Linkages between Phosphorus and Plant Diversity in Central European Forest Ecosystems—Complementarity or Competition?

The phosphorus nutrition status of European forests has decreased significantly in recent decades. For a deeper understanding of complementarity and competition in terms of P acquisition in temperate forests, we have analyzed α-diversity, organic layer and mineral soil P, P nutrition status, and different concepts of P use efficiency (PUE) in Fagus sylvatica L. (European beech) and Picea abies (L.) H. Karst. (Norway spruce). Using a subset of the Second National Soil Survey in Germany, we correlated available data on P in the organic layer and soil with α-diversity indices for beech and spruce forests overall and for individual vegetation layers (tree, shrub, herb, and moss layers). Moreover, we investigated α-diversity feedbacks on P nutrition status and PUE of both tree species. The overall diversity of both forest ecosystems was largely positively related to P content in the organic layer and soil, but there were differences among the vegetation layers. Diversity in the tree layer of both forest ecosystems was negatively related to the organic layer and soil P. By contrast, shrub diversity showed no correlation to P, while herb layer diversity was negatively related to P in the organic layer but positively to P in soil. A higher tree layer diversity was slightly related to increased P recycling efficiency (PPlant/Porganic layer) in European beech and P uptake efficiency (PPlant/Psoil) in Norway spruce. The diversity in the herb layer was negatively related to P recycling and uptake efficiency in European beech and slightly related to P uptake efficiency in Norway spruce. In spruce forests, overall and herb species richness led to significantly improved tree nutrition status. Our results confirm significant, non-universal relationships between P and diversity in temperate forests with variations among forest ecosystems, vegetation layers, and P in the organic layer or soil. In particular, tree species diversity may enhance complementarity and hence also P nutrition of dominant forest trees through higher PUE, whereas moss and herb layers seemed to show competitive relationships among each other in nutrient cycling.DFG, 241127382, PhosForDiv - Phosphatverfügbarkeit als Einflussgröße der Pflanzen-Biodiversität in Waldökosysteme

Entwicklung einer Methodik zur stichprobengestützten Erfassung und Regionalisierung von Zustandseigenschaften der Waldstandorte

Der Humus- und Nährstoffstatus von Waldböden wird durch Klimawandel, anthropogene Stoffeinträge und Bewirtschaftungsmaßnahmen fortwährend beeinflusst. In Abhängigkeit ihrer bodenphysikalischen und -chemischen Eigenschaften können Waldböden sich verändernde Umweltbedingungen abpuffern oder diese sogar verstärken. Daher müssen die Standortsverhältnisse und deren Entwicklungstendenzen für langfristig angelegte forstliche Entscheidungen berücksichtigt werden. Ziel des Projekts war es, praxistaugliche Indikatoren für waldbaulich/ökologisch relevante Standortszustände zu identifizieren und diese in das Verfahren der Standortserkundung zu integrieren. Hierfür wurden zunächst Humus- und Oberbodendaten aus verschiedenen Erhebungen bezüglich ihrer standörtlichen, räumlichen und zeitlichen Varianz ausgewertet. Nachfolgend sollte ein Methodenvorschlag zur Erfassung der relevanten Standortseigenschaften abgeleitet werden. [...]Climate change and anthropogenic substance load and forest management have a lasting impact on the status of humus and nutrients in forest soils. However, forest soils can buffer or even enhance changes of environmental conditions. Therefore, site conditions and their development have to be considered for long-term forest management decisions. The project aimed at identifying practicable indicators of relevant ecological and silvicultural site conditions that can be integrated into Site Survey of forest soils. A further objective was to develop a methods proposal for the inventory of relevant site conditions. Data of organic layer and topsoil from different inventories was evaluated regarding the site-specific, spatial and temporal variance. [...

