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Abstract Key message The application of material selection principles uncovered eight possible alternative tree species (two deciduous and six coniferous species) to substitute Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) H. Karst.) and potentially prevent economic loss in European forest. Context Climate change is a major challenge for the Central European forest and timber industry. Increasing biotic (e.g. beetle damage) and abiotic (e.g. drought) calamities have led to major losses in forest value, especially on Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) H. Karst.) stands. Therefore, a transition to climate change adapted forest management is necessary. Concurrently, neophytes (e.g. tree of heaven (Ailanthus altissima (Mill.) Swingle), Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirbel) Franco), grand fir (Abies grandis (Douglas ex D. Don) Lindl.) and Paulownia (Paulownia tomentosa (Thunb.) Steud.)) are increasing their dominance in forest communities and causing additional adaption of the forest ecosystem. Both factors will lead to significant changes in wood species distributions in Central European forests, mainly at the expanse of Norway spruce, over the next decades. Aims Choosing the “right” tree species for afforestation will become ever more complex and will require a holistic approach that combines forestry and technological aspects alike. Therefore, this review presents a selection approach based on available wood material data from literature and the material selection principles proposed by M. Ashby with the aim to identify suitable alternatives for Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) H. Karst.) and further concisely assess their silvicultural relevance. Methods For this wood species comparison and selection process, dry and raw density, bending strength and modulus of elasticity were chosen as key properties. Beam- and plate-like components subjected to a bending load were chosen as representative use cases. Results European birch (Betula spp.), grand fir (Abies grandis (Douglas ex D. Don) Lindl.) and silver fir (Abies alba Mill.) were identified as suitable alternatives for Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) H. Karst.) from a technological as well as silvicultural point of view. In addition, Paulownia (Paulownia tomentosa (Thunb.) Steud.), Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis (Bong.) Carrière), yellow pine (Pinus strobus L.), western red cedar (Thuja plicata Donn ex D. Don in Lambert) and loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) offer a technological advantage but currently lack relevance in the forest sector. Conclusion The proposed selection process offers an evaluation of technical performance, and in combination with an assessment of the silvicultural relevance, it will be possible to optimize the wood-supply chain and prevent future economic loss of Central European forests.

Abstract Background The purpose of this analysis was to assess the frequency of inadequate response over 1 year from advanced therapy initiation among patients with Crohn’s disease (CD) or ulcerative colitis (UC) in the United States using a claims-based algorithm. Factors associated with inadequate response were also analyzed. Methods This study utilized claims data of adult patients from the HealthCore Integrated Research Database (HIRD®) from January 01, 2016 to August 31, 2019. Advanced therapies used in this study were tumor necrosis factor inhibitors (TNFi) and non-TNFi biologics. Inadequate response to an advanced therapy was identified using a claims-based algorithm. The inadequate response criteria included adherence, switching to/added a new treatment, addition of a new conventional synthetic immunomodulator or conventional disease-modifying drugs, increase in dose/frequency of advanced therapy initiation, and use of a new pain medication, or surgery. Factors influencing inadequate responders were assessed using multivariable logistic regression. Results A total of 2437 patients with CD and 1692 patients with UC were included in this analysis. In patients with CD (mean age: 41 years; female: 53%), 81% had initiated TNFi, and 62% had inadequate response. In patients with UC (mean age: 42 years; female: 48%), 78% had initiated a TNFi, and 63% had an inadequate response. In both patients with CD and UC, inadequate response was associated with low adherence (CD: 41%; UC: 42%). Inadequate responders were more likely to be prescribed a TNFi (for CD: odds ratio [OR] = 1.94; p

The increasing demand for climate-adapted seeds and planting material poses a challenge due to the limited availability, particularly for tree species such as oaks. National parks, known for their large-standing diversity and a wide range of habitats, can serve as valuable sources for identifying trees suitable for both the initiation of tree breeding and conservation strategies. This study aimed to identify valuable forest genetic resources of the Thayatal National Park in Austria by selecting potentially drought-tolerant phenotypes. For this purpose, we selected 404 mature trees of Quercus petraea (Matt.) Liebl. from eight populations growing on medium to dry sites in eight populations. Further, we characterized them for autochthony, genetic structure, genetic diversity using genetic markers (plastid- and nuclear-SSRs) and estimated their age. Finally, we applied wood core analysis to estimate tree response to historical drought events to identify the possible drought-tolerant phenotypes. The age of the trees ranged from 29 to 245 years (as of the year 2023). All Q. petraea trees were inhabiting a plastid haplotype 17a, autochthonous for this area. Nevertheless, the genetic structure estimated by ten nuSSRs revealed a pronounced structure in the dataset, largely caused by young trees exhibiting lower genetic diversity. A total of 85 elite potentially drought-tolerant trees were finally selected based on their morphological response (resistance, recovery ability, resilience, and relative resilience) to three historical drought events (1992–1994, 1947, 1917). The intrinsic water use efficiency and its difference (iWUE and DWiWUE), estimated by isotope analysis of δ13C of latewood in wet (1987) and dry (1994) years, did not correlate with any of the drought response traits (Rt, Rc, Rs, rRs). We discuss the further use of the selected oak trees for the establishment of seed stands and orchards to enhance seed production and the integration of other omics approaches, such as large-scale high-throughput plant phenotyping (HTPP) and transcriptomics, for in-depth analyses of drought tolerance of selected phenotypes.

