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Distribution and Chemical Characteristics of Cations in Annual Rings of Japanese Cedar
Author(s) -
Momoshima N.,
Eto I.,
Kofuji H.,
Takashima Y.,
Koike M.,
Imaizumi Y.,
Harada T.
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
journal of environmental quality
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.888
H-Index - 171
eISSN - 1537-2537
pISSN - 0047-2425
DOI - 10.2134/jeq1995.00472425002400060013x
Subject(s) - cryptomeria , pith , chemistry , japonica , mineralogy , botany , biology
The objectives of this study were to investigate the distribution and chemical characteristics of cations in annual rings of Japanese cedar ( Cryptomeria japonica D. Don) grown in a healthy stand of an unindustrialized region in Japan and discuss the possibility of using cations in tree‐rings as a chronological index of acidic deposition. Radial distributions of some cations and P at different vertical positions of the stem were analyzed for five trees from the same mountain. Each cation and P in all trees showed a specific distribution in its radial pattern but similar distribution trends were observed at all vertical positions. The cations and P were classified into three groups: (I) constant radial concentrations (Ca 2+ , Sr 2+ , Na + , and probably Ba 2+ ), (II) high concentrations in the heartwood and low in the sapwood (Mg 2+ , K + , Rb + , Cs + ), and (III) increasing concentrations in the sapwood (P, Mn 2+ , Cu 2+ ). The total concentration of cations exceeded the calcium‐binding capacity (CBC) of the wood, and the excess was attributed to K + in a salt form. The CBC increased from the sapwood/heartwood boundary toward the pith in the heartwood but remained constant in the sapwood. The increase of CBC in the heartwood was consistent with the profile of Mg 2+ , indicating a transfer of Mg 2+ into heartwood and fixation on the acquired binding site. The radial distribution of 90 Sr was closely related to the cumulative deposition of fallout from the nuclear weapon tests, but that of 137 Cs was unrelated. This suggests immobility of Sr 2+ and mobility of Cs + in the horizontal direction of wood. The conservation of the historical 90 Sr/Sr 2+ change indicated that no influence of heartwood formation on the chemical environment of Sr 2+ in cedar xylem and a possibility of using Sr 2+ as a chronological index of nutrient availability. A steady‐state in nutrient availability is speculated for trees growing in this mountain because all of the trees analyzed show constant radial distributions of Sr 2+ for decades.