Abschätzungen zum Wasserhaushalt für Punkte der Bodenzustandserhebung im Wald (BZE II)

Das Thünen-Institut für Waldökosysteme (Eberswalde) führt die bundesweite Bodenzustandserhebung im Wald (BZE II) durch. Mit den erhobenen Daten kann die nutzbare Feldkapazität dieser Standorte abgeschätzt werden. Klimadaten des Deutschen Wetterdienstes wurden so aufbereitet, dass Aussagen zu mittleren Niederschlägen, Temperaturen und potentiellen Verdunstungen der Standorte möglich sind. Bei der Gegenüberstellung von Niederschlägen und Verdunstungswerten in der Vegetationsperiode dominieren negative klimatische Wasserbilanzen (KWB). Eine Berücksichtigung des in der nFK gespeicherten Bodenwassers führt bei 80% der Standorte zu einer leicht positiven KWB. Dieser positive Einfluss des Bodenwasserspeichers auf den Wasserhaushalt geht jedoch völlig verloren, wenn das zukünftige Klima im Mittel den 10 Jahren mit den negativsten Wasserbilanzen entsprechen würde

Bedeutung der nutzbaren Feldkapazität forstlicher Standorte für die Wasserversorgung der Forsten bei sich ändernden Klimabedingungen

Das Institut für Waldökologie und Waldinventuren in Eberswalde führt die bundesweite Bodenzustandserhebung im Wald durch. Von ca. 2000 Punkten werden Daten zu den Standortbedingungen, zum Waldbestand und zum Boden erhoben. Diese reichen in Quantität und Qualität für komplexe Landschaftswasserhaushaltsmodelle nicht aus. Deshalb ist es das Ziel aus den vorhandenen Daten ein eigenes Modell zu entwickeln. Das Modell umfasst die Komponenten Verdunstung, pflanzenverfügbares Wasser und den lateralen Abfluss. Zur Schätzung der Verdunstung wird auf eine empirische Gleichung von Renger und Wessolek (1996) zurückgegriffen bzw. eine Modifikation nach Wessolek et al. (2008) genutzt. Für das pflanzenverfügbare Wasser wird die nutzbare Feldkapazität im effektiven Wurzelraum ermittelt, bei Grundwassereinfluss der Kapillaraufstieg, welcher auf die Höhe der potentiellen Evapotranspiration begrenzt wird. Hennings et al. (2000) geben Quotienten zwischen Gesamt- und Grundwasserabfluss an. Für die Differenz zwischen Gesamt- und Grundwasserabfluss wird angenommen, dass diese den lateralen Abfluss darstellt. In einem weiteren Schritt wird dieses Modell, mit dem Ziel Vorhersagen für die zukünftige Wasserversorgung der Bestände zu tätigen, angewendet. Mit dem prognostizierten Klimawandel werden sich die Niederschlagsverhältnisse in Menge und Verteilung regional unterschiedlich verändern. Es wird erwartet, dass die Auswirkungen auf die Wasserversorgung der Bäume wesentlich von der Höhe der Feldkapazität im Wurzelraum abhängig ist

Revealing legacy effects of extreme droughts on tree growth of oaks across the Northern Hemisphere

Forests are undergoing increasing risks of drought-induced tree mortality. Species replacement patterns following mortality may have a significant impact on the global carbon cycle. Among major hardwoods, deciduous oaks (Quercus spp.) are increasingly reported as replacing dying conifers across the Northern Hemisphere. Yet, our knowledge on the growth responses of these oaks to drought is incomplete, especially regarding post-drought legacy effects. The objectives of this study were to determine the occurrence, duration, and magnitude of legacy effects of extreme droughts and how that vary across species, sites, and drought characteristics. The legacy effects were quantified by the deviation of observed from expected radial growth indices in the period 1940–2016. We used stand-level chronologies from 458 sites and 21 oak species primarily from Europe, north-eastern America, and eastern Asia. We found that legacy effects of droughts could last from 1 to 5 years after the drought and were more prolonged in dry sites. Negative legacy effects (i.e., lower growth than expected) were more prevalent after repetitive droughts in dry sites. The effect of repetitive drought was stronger in Mediterranean oaks especially in Quercus faginea. Species-specific analyses revealed that Q. petraea and Q. macrocarpa from dry sites were more negatively affected by the droughts while growth of several oak species from mesic sites increased during post-drought years. Sites showing positive correlations to winter temperature showed little to no growth depression after drought, whereas sites with a positive correlation to previous summer water balance showed decreased growth. This may indicate that although winter warming favors tree growth during droughts, previous-year summer precipitation may predispose oak trees to current-year extreme droughts. Our results revealed a massive role of repetitive droughts in determining legacy effects and highlighted how growth sensitivity to climate, drought seasonality and species-specific traits drive the legacy effects in deciduous oak species