Here the authors show that extremes in the summer jet stream position over Europe create a beech forest productivity dipole between northwestern and southeastern Europe and can result in regional anomalies in forest carbon uptake and growth.

European beech is one of the dominating wood species in central Europe and the most abundant hardwood species in Austrian, German and Swiss forests. Today, it is predominantly used for the provision of energy and in the furniture industry. With the increasing demand on forests to provide sustainable raw materials for energy as well as products, the importance of lesser-used wood species like European beech has continuously increased over the last decade. The application in load-bearing products has gained significant interest. In order to connect the current and historical state of knowledge about this wood species, this review provides an overview of the past and present utilization of European beech wood. On the basis of the historical literature, technical approvals and standards of established products, it aims to summarize the extensive state of the art of this wood species and provide an overview of recent scientific publications in the field of wood material science. Based on the reviewed literature, current research efforts deal with different engineered wood products like glued laminated timber, cross-laminated timber and laminated veneer lumber. Furthermore, strength grading, adhesive technology as well as improving dimensional stability is of particular interest.

Abstract Conifers often occur along steep gradients of diverse climates throughout their natural ranges, which is expected to result in spatially varying selection to local climate conditions. However, signals of climatic adaptation can often be confounded, because unraveled clines covary with signals caused by neutral evolutionary processes such as gene flow and genetic drift. Consequently, our understanding of how selection and gene flow have shaped phenotypic and genotypic differentiation in trees is still limited. A 40‐year‐old common garden experiment comprising 16 Douglas‐fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) provenances from a north‐to‐south gradient of approx. 1,000 km was analyzed, and genomic information was obtained from exome capture, which resulted in an initial genomic dataset of >90,000 single nucleotide polymorphisms. We used a restrictive and conservative filtering approach, which permitted us to include only SNPs and individuals in environmental association analysis (EAA) that were free of potentially confounding effects (LD, relatedness among trees, heterozygosity deficiency, and deviations from Hardy–Weinberg proportions). We used four conceptually different genome scan methods based on FST outlier detection and gene–environment association in order to disentangle truly adaptive SNPs from neutral SNPs. We found that a relatively small proportion of the exome showed a truly adaptive signal (0.01%–0.17%) when population substructuring and multiple testing was accounted for. Nevertheless, the unraveled SNP candidates showed significant relationships with climate at provenance origins, which strongly suggests that they have featured adaptation in Douglas‐fir along a climatic gradient. Two SNPs were independently found by three of the employed algorithms, and one of them is in close proximity to an annotated gene involved in circadian clock control and photoperiodism as was similarly found in Populus balsamifera. Synthesis. We conclude that despite neutral evolutionary processes, phenotypic and genomic signals of adaptation to climate are responsible for differentiation, which in particular explain disparity between the well‐known coastal and interior varieties of Douglas‐fir.

Although variations in building activity are a useful indicator of societal well-being and demographic development, historical datasets for larger regions and longer periods are still rare. Here, we present 54,045 annually precise dendrochronological felling dates from historical construction timber from across most of Europe between 1250 and 1699 CE to infer variations in building activity. We use geostatistical techniques to compare spatiotemporal dynamics in past European building activity against independent demographic, economic, social and climatic data. We show that the felling dates capture major geographical patterns of demographic trends, especially in regions with dense data coverage. A particularly strong negative association is found between grain prices and the number of felling dates. In addition, a significant positive association is found between the number of felling dates and mining activity. These strong associations, with well-known macro-economic indicators from pre-industrial Europe, corroborate the use of felling dates as an independent source for exploring large-scale fluctuations of societal well-being and demographic development. Three prominent examples are the building boom in the Hanseatic League region of northeastern Germany during the 13th century, the onset of the Late Medieval Crisis in much of Europe c. 1300, and the cessation of building activity in large parts of central Europe during armed conflicts such as the Thirty Years’ War (1618–1648 CE). Despite new insights gained from our European-wide felling date inventory, further studies are needed to investigate changes in construction activity of high versus low status buildings, and of urban versus rural buildings, and to compare those results with a variety of historical documentary sources and natural proxy archives.

