IAWA Journal is organizing a Special Issue called “Quantitative Wood Anatomy: research applications, opportunities and challenges” in memory of Professor Pieter Baas. Professor Dr. Baas was one of the most distinguished scientists in plant anatomy and wood anatomy and the greatest advocate for worldwide cooperation of wood anatomists in our times. Colleagues in the research field, IAWA members, and others are invited to contribute reviews, original research articles, and viewpoint papers relating to Quantitative Wood Anatomy (QWA) with a special emphasis on recent advances in wood anatomy and multidisciplinary approaches. We expect to publish this Special Issue as IAWA Journal Volume 46, Issue 4 (2025), however manuscripts will be available online once accepted.

This Special issue will be edited by Yafang Yin (yafang@caf.ac.cn), Georg von Arx (georg.vonarx@wsl.ch) and Veronica De Micco (demicco@unina.it). Please contact the editors to indicate your interest and the topics your manuscript will address - the editors will strive to include a balanced group of high-quality papers. Please indicate in the cover letter your wish to be included in this Special Issue. Manuscripts can be submitted to the IAWA Journal at https://www.editorialmanager.com/iawa/default.aspx.

TITLE

Quantitative Wood Anatomy: research applications, opportunities and challenges

SUBTITLE

In memory of Professor Pieter Baas

EDITORS

Yafang Yin, Department of Wood Anatomy and Utilization, Research Institute of Wood Industry (CRIWI), Chinese Academy of Forestry (CAF), China

Georg von Arx, Dendrosciences Research Group, Swiss Federal Institute for Forest Snow and Landscape Research WSL; Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland

Veronica De Micco, Department of Agricultural Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, Italy

ABSTRACT

Wood anatomy has been increasingly driven towards a Quantitative Wood Anatomy (QWA) approach in the last two decades. In 2007,  at the 2nd Workshop on QWA (WSL, Birmensdorf, Switzerland), QWA was defined for the first time as a “methodological approach based on the measurement of wood cell anatomical characteristics, analyzed through time and used to characterize the relationships between tree growth and various environmental factors”. Since then, the community of scientists working with QWA has grown considerably, and the research approach of QWA has been increasingly widespread across different disciplines.

QWA is a truly integrative research approach, applied at different tissue scales (e.g. from cell ultrastructure up to macro-anatomical level) and life forms (e.g. from herbaceous plants to dwarf shrubs up to giant trees), using traditional light microscopy techniques, but also profiting from modern tools such as micro-computed tomography and dedicated (AI-based) image analysis software, and embracing scientists from various disciplines to answer questions related to dendrosciences, ecophysiology, ecology, evolution, forest management and protection, geosciences, paleobotany, species identification, tree biology, wood dynamics and formation, wood quality and many more.

This special issue aims to give an overview of recent methodological developments and research applications of QWA, highlighting the potential of quantifying xylem traits (i.e., countable, measurable, and discrete ones) in different plant organs, but also the remaining pitfalls.

Original research and novel methodological papers with a focus or strong link to QWA are welcome, as well as reviews and opinion articles, which may consolidate this approach and indicate future research trends.

This special issue is dedicated to Professor Dr. Pieter Baas who has contributed to building much of the knowledge on wood anatomy of the last century and has inspired generations of students and scientists with his competence, kindness, and passion for the beauty of wood.

KEYWORDS

Archaeobotany, cell wall, dendroanatomy, dendro-ecology, digital image analysis, eco-microscopy, forest, geosciences, phloem, plant hydraulics, structure-function relationships, tree growth, tree rings, tree-ring anatomy, wood (bamboo, rattan), wood anatomical traits, wood classification, xylem, xylogenesis