Revealing legacy effects of extreme droughts on tree growth of oaks across the Northern Hemisphere

© 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).Forests are undergoing increasing risks of drought-induced tree mortality. Species replacement patterns following mortality may have a significant impact on the global carbon cycle. Among major hardwoods, deciduous oaks (Quercus spp.) are increasingly reported as replacing dying conifers across the Northern Hemisphere. Yet, our knowledge on the growth responses of these oaks to drought is incomplete, especially regarding post-drought legacy effects. The objectives of this study were to determine the occurrence, duration, and magnitude of legacy effects of extreme droughts and how that vary across species, sites, and drought characteristics. The legacy effects were quantified by the deviation of observed from expected radial growth indices in the period 1940–2016. We used stand-level chronologies from 458 sites and 21 oak species primarily from Europe, north-eastern America, and eastern Asia. We found that legacy effects of droughts could last from 1 to 5 years after the drought and were more prolonged in dry sites. Negative legacy effects (i.e., lower growth than expected) were more prevalent after repetitive droughts in dry sites. The effect of repetitive drought was stronger in Mediterranean oaks especially in Quercus faginea. Species-specific analyses revealed that Q. petraea and Q. macrocarpa from dry sites were more negatively affected by the droughts while growth of several oak species from mesic sites increased during post-drought years. Sites showing positive correlations to winter temperature showed little to no growth depression after drought, whereas sites with a positive correlation to previous summer water balance showed decreased growth. This may indicate that although winter warming favors tree growth during droughts, previous-year summer precipitation may predispose oak trees to current-year extreme droughts. Our results revealed a massive role of repetitive droughts in determining legacy effects and highlighted how growth sensitivity to climate, drought seasonality and species-specific traits drive the legacy effects in deciduous oak species.AKB thanks H2020 Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Individual Fellowship (PROJECT ID: 749051-REFOREST) and support from the Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL. JJC thanks funding from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (PID2021-123675OB-C43 and TED2021-129770B-C21 projects). AG acknowledges support from the Swiss National Science foundation SNF (310030_189109) and inspiration by The Velvet Underground. EM-S was funded by the project RYC2021-035078-I from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation. IDL acknowledges funding from Proyectos de Generación de Conocimiento, Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (#PID2021-128759OA-I00), Fondos de Investigación Beatriz Galindo UPM-CAM (#M190020074A) and Proyectos de Consolidación Investigadora 2022 (#CNS2022-135228). TK, EK, MR, IS were supported by the Czech Science Foundation (23-08049S project). JA and JD were supported by the Czech Science Foundation (23-05272S and 23-07533S) and the long-term research development project No. RVO 67985939 of the Czech Academy of Sciences. ASV was funded by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation (FSRZ-2020-0014).Peer reviewe

Effect of early tranexamic acid administration on mortality, hysterectomy, and other morbidities in women with post-partum haemorrhage (WOMAN): an international, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial

