Wound-induced changes of resin acid concentrations in living bark of Scots pine seedlings

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Abstract
One-year-old Pinussylvestris (L.) seedlings were wounded at the stem base by stripping off stem bark pieces of approximately 10 mm in length and covering about 50% of the stem circumference. The seedlings were thereafter planted out in the field or in a climate chamber. The field experiment was repeated on four different planting dates. Wounded and control seedlings were successively harvested for gas chromatographic determination of changes in resin acid concentrations of the bark surrounding the wounded area. Independent of planting date, wounded seedlings were found to have higher concentrations of total resin acids than corresponding controls. The most important quantitative changes in resin acids were observed for isopimaric, levopimaric + palustric, dehydroabietie, abietic, and neoabietic acid. In wounded seedlings the concentration of dehydroabietic acid showed the most significant increase, both in the field and in climate chamber experiments. This increase was rapid and appeared within 1 week in the field and within 3 days in the climate chamber. The other resin acids identified showed a somewhat similar variation pattern, but the differences were not as distinct as for dehydroabietic acid. These wound-induced rapid changes in resin acid concentrations could be important for resistance to pathogens.

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