Evolution of Tree Design: Vascular Cambium Mechanics, Wood Parameters, Growth, and Architecture/Biomechanics of Earliest Trees

树木设计的演变：最早树木的维管形成层力学、木材参数、生长和结构/生物力学

• 批准号: 9982787
• 负责人: Stephen Scheckler
• 金额: $ 16.5万
• 依托单位: Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2000
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2000-04-15 至 2004-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=9982787&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Evolution; Tree; Design; Vascular; Cambium

This project will reconstruct the growth and characteristics of woody support tissues of the first trees and shrubs that grew when early plants colonized the land in the Devonian (400-345 million years ago). The earliest plants lacked the roots, stems, branches, and leaves that are now found in modern plants. But by Mid to Late Devonian times, some plants had these features, and a few had developed growth capabilities and woody tissues that could support tall shrubs and trees. These first trees enjoyed considerable advantages by virtue of their height and spread, such as greater success of spore and seed dispersal and better competition for light and habitat space. The investigators will study cell patterns of fossil woods, stems, and roots to reconstruct the growth and mechanical features of these first woody plants. Additionally, the fine-scale anatomical information obtained in this study will contribute to our knowledge of which plant groups (fossil and modern) are most closely related. The ability to produce wood appears to have evolved several times. This study will resolve questions of the universality of plant construction design, specifically elucidating which common traits are necessary to attain a tree growth form and which are the result of a species' family history and are thus evolutionarily informative.

该项目将重建早期植物在泥盆纪（4亿至3.45亿年前）殖民土地时生长的第一批树木和灌木的木质支持组织的生长和特征。 最早期的植物缺少现代植物的根、茎、枝和叶。但是到了泥盆纪中期到晚期，一些植物已经具备了这些特征，少数植物已经发展出了生长能力和木质组织，可以支撑高大的灌木和树木。这些第一批树木凭借其高度和传播范围享有相当大的优势，例如孢子和种子传播的更大成功以及对光线和栖息地空间的更好竞争。研究人员将研究化石木材，茎和根的细胞模式，以重建这些第一批木本植物的生长和机械特征。 此外，在这项研究中获得的精细尺度解剖信息将有助于我们了解哪些植物群（化石和现代）最密切相关。生产木材的能力似乎已经进化了好几次。 这项研究将解决植物结构设计的普遍性问题，具体阐明哪些共同特征是实现树木生长形式所必需的，哪些是物种家族历史的结果，从而在进化上提供信息。