Background Post-partum haemorrhage is the leading cause of maternal death worldwide. Early administration of tranexamic acid reduces deaths due to bleeding in trauma patients. We aimed to assess the effects of early administration of tranexamic acid on death, hysterectomy, and other relevant outcomes in women with post-partum haemorrhage. Methods In this randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, we recruited women aged 16 years and older with a clinical diagnosis of post-partum haemorrhage after a vaginal birth or caesarean section from 193 hospitals in 21 countries. We randomly assigned women to receive either 1 g intravenous tranexamic acid or matching placebo in addition to usual care. If bleeding continued after 30 min, or stopped and restarted within 24 h of the first dose, a second dose of 1 g of tranexamic acid or placebo could be given. Patients were assigned by selection of a numbered treatment pack from a box containing eight numbered packs that were identical apart from the pack number. Participants, care givers, and those assessing outcomes were masked to allocation. We originally planned to enrol 15 000 women with a composite primary endpoint of death from all-causes or hysterectomy within 42 days of giving birth. However, during the trial it became apparent that the decision to conduct a hysterectomy was often made at the same time as randomisation. Although tranexamic acid could influence the risk of death in these cases, it could not affect the risk of hysterectomy. We therefore increased the sample size from 15 000 to 20 000 women in order to estimate the effect of tranexamic acid on the risk of death from post-partum haemorrhage. All analyses were done on an intention-to-treat basis. This trial is registered with ISRCTN76912190 (Dec 8, 2008); ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT00872469; and PACTR201007000192283. Findings Between March, 2010, and April, 2016, 20 060 women were enrolled and randomly assigned to receive tranexamic acid (n=10 051) or placebo (n=10 009), of whom 10 036 and 9985, respectively, were included in the analysis. Death due to bleeding was significantly reduced in women given tranexamic acid (155 [1·5%] of 10 036 patients vs 191 [1·9%] of 9985 in the placebo group, risk ratio [RR] 0·81, 95% CI 0·65–1·00; p=0·045), especially in women given treatment within 3 h of giving birth (89 [1·2%] in the tranexamic acid group vs 127 [1·7%] in the placebo group, RR 0·69, 95% CI 0·52–0·91; p=0·008). All other causes of death did not differ significantly by group. Hysterectomy was not reduced with tranexamic acid (358 [3·6%] patients in the tranexamic acid group vs 351 [3·5%] in the placebo group, RR 1·02, 95% CI 0·88–1·07; p=0·84). The composite primary endpoint of death from all causes or hysterectomy was not reduced with tranexamic acid (534 [5·3%] deaths or hysterectomies in the tranexamic acid group vs 546 [5·5%] in the placebo group, RR 0·97, 95% CI 0·87-1·09; p=0·65). Adverse events (including thromboembolic events) did not differ significantly in the tranexamic acid versus placebo group. Interpretation Tranexamic acid reduces death due to bleeding in women with post-partum haemorrhage with no adverse effects. When used as a treatment for postpartum haemorrhage, tranexamic acid should be given as soon as possible after bleeding onset. Funding London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Pfizer, UK Department of Health, Wellcome Trust, and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Consensus guidelines for the use and interpretation of angiogenesis assays

The formation of new blood vessels, or angiogenesis, is a complex process that plays important roles in growth and development, tissue and organ regeneration, as well as numerous pathological conditions. Angiogenesis undergoes multiple discrete steps that can be individually evaluated and quantified by a large number of bioassays. These independent assessments hold advantages but also have limitations. This article describes in vivo, ex vivo, and in vitro bioassays that are available for the evaluation of angiogenesis and highlights critical aspects that are relevant for their execution and proper interpretation. As such, this collaborative work is the first edition of consensus guidelines on angiogenesis bioassays to serve for current and future reference

A new class of glycomimetic drugs to prevent free fatty acid-induced endothelial dysfunction

Background: Carbohydrates play a major role in cell signaling in many biological processes. We have developed a set of glycomimetic drugs that mimic the structure of carbohydrates and represent a novel source of therapeutics for endothelial dysfunction, a key initiating factor in cardiovascular complications. Purpose: Our objective was to determine the protective effects of small molecule glycomimetics against free fatty acid­induced endothelial dysfunction, focusing on nitric oxide (NO) and oxidative stress pathways. Methods: Four glycomimetics were synthesized by the stepwise transformation of 2,5­dihydroxybenzoic acid to a range of 2,5­substituted benzoic acid derivatives, incorporating the key sulfate groups to mimic the interactions of heparan sulfate. Endothelial function was assessed using acetylcholine­induced, endotheliumdependent relaxation in mouse thoracic aortic rings using wire myography. Human umbilical vein endothelial cell (HUVEC) behavior was evaluated in the presence or absence of the free fatty acid, palmitate, with or without glycomimetics (1µM). DAF­2 and H2DCF­DA assays were used to determine nitric oxide (NO) and reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, respectively. Lipid peroxidation colorimetric and antioxidant enzyme activity assays were also carried out. RT­PCR and western blotting were utilized to measure Akt, eNOS, Nrf­2, NQO­1 and HO­1 expression. Results: Ex vivo endothelium­dependent relaxation was significantly improved by the glycomimetics under palmitate­induced oxidative stress. In vitro studies showed that the glycomimetics protected HUVECs against the palmitate­induced oxidative stress and enhanced NO production. We demonstrate that the protective effects of pre­incubation with glycomimetics occurred via upregulation of Akt/eNOS signaling, activation of the Nrf2/ARE pathway, and suppression of ROS­induced lipid peroxidation. Conclusion: We have developed a novel set of small molecule glycomimetics that protect against free fatty acidinduced endothelial dysfunction and thus, represent a new category of therapeutic drugs to target endothelial damage, the first line of defense against cardiovascular disease

