Differences of Wood Elements of <i>Prosopis laevigata</i> from Two Areas of Northeast Mexico

Abstract

Anatomical features of wood have a great variation among species as a result of genetic and environmental factors. The anatomical heartwood characteristics of Prosopis laevigata species from two areas with differences on temperature and rain precipitation on northeast Mexico were compared. Fibers length (μm), diameter of vessels (μm), and the area of the vessels (μm - 2 ) were measured using light microscopy coupled with a digitized-image analysis system. The differences were statistically analyzed with analysis of variance. Statistical differences between fibers length ( p < 0.0001) and di ameter of the vessels ( p < 0.001) from the two localities were found. The locality Linares, Nuevo León, Mexico, with higher precipitation and lower temperature, showed higher fiber length and higher diameter of the vessels than China, Nuevo León. Hard environmental conditions, where low precipitation values and high temperatures prevail, condition P. laevigata trees do reduce the risk of losing water.