Effect of hardwood vessels on longitudinal moisture diffusion

The hypothesis that the longitudinal moisture content profile follows the s hape of the sorption isotherm under steady-state diffusion condition was co nfirmed. This phenomenon was explained in terms of the unrestricted flow of water vapor from the lumen of one vessel element to the lumen of the next vessel element. Despite the assumed high vapor transport efficiency of the vessels, other cell types were believed to contribute substantially to long itudinal moisture movement. The diffusion coefficients of three different h ardwood species were found to vary with moisture content.