What is the composition of flexure wood primarily influenced by?

The composition of flexure wood is primarily influenced by mechanical stress from movement. Flexure wood refers to wood that develops specific structural characteristics in response to physical forces acting upon it. When a tree experiences mechanical stresses—such as bending due to wind, load from snow, or growth patterns—its wood structure adapts to provide both strength and flexibility. This adaptation process, known as reaction wood formation, leads to changes in the wood's density, fiber orientation, and other physical properties, ensuring that the tree can maintain structural integrity despite the forces it encounters.

Understanding this concept is essential for tree risk assessment because it allows arborists and tree care professionals to interpret how trees respond to their physical environment and evaluate their stability and health effectively. Other factors like soil nutrient availability, wind exposure over time, and water availability do play roles in tree growth and overall health, but they do not directly influence the composition of flexure wood as significantly as mechanical stress does.