Delayed recovery of growth stress in tension wood induced by drying and subsequent wetting treatment

The delayed recovery of the longitudinal length in biomechanically pre-stressed wood, specifically tension wood with a conspicuous gelatinous layer in the cell wall structure, was generally induced by hygrothermal treatment. However, hygrothermal treatment should not be the sole method to induce delayed recovery in tension wood. In order to broaden our understanding of the mechanism underlying delayed recovery, tension wood of Quercus serrata was treated by drying and subsequent rewetting over many times. Interestingly, the longitudinal deformation over repeated drying and subsequent rewetting treatments (dry–wet treatments) was identical to the response of the tension wood during repetitive hygrothermal treatments. Hence, the longitudinal delayed recovery in pre-stressed tension wood was concluded to be induced not only by hygrothermal treatment but also by the dry–wet cycles.