the two most descriptive features of tree motion were (a) the fundamental frequency, which is a measure of the speed at which a tree sways and is strongly related to tree height, and (b) the slope of the power spectrum, which is related to the efficiency of energy transfer from wind to trees. Intriguingly, the slope of the power spectrum was found to remain constant from medium to high wind speeds for all trees in this study. This suggests that, contrary to some predictions, damping or amplification mechanisms do not change dramatically at high wind speeds, and therefore wind damage risk is related, relatively simply, to wind speed. Conifers from forests were distinct from broadleaves in terms of their response to wind loading. Specifically, the fundamental frequency of forest conifers was related to their size according to the cantilever beam model (i.e. vertically distributed mass), whereas broadleaves were better approximated by the simple pendulum model (i.e. dominated by the crown). Forest conifers also had a steeper slope of the power spectrum. We interpret these finding as being strongly related to tree architecture; i.e. conifers generally have a simple shape due to their apical dominance, whereas broadleaves exhibit a much wider range of architectures with more dominant crowns.

Accurate estimates of the water conducting sapwood area are necessary to scale sapflow measurements to tree and stand level transpiration. We tested a non-destructive method, electric resistivity tomography (ERT), to estimate the area of conductive sapwood in 9 Pinus sylvestris L. trees in lower Saxony, Germany. Tomograms were compared to cross-sections stained with benzidine after harvesting. All tomograms displayed a distinct pattern of low resistivity at the stem perimeter and high resistivity in the stem centre with a steep increase in resistivity in between, assumed to indicate the transition from sapwood to heartwood. The tomograms showed a sapwood width 2 cm smaller than the staining method. This indicates that staining methods overestimate the amount of active sapwood because when heartwood is formed, moisture content decreases before extractive contents reach levels visible by staining. The ERT method is a new powerful method for the non-destructive estimation of sapwood and heartwood width.

Storms are the main abiotic disturbance in European forests, effects of which are expected to intensify in the future, hence the importance of forest stand stability is increasing. The predisposition of Norway spruce to wind damage appears to be enhanced by pathogens such as Heterobasidion spp., which reduce stability of individual trees. However, detailed information about the effects of the root rot on the stability of individual trees across diverse soil types is still lacking. The aim of the study was to assess the effect of root rot on the individual tree stability of Norway spruce growing on drained peat and mineral soils. In total, 77 Norway spruce trees (age 50–80 years) growing in four stands were tested under static loading. The presence of Heterobasidion spp. had a significant negative effect on the bending moment at primary and secondary failure of the tested trees irrespectively of soil type. This suggests increased legacy effects (e.g., susceptibility to pathogens and pests due to fractured roots and altered water uptake) of storms. Damaged trees act as weak spots increasing the susceptibility of stands to wind damage, thus forming a negative feedback loop and contributing to an ongoing decline in vitality of Norway spruce stands following storms in the study region in the future. Accordingly, the results support the importance of timely identification of the decayed trees, lowering stand density and/or shortening rotation period as the measures to counteract the increasing effects of storms on Norway spruce stands.

Electric resistivity tomograms of English oak ( Quercus robur L.) show a very distinct pattern of electric resistivity that has not been found in any other tree species yet and that cannot be related to the distribution of wood moisture content over the stem cross section. To reveal the factors underlying this two-dimensional pattern of electric resistivity, the variation of specific gravity and wood moisture content was analyzed in 18 cross sections of six roadside English oak trees after electric resistivity tomography. pH and electrolyte content were analyzed in two representative cross sections. Results show that electric resistivity correlates neither with wood moisture content nor density. The steep increase in electric resistivity at the sapwood–heartwood boundary correlates well with decreasing pH, potassium, and magnesium. The decreasing electric resistivity within the heartwood of English oak correlates with potassium and magnesium, increasing from the sapwood–heartwood boundary to the pith. More research is needed to identify species-specific electric resistivity patterns and their main factors if the method is to be used to detect wood fungal decay, historical ground water contamination, or other influences that may change the pattern of electric resistivity in the stem cross section.

We tested the hypothesis that changes in crown architecture of old pedunculate oak trees (Quercus robur L. ssp. robur Kl. et Kr. et Rol.) reduce leaf specific hydraulic conductance of shoots, thereby limiting stomatal conductance and assimilation of affected shoots. At the end of summer 1999, hydraulic conductance and leaf specific hydraulic conductance, measured with a high-pressure flow meter in 0.5- to 1.5-m long shoots, were 27 and 39% lower, respectively, in shoots of low vigor compared with vigorously growing shoots in a 165-year- old stand in southeastern Germany. Two types of bottlenecks to water transport can be identified in shoots of old oak trees, namely nodes and abscission zones. The reduction in hydraulic conductance was especially severe in shoots with diameters of less than 2 mm. Maximum stomatal conductance and maximum net assimilation rate increased significantly with hydraulic conductance and leaf specific hydraulic conductance. Our data support the hypothesis that changes in shoot and consequently crown architecture observed in aging trees can limit photosynthesis by reducing shoot hydraulic conductance. Thus, in addition to increasing pathway length and lower conductivity of xylem in old trees, structural changes in shoot and crown architecture need to be considered when analyzing water relations and photosynthesis in mature and declining trees.