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Physiology and Biochemistry

An Ion Profile of Wounded Red Maple. Beverly J. Shevenell, Chemist, Northeastern Forest Experiment Station, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Durham, NH 03824; Walter C. Shortle, research plant pathologist, Northeastern Forest Experiment Station, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Durham, NH 03824. Phytopathology 76:132-135. Accepted for publication 19 August 1985. This article is in the public domain and not copyrightable. It may be freely reprinted with customary crediting of the source. The American Phytopathological Society, 1986. DOI: 10.1094/Phyto-76-132.

Twelve red maple trees (Acer rubrum) with multiple drill wounds were studied to determine the ion content of tissues associated with wounds. Water extracts of sapwood, discolored wood, and the boundary layer between them were analyzed for ion content by ion chromatography and atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Total phenols, extract electrical resistance, pH, and total soluble dry matter were also determined. There were greater accumulations of K⁺, Ca²⁺, acetate, oxalate, formate, and phenols in the boundary tissue than in sapwood. Discolored wood had increased levels of K⁺, acetate, malate, oxalate, and formate compared to sapwood. The organic anions seem to occur as acids in the discolored wood and as K-salts in the boundary tissue.