Verheyden, A.,  Roggeman, M.,  Bouillon, S.,  Elskens, M.,  Beeckman, H. & Koedam, N. 2005. ‘Comparison between delta C-13 of alpha-cellulose and bulk wood in the mangrove tree Rhizophora mucronata: implications for dendrochemistry’. Chemical Geology 219(1-4): 275-282. DOI: 10.1016/j.chemgeo.2005.02.015.  (PR).

Article in a scientific Journal / Article in a Journal

Stable carbon isotope analysis of tree rings has become a widely used proxy in environmental and palaeoclimatological studies. In those studies, a-cellulose has often been the preferred material because of its singular composition and its immobility in wood. However, cellulose extraction is a time-consuming procedure and since the development of on-line isotope ratio mass spectrometers has become the time-limiting step in the isotopic analysis of wood samples for dendrochemical purposes. In this study we evaluate the necessity of cellulose extraction for isotopic analysis of tree rings in a tropical mangrove tree, Rhizophora mucronata Lam. Comparison between the d13C of extracted a-cellulose and bulk wood material revealed a highly significant linear relationship (d13Cbulk wood=0.92 (F0.08)*d13Ca-cellulose
2.91 (F2.04); p b0.001) for a-cellulose values between
24xand
27x. However a-cellulose was on average 0.97F0.03x enriched in 13C as compared to bulk wood. The slope of the regression was not significantly different from one ( p b0.05). Furthermore, no significant difference was found between either the d13Cbulk wood
d13Ca-cellulose slopes for earlywood and latewood or between the slopes for samples from trees growing in contrasting environmental conditions. These results indicate that bulk wood can be used instead of a-cellulose when measuring stable carbon isotopes in the sapwood of R. mucronata in the context of a dendrochronological investigation.

• Hydraulic architecture of mangrove trees and its functional importance