Intraspecific genetic variation in drought response is expected to play an important role in determining the persistence of tree populations in global change as it (1) allows for spontaneous selection and local adaptation of tree populations, (2) supports assisted seed transfer of less-drought-sensitive provenance, and (3) enables the integration of drought-sensitivity traits into tree breeding. Estimating the potential of such adaptation options requires quantitative genetic knowledge of drought sensitivity across significant parts of species distributions and a comparative assessment of genetic variation within economically and ecologically important tree species. We quantified genetic variation within and among populations of four conifers growing within common garden experiments in the drought-prone eastern Austria. This region experienced three strong drought periods between 1980 and 2010 that resulted in significant reductions in radial growth. Among the four tested species, Douglas-fir revealed the highest resistance during drought and silver fir the best recovery after drought, while European larch and Norway spruce showed the lowest resistance. High genetic variation among populations and phenotypic stability across all three drought events was found for Norway spruce and silver fir, but not for the other species. Heritability and evolvability of drought traits, both approximated via genetic repeatability, revealed strong differences among populations of all four species. Repeatability and evolvability for resistance were highest in Norway spruce and, for recovery, highest in European larch. Our comparison indicates that the mean drought sensitivity of a species is not related to the intraspecific genetic variation in drought response. Thus, also highly drought-sensitive species, such as Norway spruce and European larch, harbor significant genetic variation in drought response within and among populations to justify targeted tree breeding, assisted gene flow, and supportive forest management to foster local adaptations to future conditions.

Holz war in der Vergangenheit ein wichtiger Bestandteil des täglichen Lebens. Er begleitete die Menschen als Brennholz, Bauholz oder Werkholz und wurde mit großem Wissen und viel Erfahrung eingesetzt. Man versuchte ihn optimal zu nutzen, das heißt Verluste bei der Verarbeitung so gering als möglich zu halten und jede Holzart ihren Eigenschaften entsprechend einzusetzen. Das Ziel unserer Arbeiten war nachzuweisen, welche Holzarten in der Vergangenheit in Österreich genutzt und wie diese eingesetzt wurden. In sechs österreichischen Museen wurden insgesamt 48 unterschiedliche Holzarten nachgewiesen und deren Eigenschaften auf Grund ihrer Verwendung beschrieben. Die am häufigsten verwendete und gleichzeitig universell eingesetzte Holzart ist die Rotbuche (Fagus sylvatica), gefolgt von Fichte (Picea abies). Doch es folgen schon rasch unerwartete Arten in der Reihenfolge wie Birke (Betula spp.), Hasel (Corylus avellana) und Kornelkirsche (Cornus mas). In den meisten Fällen wurden die aus derartigen Analysen resultierenden Ergebnisse durch die historische Literatur bestätigt, lediglich die Nutzung der Holzart Berberitze weist auf mögliche Unterschiede zwischen Expertenwissen und Gebrauchswissen hin: So wurden etwa Rechenzähne mehrheitlich aus Berberitzenholz gefertigt, jedoch ist dieser Hinweis im Großteil der Literatur nicht zu finden. Auf Grund des Holzartenspektrums in der untersuchten historischen Fachliteratur wurde die Analyse und Beschreibung auf insgesamt 60 Holzarten ausgeweitet. +++ Wood was an important part of everyday life in the past. People were using it with great knowledge and experience, be it as raw material, timber, or fire wood. The main aim was to use it optimally – that is, to keep losses during processing as small as possible and to use each wood species according to its characteristics. Our research goal was to determine how many species were in use in former days in Austria, and for which purposes. In six Austrian museums, a total of 48 different wood species have been determined, and their properties have been described under consideration of the utilization described. Beech wood (Fagus sylvatica) was found most often and was used universally, followed by Norway spruce (Picea abies). But there were some unexpected species found with high counts, like birch (Betula spp.), hazelwood (Corylus avellana) and cornelian cherry (Cornus mas). In most cases the results of such analyzes were confirmed by the historical literature, only the use of barberry wood indicates possible differences between expert knowledge and traditions: A high portion of rake-teeth were made of barberry wood, which is not mentioned in most of the historical books. Due to the analyses of historical literature the whole set of described species was set to 60.