Climate induced variations of wood anatomical properties of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L) in consideration of an increasing atmospheric CO2-concentration

Vor dem Hintergrund des Klimawandels war es das Ziel der Arbeit den Einfluss des Klimas auf den Holzzuwachs und anatomische Holzeigenschaften intraanuell zu untersuchen. Die Untersuchungen wurden an Waldkiefern (Pinus sylvestris) im Berliner Grunewald während drei Vegetationsperioden durchgeführt. Dabei wurden in 14-tägigen Intervallen der Zuwachs von Probebäumen gemessen und Gewebeproben entnommen, an denen der Zellzuwachs gemessen wurde. Der intraanuelle Zuwachsverlauf wurde mittels der Gompertz-Funktion dargestellt und der Einfluss meteorologischer Variablen auf den Holzzuwachs und die anatomischen Holzeigenschaften mittels partieller Regression untersucht. Die Zuwachsrate war vom Niederschlag und von der klimatischen Wasserbilanz beeinflusst. Auf die Zellbildungsrate übten Temperatur und Tageslänge sowie die klimatische Wasserbilanz einen positiven Einfluss aus. Die verschiedenen Baumindividuen erreichten jährlich innerhalb eines engen Zeitraums maximale Zuwachsraten. Zwischen den Jahren wichen die Zeiten der maximalen Zuwachsraten aber voneinander ab. Die Konkurrenzkraft eines Baumes hatte keinen Einfluss auf den Zeitpunkt der maximalen Zuwachsraten. Die Zell- und Lumendurchmesser nahmen mit steigender Temperatur ab und zeigten eine positive Reaktion auf Tageslänge, Niederschlag, bzw. klimatische Wasserbilanz. Zellwanddicke und Wandigkeit stiegen mit steigender Temperatur und abnehmender Tageslänge. Wurde der Zusammenhang zwischen den histometrischen zu den meteorologischen Messgrößen ausschließlich für das Spätholz untersucht, so unterschieden sich die Ergebnisse dahingehend, dass sich kein signifikanter Zusammenhang mehr zwischen dem radialen Zelldurchmesser und der Temperatur ergab. Die ersten Spätholzzellen traten in zwei Jahren in der zweiten Junihälfte und im dritten Jahr in der ersten Julihälfte in die Zellreifungszone ein. In allen drei Jahren sank der Durchmesser der Zellen in der Zellreifungszone bereits in der zweiten Junihälfte unter 30 µm. Die Zellen waren damit deutlich schmaler als zu Beginn der Vegetationsperiode. Die Freilanduntersuchungen wurden mit einem Experiment unter kontrollierten Bedingungen kombiniert. Dies war notwendig, um den Einfluss erhöhter atmosphärischer CO2 – Konzentrationen und ihre Wechselwirkung mit der Temperatur untersuchen zu können. Dafür wurden junge Waldkiefern drei Jahre lang in zehn Phytotron - Kammern angezogen. In fünf der Kammern wurde von April bis Oktober die CO2 - Konzentration auf ~700 µmol mol-1 angehoben. Die Temperaturniveaus wurden auf fünf Stufen von -4 °C bis +4 °C relativ zum monatlichen Langzeitmittelwert in Berlin-Dahlem eingeregelt. Die zusätzliche CO2 – Zufuhr erhöhte die Biomasse um 23%. Diese Erhöhung war hauptsächlich auf eine Erhöhung der Nadelbiomasse des jüngsten Jahrganges und einem Anstieg der Zweigbiomasse zurückzuführen. Die unterschiedlichen Temperaturbehandlungsstufen hatten keinen Effekt auf das Allokationsmuster und die Biomasse. Die Jahrringe des dritten Versuchsjahres waren bei erhöhter CO2 - Konzentration breiter. Die Behandlungsstufen hatten keinen Effekt auf die Holzdichte. Auf die histometrischen Messgrößen war kein CO2 – Effekt zu verzeichnen. Eine höhere Temperatur hatte kleinere Spätholzzellen und dünnere Zellwände zur Folge. Der Zellwandflächenanteil im Spätholz wurde nicht von der Temperatur beeinflusst, im Frühholz war eine leicht abnehmende Tendenz erkennbar. Der Temperatureffekt auf die histometrischen Messgrößen war unabhängig von der Wachstumsrate und dem Zeiteffekt. Die Harzkanaldichte nahm mit steigender Temperatur zu. Die Markstrahldichte wurde von den unterschiedlichen Behandlungsstufen nicht beeinflusst. Auf alle Holzeigenschaften war ein deutlicher Zeiteffekt festzustellen, d.h. die Merkmale unterschieden sich zwischen den beiden untersuchten Jahren signifikant. