O sobreiro (Quercus suber) é uma espécie singular devido à sua importância no funcionamento do ecossistema mediterrânico e na produção de cortiça. No entanto, apesar da sua importância ecológica e sócio-económica, pouco se compreende ainda dos seus processos de adaptabilidade às diferentes condições ambientais. Em algumas áreas do mediterrâneo ocidental, as florestas de sobreiro encontram-se em declínio e a man...
This work aims at characterizing a group of lacquerware objects attributed to the region of Canton, in south China, some of which form part of the Portuguese royal collections dating from the 18th and 19th centuries. Laboratory analyses have allowed the identification of materials and manufacturing techniques of these objects. Analytical results have showed close correspondence with the accounts of merchants an...
• Environmental, developmental and genetic factors affect variation in wood properties at the chemical, anatomical and physical levels. Here, the phenotypic variation observed along the tree stem was explored and the hypothesis tested that this variation could be the result of the differential expression of genes/proteins during wood formation. • Differentiating xylem samples of maritime pine (Pinus pinaster) w...
• The seasonal effect is the most significant external source of variation affecting vascular cambial activity and the development of newly divided cells, and hence wood properties. Here, the effect of edapho-climatic conditions on the phenotypic and molecular plasticity of differentiating secondary xylem during a growing season was investigated. • Wood-forming tissues of maritime pine (Pinus pinaster) were col...
In maritime pine (Pinus pinaster Ait.), heartwood represents a substantial part of the tree stem at final harvest age (80 years) corresponding to 42% at the base of the stem wood diameter and decreasing upward. The rate of heartwood formation was estimated at 0.35 rings/year, beginning at 18 years of age. Differences in the chemical composition between heartwood and sapwood were mainly in the extractives, 19.7%...