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Chemical, light and electron microscopic studies were carried out on wood of Oriental beech (Fagus orientalis Lipsky) decayed by the white-rot fungi Pleurotus ostreatus and Trametes versicolor for 30, 60 and 120 days according to the modified European standard EN 113. Mass loss as well as lignin, cellulose and carbohydrate content were determined before and after fungal attack. There were no significant differences of wood mass loss and chemical composition between both fungi at the end of incubation. After each incubation period, small specimens were stained for microscopic studies. The micromorphology of fungal cell wall degradation was rather similar for both fungi. Both decreased the cell wall thickness to the same extent. The accumulation of hyphae as well as the rupture of cell walls was also similar. The occurrence of hyphae, cavities in the pits and vessel walls followed nearly the same patterns. The parenchyma cells were completely destroyed. Altogether, both fungi produced a simultaneous white rot in Oriental beech wood.

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The cambium dynamics and wood formation of Oriental beech (Fagus orientalis Lipsky) was investigated during the 2008 growing season in the Nowshahr Hyrcanian forest, Iran (36°N, 51°E). Three study sites were selected along an altitudinal gradient (650, 1,100 and 1,600 m a.s.l.), and cambial activity rates of cell formation and cell maturation were studied on micro-cores collected in intervals of 10-20 days. The cambium reactivation of the low-altitude (L) and mid-altitude (M) trees occurred contemporaneously in late March, and also the consecutive phases of cell differentiation took place almost at the same time; however, the entry into cambial dormancy varied considerably from late August to mid-November. Due to lower temperature, the upper-altitude (U) trees showed a 10-day delay in their cambium reactivation, an earlier entry into cambium dormancy (mid-September) and a slower growth rate resulting in narrower tree rings. Despite these differences, the daily increment rates of the trees at all sites reached maximum values coincidently in the early June. Since the photoperiod is the only common external factor among different sites, it is concluded that the timing of the highest growth rate is controlled by the photoperiod.

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