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass die in der Region Nordostdeutschlands durch den Klimawandel bedingte Häufung extremer Hitze und Trockenperioden zu einer Abnahme der Zell- und Lumendurchmesser führen wird. Ein Anstieg der atmosphärischen CO2 – Konzentration hat keinen direkten Effekt auf die anatomischen Holzeigenschaften juveniler Waldkiefern.It is necessary to know the climatic impact on wood formation and wood anatomy for predicting the effects of climate change on wood properties. Therefore this was studied on an intra-annual timescale in three vegetation periods. Wood was sampled in 14 – day intervals from selected Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) trees in the Grunewald in Berlin and their increment was measured by banddendrometers. The wood samples were used to estimate the increment of cells. The radial increment and the increment of cells throughout each vegetation period were calculated using the Gompertz – function. A partial regression was applied to study the impact of meteorological variables on the wood anatomical features and increment independently of the other variables. The increment measured by banddendrometers responded positively to precipitation, climatic water balance and day length. The cell increment was positively affected by temperature, day length and climatic water balance. The time of maximum growth estimated by the banddenrometer differed between the years. Cell diameter and lumen diameter responded negatively to temperature, while cell wall thickness and Mork’s index were positively affected. Day length had a positive impact on cell diameter and lumen diameter and a negative impact on cell wall thickness and Mork’s index. Precipitation had only a positive impact on lumen diameter while climatic water balance had a positive impact on cell diameter and lumen diameter. The restriction of the partial regression on latewood caused less change in the outcome: in latewood cell diameter did not respond to soil temperature. In earlywood alone wood anatomical properties were not significantly affected by climate. Each year the radial cell diameter decreased significantly below the diameter of earlywood cells during the second half of June. To study the temperature effect on tree growth, mass allocation and wood anatomical properties along a long term temperature gradient and in combination with increased atmospheric CO2-concentration young Pinus sylvestris saplings were grown for three years in ten phytotron chambers and in the field (control). Five of ten chambers were supplied with additional CO2, maintaining a concentration of ~ 700 µmol mol-1 CO2. Temperature levels in the chambers ranged in steps of 2 °C from -4 °C to +4 °C relative to the long-term monthly (day and night) air temperature mean levels in Berlin-Dahlem. Substrate was medium fertile and soil moisture and air humidity was kept constant. After three years above-ground biomass was increased by 23% at elevated CO2. The increase of biomass resulted from an increase of current year needle and branch biomass. Stem and root biomass was not significantly affected by CO2 and temperature. The CO2 effect on biomass was independent from initial tree size. Temperature had no effect on biomass and allocation patterns. In the second year of the experiment there was no effect on tree ring width, but in the third year the rings were 10% wider at elevated CO2. Wood density was not changed by the treatments. Wood anatomical properties were not affected by CO2 but by temperature. In the last two years of the experiment the thickness of cell walls declined with increasing temperature. Furthermore, the plants responded to increasing temperature with a decrease of latewood cell area. The temperature effect on wood anatomical properties was statistically independent from initial tree diameter and from the time effect. The resin canal density was positively affected by temperature. Wood ray density was neither affected by temperature, nor by CO2. Between the 2nd year and the 3rd year of the experiment all wood anatomical properties changed significantly. The results of both parts of the work lead to the conclusions that future heat and drought periods induced by climate change lead to smaller cells and cell lumina. An increased of atmospheric CO2 - concentrations has no direct effect on wood anatomical properties of softwoods