Dendrometers challenge the ‘moon wood concept’ by elucidating the absence of lunar cycles in tree stem radius oscillation
Abstract Wood is a sustainable natural resource and an important global commodity. According to the ‘moon wood theory’, the properties of wood, including its growth and water content, are believed to oscillate with the lunar cycle. Despite contradicting our current understanding of plant functioning...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2023-11-01
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| Series: | Scientific Reports |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-47013-y |
| _version_ | 1797560263165083648 |
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| author | Jan Tumajer Sabine Braun Andreas Burger Tobias Scharnweber Marko Smiljanic Lorenz Walthert Roman Zweifel Martin Wilmking |
| author_facet | Jan Tumajer Sabine Braun Andreas Burger Tobias Scharnweber Marko Smiljanic Lorenz Walthert Roman Zweifel Martin Wilmking |
| author_sort | Jan Tumajer |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Wood is a sustainable natural resource and an important global commodity. According to the ‘moon wood theory’, the properties of wood, including its growth and water content, are believed to oscillate with the lunar cycle. Despite contradicting our current understanding of plant functioning, this theory is commonly exploited for marketing wooden products. To examine the moon wood theory, we applied a wavelet power transformation to series of 2,000,000 hourly stem radius records from dendrometers. We separated the influence of 74 consecutive lunar cycles and meteorological conditions on the stem variation of 62 trees and six species. We show that the dynamics of stem radius consist of overlapping oscillations with periods of 1 day, 6 months, and 1 year. These oscillations in stem dimensions were tightly coupled to oscillations in the series of air temperature and vapour pressure deficit. By contrast, we revealed no imprint of the lunar cycle on the stem radius variation of any species. We call for scepticism towards the moon wood theory, at least as far as the stem water content and radial growth are concerned. We foresee that similar studies employing robust scientific approaches will be increasingly needed in the future to cope with misleading concepts. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T17:56:58Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-68259d83b88949958f83cbed9cb8c8e0 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2045-2322 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T17:56:58Z |
| publishDate | 2023-11-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Scientific Reports |
| spelling | doaj.art-68259d83b88949958f83cbed9cb8c8e02023-11-20T09:09:01ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222023-11-0113111010.1038/s41598-023-47013-yDendrometers challenge the ‘moon wood concept’ by elucidating the absence of lunar cycles in tree stem radius oscillationJan Tumajer0Sabine Braun1Andreas Burger2Tobias Scharnweber3Marko Smiljanic4Lorenz Walthert5Roman Zweifel6Martin Wilmking7Institute of Botany and Landscape Ecology, University of GreifswaldInstitute for Applied Plant Biology AGInstitute of Botany and Landscape Ecology, University of GreifswaldInstitute of Botany and Landscape Ecology, University of GreifswaldInstitute of Botany and Landscape Ecology, University of GreifswaldSwiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSLSwiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSLInstitute of Botany and Landscape Ecology, University of GreifswaldAbstract Wood is a sustainable natural resource and an important global commodity. According to the ‘moon wood theory’, the properties of wood, including its growth and water content, are believed to oscillate with the lunar cycle. Despite contradicting our current understanding of plant functioning, this theory is commonly exploited for marketing wooden products. To examine the moon wood theory, we applied a wavelet power transformation to series of 2,000,000 hourly stem radius records from dendrometers. We separated the influence of 74 consecutive lunar cycles and meteorological conditions on the stem variation of 62 trees and six species. We show that the dynamics of stem radius consist of overlapping oscillations with periods of 1 day, 6 months, and 1 year. These oscillations in stem dimensions were tightly coupled to oscillations in the series of air temperature and vapour pressure deficit. By contrast, we revealed no imprint of the lunar cycle on the stem radius variation of any species. We call for scepticism towards the moon wood theory, at least as far as the stem water content and radial growth are concerned. We foresee that similar studies employing robust scientific approaches will be increasingly needed in the future to cope with misleading concepts.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-47013-y |
| spellingShingle | Jan Tumajer Sabine Braun Andreas Burger Tobias Scharnweber Marko Smiljanic Lorenz Walthert Roman Zweifel Martin Wilmking Dendrometers challenge the ‘moon wood concept’ by elucidating the absence of lunar cycles in tree stem radius oscillation Scientific Reports |
| title | Dendrometers challenge the ‘moon wood concept’ by elucidating the absence of lunar cycles in tree stem radius oscillation |
| title_full | Dendrometers challenge the ‘moon wood concept’ by elucidating the absence of lunar cycles in tree stem radius oscillation |
| title_fullStr | Dendrometers challenge the ‘moon wood concept’ by elucidating the absence of lunar cycles in tree stem radius oscillation |
| title_full_unstemmed | Dendrometers challenge the ‘moon wood concept’ by elucidating the absence of lunar cycles in tree stem radius oscillation |
| title_short | Dendrometers challenge the ‘moon wood concept’ by elucidating the absence of lunar cycles in tree stem radius oscillation |
| title_sort | dendrometers challenge the moon wood concept by elucidating the absence of lunar cycles in tree stem radius oscillation |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-47013-y |
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