‘Midwood’: New wood type that locks in carbon effectively discovered

For decades now, scientists have been driven to find solutions for carbon sequestration especially since the harmful consequences of climate change have become more evident.

In a new discovery, a team of scientists from Jagiellonian University and the University of Cambridge stumbled upon a new type of wood that could capture and store carbon more efficiently.

They identified wood branches of tulip trees that perform carbon sequestration well but don’t fit the typical categories of hardwood or softwood.

Tulip trees are known to grow considerably well, with specimens reaching as high as 100-feet. They are related to magnolias, known for their nobility and purity.

Planting more Tulip Trees to boost carbon sequestration

Dr. Jan Łyczakowski from Jagiellonian University told Interesting Engineering (IE) that tulip trees are angiosperms native to East Asia and North America with only two species surviving to this day.

They belong to two surviving species of the ancient Liriodendron genus namely “ Liriodendron tulipifera and Liriodendron chinese ,” he emphasized.

“In our work, we looked at both species and found their wood ultrastructure to be the same and distinct to that seen in other angiosperm plants we analyzed.”

The species have much larger macrofibrils (long fibers aligned in layers in the secondary cell wall) in contrast to their hardwood relatives according to a statement by the scientists.

Planting more of these trees could aid in tackling climate change as emissions from carbon dioxide (CO2) account for the largest share.

According to the European Commission , GHG emissions primarily consisted of CO2, resulting from the combustion of fossil fuels (71.6 percent).

Łyczakowski explained to IE that tulip trees are mostly planted as ornamentals in both their native habitats but also, thanks to ease of vegetative propagation and germination from seed, outside of their native range.

“They are some of the tallest angiosperms in the areas where they grow, for example in Eastern USA and in the Appalachian mountains,” he added.

“An interesting and useful property of tulip trees is their straight trunk with little side branches. This is important in some woodwork and industrial applications.”

Adaptable wood ultrastructure

The discovery showed wood as an adaptable and evolutionary ultrastructure that doesn’t always follow the easy distinction of gymnosperm (softwood) versus angiosperm (hardwood).

Thanks to tulip trees, scientists can now study what features drive the formation of certain wood ultrastructure.

Łyczakowski told IE that the biochemistry of cell wall polysaccharides is key to the formation, but this hypothesis remains to be tested.

“This new wood ultrastructure might be better suited to carbon storage which makes it an interesting case-study to identify approaches to increasing carbon capture in plantation forests.”

The genus – Liriodendrons branched out from magnolia trees about 30-50 million years ago. This separation overlapped with a rapid reduction in atmospheric CO2 which could help explain the effective carbon storage capabilities of tulip trees.

The team employed a low-temperature scanning electron microscope (cryo-SEM) to reflect the nanoscale structure of this new wood in its native hydrated state.

While conducting such an extensive survey of the wood ultrastructure, the main challenge was having a large collection of, often obscure, plant species available close by to a high-end low-temperature scanning electron microscope.

Łyczakowski explained that fresh fully hydrated samples were required which often meant collecting them early in the morning so experiments could be conducted while the sample was still fresh.

Tulip trees biochemistry explains shrub growth

Owing to the large macrofibrils, the findings dictate that the wood ultrastructure of tulip trees might be adapted to the storage of large quantities of carbon.

“Firstly, we could simply increase the extent of use of tulip trees in plantation forests, which is actually already proposed and being trailed in some countries,” the scientist told IE.

Another approach proposed is to discover what makes tulip trees deposit macrofibrils larger than these seen in most other angiosperm species.

“We hypothesize that this could be driven by differences in the biochemistry of wood. Potentially in the structure of hemicelluloses that make it,” he added.

Now the researchers hope to test, through breeding or genetic engineering, if they can recapitulate the tulip tree-like wood biochemistry in other species and see if it leads to the formation of larger macrofibrils and increased carbon storage in wood.

“This could allow us to breed super-carbon capturing cultivars of other, more frequently planted, forestry trees,” Łyczakowski told IE .

The study was published in the journal – New Phytologist .