Abstract Background Tumor necrosis factor inhibitors (TNFi) are common second-line treatments for rheumatoid arthritis (RA). This study was designed to compare the real-world clinical and economic outcomes between patients with RA who responded to TNFi therapy and those who did not. Methods For this retrospective cohort analysis we used medical and pharmacy claims from members of 14 large U.S. commercial health plans represented in the HealthCore Integrated Research Database. Adult patients (aged ≥18 years) diagnosed with RA and initiating TNFi therapy (index date) between 1 January 2007 and 30 April 2014 were included in the study. Treatment response was assessed using a previously developed and validated claims-based algorithm. Patients classified as treatment responders in the 12 months postindex were matched 1:1 to nonresponders on important baseline characteristics, including sex, age, index TNFi agent, and comorbidities. The matched cohorts were then compared on their all-cause and RA-related healthcare resource use, and costs were assessed from a payer perspective during the first, second, and third years postindex using parametric tests, regressions, and a nonparametric bootstrap. Results A total of 7797 patients met the study inclusion criteria, among whom 2337 (30%) were classified as treatment responders. The responders had significantly lower all-cause hospitalizations, emergency department visits, and physical/occupational therapy visits than matched nonresponders during the first-year postindex. Mean total all-cause medical costs were $5737 higher for matched nonresponders, largely driven by outpatient visits and hospitalizations. Mean all-cause pharmacy costs (excluding costs of biologics) were $354 higher for matched nonresponders. Mean RA-related pharmacy costs (conventional synthetic and biologic drugs), however, were $8579 higher in the responder cohort, driven by higher adherence to their index TNFi agent (p

We present the local tree-ring chronology of pedunculate oak (Qercus robur) from Kobiljak near Zagreb, Croatia (16º09’ E, 45º49’ N, 140 m a.s.l.). The chronology is based on 17 trees and is 127 years long and covers the period of 1883-2009. The well replicated part of the residual version of the ARSTAN chronology with SSS>0.80 (interval of 88 years, period 1922-2009) was used for dendroclimatological analysis, which showed that June precipitation has positive and temperature has negative effect on tree-ring variation. Comparison with 40 available oak chronologies from the surrounding countries confi rmed its good teleconnection with 2 local oak chronologies from Austria, 2 from Hungary, and 3 from Slovenia. It also exhibits good heteroconnection, i.e. similarity with chronologies of beech (Fagus sylvatica), from various sites in Slovenia. The similarities can be ascribed to response to common climatic factors. The results indicate that the chronology could be a good reference point for constructing a longer regional chronology in Croatia and surrounding countries, which could be used for different purposes including dating of objects of cultural heritage.

Background and Aims Wood density is a key variable for understanding life history strategies in tropical trees. Differences in wood density and its radial variation were related to the shade-tolerance of six canopy tree species in seasonally dry tropical forest in Thailand. In addition, using tree ring measurements, the influence of tree size, age and annual increment on radial density gradients was analysed. Methods Wood density was determined from tree cores using X-ray densitometry. X-ray films were digitized and images were measured, resulting in a continuous density profile for each sample. Mixed models were then developed to analyse differences in average wood density and in radial gradients in density among the six tree species, as well as the effects of tree age, size and annual increment on radial increases in Melia azedarach. Key Results Average wood density generally reflected differences in shade-tolerance, varying by nearly a factor of two. Radial gradients occurred in all species, ranging from an increase of (approx. 70%) in the shade-intolerant Melia azedarach to a decrease of approx. 13% in the shade-tolerant Neolitsea obtusifolia, but the slopes of radial gradients were generally unrelated to shade-tolerance. For Melia azedarach, radial increases were most-parsimoniously explained by log-transformed tree age and annual increment rather than by tree size. Conclusions The results indicate that average wood density generally reflects differences in shade-tolerance in seasonally dry tropical forests; however, inferences based on wood density alone are potentially misleading for species with complex life histories. In addition, the findings suggest that a ‘whole-tree’ view of life history and biomechanics is important for understanding patterns of radial variation in wood density. Finally, accounting for wood density gradients is likely to improve the accuracy of estimates of stem biomass and carbon in tropical trees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract  Changes of physical wood properties after ammonia gas phase treatment were tested. In order to cover the wide variability of the investigated parameter, nineteen different wood species were investigated. While density is more or less not affected, equilibrium moisture content at standard climate increases significantly for almost all species. Changes of differential shrinkage and swelling in radial and tangential direction are specific to species. While some species show increased swelling or shrinkage, for other species these values decline. In most cases, ammoniation leads to increased dimension stability in radial direction but to a reduction in tangential direction. So, anisotropy of swelling and shrinkage in general increases due to ammoniation. These results show that changed physical properties of such wood have to be considered concerning conditioning and dimensioning products therefrom. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract  The orientation of the tracheid cells with respect to the stem axis (grain angle, spiral grain) exerts a strong influence on numerous material properties. Therefore, several methods have been developed to assess this wood anatomical feature. The current study compares SilviScan spiral grain measurements, which uses X-ray diffractometry, with direct goniometer readings. The correlation between these two methods yielded an r2 of 0.874 and a root mean square error of prediction (RMSEP) of 1.21 clearly demonstrating that X-ray diffractometry can provide accurate and rapid information on the grain orientation in Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.) or similar structured softwoods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]