Effects of Different Rates and Methods of Leaf Area Removal on Rain Forest Seedlings of Coachwood (Ceratopetalum apetalum)

1982 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 477 ◽  
Author(s):  
MD Lowman
Keyword(s):  
Host Plant ◽  
Leaf Area ◽  
Rain Forest ◽  
Leaf Tissue ◽  
Forest Tree ◽  
Plant Part ◽  
Controlled Environment ◽  
Insect Herbivores ◽  
Control Growth ◽  
Tissue Removal

Different ways in which insect herbivores may consume the same proportions of leaf area were compared experimentally in their effects on a host plant. Part of the leaf tissue was removed from seedlings of Ceratopetalum apetalum, a native Australian rain forest tree, and growth recovery was monitored. Seedlings maintained in a controlled environment were subjected to one of five defoliation treatments: 25% of each leaf removed: 50% of each leaf removed; one of every four leaves removed; one of every two leaves removed; control. Growth was stimulated beyond the rate of the controls in both types of treatments with 25% removal of whole leaves or of leaf tissue; but was suppressed to a greater degree with 50% tissue removal. Seedlings with all leaves partially clipped recovered more successfully than those with some leaves completely removed, and the implications of this are discussed in relation to the behaviour of herbivores.

scholarly journals The bigger the better? Vigour of the exotic host plant Calotropis procera (Apocynaceae) affects herbivory

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 359-366
Author(s):  
Geraldo Wilson Fernandes ◽  
Jarcilene Silva de Almeida ◽  
Maria Fernanda Vicente Rodrigues-Menelau ◽  
Lucas Arantes-Garcia ◽  
Samuel Novais
Keyword(s):  
Host Plant ◽  
Leaf Area ◽  
Regional Scale ◽  
Calotropis Procera ◽  
Insect Herbivores ◽  
Plant Vigour ◽  
Seasonally Dry ◽  
Shoot Size ◽  
Vigorous Plant ◽  
Leaf Herbivory

The Plant Vigour Hypothesis states that herbivores preferentially feed on the most vigorous plants within a plant population and/or the most vigorous modules within a plant. The goal of this study was to evaluate how shoot size (as an indication of module vigour) affects leaf herbivory in the host plant Calotropis procera, an exotic xerophyte perennial milkweed shrub. We predicted that the proportion of leaf area removed by insect herbivores would be positively related to shoot size. Eight patches were selected containing a varied number of C. procera individuals (5, 8, 29, 31, 55, 79, 116, and 172 individuals/patch) in the Brazilian seasonally dry vegetation (Caatinga), of which five individuals were randomly selected for further analysis. From each individual, three to six shoots were randomly selected, measured and had their leaves collected, for a total of approximately 200 leaves per patch. At the regional scale, the proportion of leaf area removed was positively affected by shoot size. In addition, this pattern was also found for the majority of the studied patches (29, 31, 55, 116, and 172 individuals/patch). Among the insect herbivores associated with C. procera, larvae of Danaus spp. (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) were commonly observed feeding on all patches. These herbivores present a specialized behaviour to circumvent the presence of latex in the host leaves. Although more vigorous plant modules should be better defended compared with the less vigorous modules, Danaus species were able to bypass host defences, and feed on healthy, rapidly growing and vigorous plant modules of C. procera, hence causing more damage to these modules.

The influence of temperature and genotype on the growth and stomatal morphology of southern beech, Nothofagus cunninghamii (Nothofagaceae)

2001 ◽  
Vol 49 (4) ◽  
pp. 427 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark J. Hovenden
Keyword(s):  
Leaf Area ◽  
National Park ◽  
Stomatal Density ◽  
Leaf Tissue ◽  
Plant Morphology ◽  
Average Weight ◽  
Controlled Environment ◽  
Stomatal Index ◽  
Stomatal Morphology ◽  
Southern Beech

