Some projects conducted by the University of Évora aim to promote cork oak development and vitality through summer irrigation, as a response to the observed tree decline and productivity loss in areas where water resources are available and can be used in an affordable and resource-efficient manner. The aim of this exploratory study is to determine the effect of supplemental water on wood anatomy. For this purpose, cross-sections from cork oak twigs were examined using histological methods and fluorescence microscopy. Phellem, phellogen, as well as xylem and xylem vessels, were observed, and selected components were quantified to assess the histological effects of irrigation. We found larger vessels in samples from fertirrigated trees, which may be related to increased water availability. With regard to phellogen analysis, no differences in cell width were observed. These findings, although based on a limited number of samples and considered exploratory, are expected to contribute to a better understanding of cork oak responses to water availability and the resilience of these forests at the anatomical level.

Acknowledgements:

This work is funded by Agenda Transform, project no. C644865735-00000007, following the Mobilization Agendas for Business Innovation (Notice No. 02/C05-i01/2021), supported by the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR) and European Funds NextGeneration EU. We also thank to national Funds by FCT –Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology, under the projects UID/04033/2025: Centre for the Research and Technology of Agro-Environmental and Biological Sciences and LA/P/0126/2020 (https://doi.org/10.54499/LA/P/0126/2020), and by national funds through FCT – Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology, I.P., in the framework of the UID/06107/2025 – Center for sci-tech Research in EArth sysTem and Energy (CREATE), DOI https://doi.org/10.54499/UID/06107/2025.