The changes in the anatomical and chemical composition of scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) with altitudes

Scots Pine was chosen as study material as it is spread in an extensive area in our country and Europe.The changes in anatomical and chemical structure of Scots Pine growing naturally in Turkey, its wood, inner and outer bark according to the altitude were studied in this thesis.Anatomically, characteristics of wood tracheids were examined and evaluated by fibre morphology. As chemical properties, main components of cell-wall in wood, inner and outer bark and relations between solubilities and altitude were determined. The changes on liphophilic and hydrophilic extractives of inner, outer bark and wood samples; and that on monomers which form suberin tissue of the samples purified from extractives and their relation with altitude were also determined by using chromatographic analyses.In anatomical measurements, it was seen that as altitude increases, the length of tracheid decreases. While it is determined as 3,911 mm at 100 m., and it is 1,790 mm at 1300 m altitudes. It was determined from the measurements that tracheid and lumen width and thethickness of single traheid cell-wall, close results were obtained and that there is no correlation with altitude.While there is no clear change in general chemical analyses such as wood holocellulose, ?-cellulose and lignin analyses with altitude, a comparable decrease in inner and outer bark holocellulose and ?-cellulose rates were noticed. There is no definite change in lignin rate of inner and outer barks.Fatty alcohols of liphophilic components were determined in wood and outer bark and it was seen that it decreases as altitude increases. Docosanol having 22 C (carbon) atom in every altitude is the most common component. While total fatty acids (saturated+unsaturated) on wood samples were observed to increase considerably from lower to higher altitudes it was seen to decrease on inner bark samples. Total fatty acid quantity increases in outer bark though it is not clear. While acid 22:0, from saturated fatty acids in outer bark samples, acid 16:0 in wood samples were seen the most dominant compounds in every altitudes, in inner bark samples both acid 16:0 and acid 22:0 were detected in important quantities. As unsaturated fatty acids, acid 9-18:1 was seen in both inner and outer barks in every altitude. Whereas acid 9-18:1 (9-octadecenoic acid) and acid 9,12-18:2 (9,12-octadecadienoic acid) were observed as the most common compounds in every altitudes in wood samples.The quantity of resin acids of liphophilic extractives were seen to increase in wood but decrease in inner and outer barks as altitude increases. Of resin acids, levopimaric acid in wood and inner bark, dehydroabietic acid in outer bark is the most common components in every altitude.Total quantity of phenolic components determined after acetone:water (95:5, v:v) extraction is directly proportional to altitude all of the samples. Cis-monomethyl pinosylvin in wood, 3,4,5-trihydroxycyclohexenecarboxylic acid in inner bark and taxifolin in outer bark are the most common components in every altitude. Total quantity of alcanols among suberin monomers decreases with altitude increase while there is no clear change in the total quantity of alcanoic, dioic and hydroxy acids. In all the samples dioic and hydroxy acids form the mostcommon component group; and 18-hydroxy-18:1 acid and 1,18-dioic-18:1 acid are the most dominant components in every altitude.