Loblolly pine seedling root anatomy and iron accumulation as affected by soil waterlogging

Loblolly pine seedlings were grown under flooded and drained conditions in a greenhouse pot study. Flooded roots developed aerenchyma tissue within the stele between the xylem poles, extending from the phloem outward to the pericycle. Large intercellular spaces were present in the pericyclic parenchyma within the phellogen of flooded woody roots. Flooded stems exhibited lenticel hypertrophy. Large intercellular spaces in the cortex were continuous with intercellular spaces in the pericyclic parenchyma of the root. Flooding of roots generally resulted in accumulation of Fe on the epidermal surface and in as well as between cortical cell walls inward to the endodermis. Fe accumulated in and between the precursor phloem cells and became more evident in the region of maturation. In roots with secondary thickening, little Fe was visible in the phloem but was present in helical secondary walls of tracheids. Fe also accumulated on and in bordered pits of root tracheids. Results suggest that flooded loblolly pine seedlings possess a limited internal aeration system and that diffusion of oxygen into the root system may be responsible for the presence of oxidized Fe within the stele.