Wound closure in sugar maple: adverse effects of defoliation

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Abstract
Twenty-three sugar maple trees, Acersaccharum Marsh., that had been defoliated by hand for 3 consecutive years (1971, 1972, and 1973) and nine undefoliated trees were wounded with a drill bit in March 1974. After two full growing seasons, wound areas on defoliated trees were larger than those on undefoliated trees because more bark tissue died originally around the wounds on defoliated trees, and because there was less wound closure resulting from poorer radial growth. There was no significant increase in internal discoloration, but decay was found in two defoliated trees. In undefoliated trees, wound area was highly correlated with annual growth increment and resistance to pulsed electric current. In defoliated trees, wound area was highly correlated with starch content of the roots; trees with lower starch content had larger wounds.

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