Nothofagus cunninghamii (Hook.) Oerst. clones of five different genotypes from Mt Field National Park, Tasmania, were grown in controlled environment cabinets at daytime temperatures of 23 and 18°C. These temperatures approximate summer conditions in Tasmania at sea level and at about 700 m a.s.l., respectively. There was a significant effect of both temperature and genotype on plant height, but there was no interaction of these terms. Temperature also had a significant influence on plant leaf area and biomass. Plants grown at 23°C were significantly larger and allocated more biomass to leaf tissue than did those grown at 18°C. Importantly, temperature had no impact on the size of leaves, whether expressed as average weight per leaf or area per leaf, but these variables were strongly affected by genotype. Specific leaf area, stomatal density and stomatal index did not vary with either temperature or genotype. These results have implications for our understanding of altitudinal impacts on plant morphology and also for the interpretation of the fossil record, since temperature has little impact on leaf characters in this species.

scholarly journals A Canopy Transpiration Model Based on Scaling Up Stomatal Conductance and Radiation Interception as Affected by Leaf Area Index

Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 252
Author(s):  
Muhammad Shahinur Alam ◽  
David William Lamb ◽  
Nigel W. M. Warwick
Keyword(s):  
Stomatal Conductance ◽  
Leaf Area Index ◽  
Leaf Area ◽  
Festuca Arundinacea ◽  
Radiation Energy ◽  
Scaling Up ◽  
Controlled Environment ◽  
Canopy Conductance ◽  
Individual Layer ◽  
Area Index

Estimating transpiration as an individual component of canopy evapotranspiration using a theoretical approach is extremely useful as it eliminates the complexity involved in partitioning evapotranspiration. A model to predict transpiration based on radiation intercepted at various levels of canopy leaf area index (LAI) was developed in a controlled environment using a pasture species, tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea var. Demeter). The canopy was assumed to be a composite of two indistinct layers defined as sunlit and shaded; the proportion of which was calculated by utilizing a weighted model (W model). The radiation energy utilized by each layer was calculated from the PAR at the top of the canopy and the fraction of absorbed photosynthetically active radiation (fAPAR) corresponding to the LAI of the sunlit and shaded layers. A relationship between LAI and fAPAR was also established for this specific canopy to aid the calculation of energy interception. Canopy conductance was estimated from scaling up of stomatal conductance measured at the individual leaf level. Other environmental factors that drive transpiration were monitored accordingly for each individual layer. The Penman–Monteith and Jarvis evapotranspiration models were used as the basis to construct a modified transpiration model suitable for controlled environment conditions. Specially, constructed self-watering tubs were used to measure actual transpiration to validate the model output. The model provided good agreement of measured transpiration (actual transpiration = 0.96 × calculated transpiration, R2 = 0.98; p < 0.001) with the predicted values. This was particularly so at lower LAIs. Probable reasons for the discrepancy at higher LAI are explained. Both the predicted and experimental transpiration varied from 0.21 to 0.56 mm h−1 for the range of available LAIs. The physical proportion of the shaded layer exceeded that of the sunlit layer near LAI of 3.0, however, the contribution of the sunlit layer to the total transpiration remains higher throughout the entire growing season.

Irradiance and Spectral Quality Affect Asian Tropical Rain Forest Tree Seedling Development

Ecology ◽  
1995 ◽  
Vol 77 (2) ◽  
pp. 568-580 ◽  
Author(s):  
David W. Lee ◽  
Krishnapillay Baskaran ◽  
Marzalina Mansor ◽  
Haris Mohamad ◽  
Son Kheong Yap
Keyword(s):  
Rain Forest ◽  
Tropical Rain Forest ◽  
Forest Tree ◽  
Seedling Development ◽  
Spectral Quality ◽  
Tree Seedling

Herbivory in the epiphyte, Vriesea sanguinolenta Cogn. & Marchal (Bromeliaceae)

2000 ◽  
Vol 16 (6) ◽  
pp. 829-839 ◽  
Author(s):  
GEROLD SCHMIDT ◽  
GERHARD ZOTZ
Keyword(s):  
Leaf Area ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Insect Herbivores ◽  
Vascular Epiphytes ◽  
Herbivore Attack ◽  
Tropical Flora ◽  
Herbivore Pressure

Although herbivory in ground-rooted flora is well documented, current knowledge of the herbivore pressure on vascular epiphytes remains mostly anecdotal. Here, we present the results of a 3-year study on the herbivory in a population of the epiphytic bromeliad Vriesea sanguinolenta. In different years, 26–61% of all epiphytes showed traces of herbivore attack, while up to 4.4% of the entire leaf area of the epiphyte population was consumed annually. The recorded levels of damage to photosynthetic tissue, mostly caused by the larvae of Napaea eucharilla (Riodinidae, Lepidoptera), indicate that vascular epiphytes may be regularly and sometimes even lethally attacked by insect herbivores. The level of damage is comparable to ground-rooted tropical flora, which certainly does not support the prevalent notion of low and negligible levels of herbivory in vascular epiphytes.

scholarly journals Tri-trophic level interactions affect host plant development and abundance of insect herbivores

2011 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 351-357 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frederico de Siqueira Neves ◽  
Marcílio Fagundes ◽  
Carlos Frankl Sperber ◽  
G. Wilson Fernandes
Keyword(s):  
Host Plant ◽  
Trophic Level ◽  
Plant Development ◽  
Insect Herbivores

Molecular Systematic Analysis Reveals Cryptic Tertiary Diversification of a Widespread Tropical Rain Forest Tree

2003 ◽  
Vol 162 (6) ◽  
pp. 691-703 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher W. Dick ◽  
Kobinah Abdul‐Salim ◽  
Eldredge Bermingham
Keyword(s):  
Rain Forest ◽  
Tropical Rain Forest ◽  
Forest Tree ◽  
Molecular Systematic ◽  
Systematic Analysis

scholarly journals Coupled carbon-water exchange of the Amazon rain forest, I. Model description, parameterization and sensitivity analysis

2005 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 333-397 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Simon ◽  
F. X. Meixner ◽  
L. Ganzeveld ◽  
J. Kesselmeier
Keyword(s):  
Stomatal Conductance ◽  
Leaf Area ◽  
Rain Forest ◽  
Canopy Structure ◽  
Leaf Nitrogen ◽  
Optical Parameters ◽  
Amazon Rain Forest ◽  
Leaf Level ◽  
Net Assimilation ◽  
Parameter Values

Abstract. Detailed one-dimensional multilayer biosphere-atmosphere models, also referred to as CANVEG models, are used for more than a decade to describe coupled water-carbon exchange between the terrestrial vegetation and the lower atmosphere. Within the present study, a modified CANVEG scheme is described. A generic parameterization and characterization of biophysical properties of Amazon rain forest canopies is inferred using available field measurements of canopy structure, in-canopy profiles of horizontal wind speed and radiation, canopy albedo, soil heat flux and soil respiration, photosynthetic capacity and leaf nitrogen as well as leaf level enclosure measurements made on sunlit and shaded branches of several Amazonian tree species during the wet and dry season. The sensitivity of calculated canopy energy and CO2 fluxes to the uncertainty of individual parameter values is assessed. In the companion paper, the predicted seasonal exchange of energy, CO2, ozone and isoprene is compared to observations. A bi-modal distribution of leaf area density with a total leaf area index of 6 is inferred from several observations in Amazonia. Predicted light attenuation within the canopy agrees reasonably well with observations made at different field sites. A comparison of predicted and observed canopy albedo shows a high model sensitivity to the leaf optical parameters for near-infrared short-wave radiation (NIR). The predictions agree much better with observations when the leaf reflectance and transmission coefficients for NIR are reduced by 25–40%. Available vertical distributions of photosynthetic capacity and leaf nitrogen concentration suggest a low but significant light acclimation of the rain forest canopy that scales nearly linearly with accumulated leaf area. Evaluation of the biochemical leaf model, using the enclosure measurements, showed that recommended parameter values describing the photosynthetic light response, have to be optimized. Otherwise, predicted net assimilation is overestimated by 30–50%. Two stomatal models have been tested, which apply a well established semi-empirical relationship between stomatal conductance and net assimilation. Both models differ in the way they describe the influence of humidity on stomatal response. However, they show a very similar performance within the range of observed environmental conditions. The agreement between predicted and observed stomatal conductance rates is reasonable. In general, the leaf level data suggests seasonal physiological changes, which can be reproduced reasonably well by assuming increased stomatal conductance rates during the wet season, and decreased assimilation rates during the dry season. The sensitivity of the predicted canopy fluxes of energy and CO2 to the parameterization of canopy structure, the leaf optical parameters, and the scaling of photosynthetic parameters is relatively low (1–12%), with respect to parameter uncertainty. In contrast, modifying leaf model parameters within their uncertainty range results in much larger changes of the predicted canopy net fluxes (5–35%).

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