scholarly journals Stem diameter growth rates in a fire-prone savanna correlate with photosynthetic rate and branch-scale biomass allocation, but not specific leaf area

2018 ◽  
Vol 44 (2) ◽  
pp. 339-350 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian J. Wright ◽  
Julia Cooke ◽  
Lucas A. Cernusak ◽  
Lindsay B. Hutley ◽  
Marina C. Scalon ◽  
...  
AoB Plants ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
E F Gray ◽  
I J Wright ◽  
D S Falster ◽  
A S D Eller ◽  
C E R Lehmann ◽  
...  

Abstract Plant growth rates drive ecosystem productivity and are a central element of plant ecological strategies. For seedlings grown under controlled conditions, a large literature has firmly identified the functional traits that drive interspecific variation in growth rate. For adult plants, the corresponding knowledge is surprisingly poorly understood. Until recently it was widely assumed that the key trait drivers would be the same (e.g. specific leaf area, or SLA), but an increasing number of papers has demonstrated this not to be the case, or not generally so. New theory has provided a prospective basis for understanding these discrepancies. Here we quantified relationships between stem diameter growth rates and functional traits of adult woody plants for 41 species in an Australian tropical rainforest. From various cost-benefit considerations, core predictions included that: (i) photosynthetic rate would be positively related to growth rate; (ii) SLA would be unrelated to growth rate (unlike in seedlings where it is positively related to growth); (iii) wood density would be negatively related to growth rate; and (iv) leaf mass:sapwood mass ratio (LM:SM) in branches (analogous to a benefit:cost ratio) would be positively related to growth rate. All our predictions found support, particularly those for LM:SM and wood density; photosynthetic rate was more weakly related to stem diameter growth rates. Specific leaf area was convincingly correlated to growth rate, in fact negatively. Together, SLA, wood density and LM:SM accounted for 52 % of variation in growth rate among these 41 species, with each trait contributing roughly similar explanatory power. That low SLA species can achieve faster growth rates than high SLA species was an unexpected result but, as it turns out, not without precedent, and easily understood via cost-benefit theory that considers whole-plant allocation to different tissue types. Branch-scale leaf:sapwood ratio holds promise as an easily measurable variable that may help to understand growth rate variation. Using cost-benefit approaches teamed with combinations of leaf, wood and allometric variables may provide a path towards a more complete understanding of growth rates under field conditions.


1981 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 758-762 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey O. Dawson ◽  
Soon-Hwa Sun

Three Alnus clones, one each of A. glutinosa (L.) Gaertn., A. cordata (Lois.) Desg., and A. incana (L.) Ait., were inoculated with Frankia isolates from root nodules of Comptoniaperegrina (L.) Coult. and A. crispa var. mollis Fern. Both Frankia isolate and Alnus clone contributed significantly to postinoculation height and diameter growth of plants in nitrogen-free culture, while interaction between isolate and clone was not statistically significant (α = 0.05). All combinations of host plants and isolates yielded nodules that were effective in fixing nitrogen as evidenced by the ability of nodules to reduce acetylene to ethylene. Alnus plants inoculated with the Comptonia isolate grew in height at a rate 1.9 times that of Alnus plants inoculated with the A. crispa isolate, while more than doubling the stem diameter growth increment of plants inoculated with the A. crispa isolate. The A. glutinosa clone grew at least four times as rapidly in height and at least twice as rapidly in diameter as the other two Alnus clones after inoculation with Frankia isolates. Results indicate that potential exists for the improvement of growth rates of Alnus and other Frankia-nodulated plants by selection of both Frankia isolates and host plant genotypes for specific environments.


HortScience ◽  
1998 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 474
Author(s):  
Robert K. Witmer ◽  
Roger Harris ◽  
Alex X. Niemiera

In Virginia, pot-in-pot production of shade trees is normally accomplished by growing bareroot whips in 56-L containers for two complete growing seasons (production cycles). This study monitored the growth of Acer saccharum L. `Green Mountain' (sugar maple), a species with moderate growth rate, and Acer rubrum L. `Franksred' (red maple), a species with a fast growth rate, under standard once-a-day irrigation regime (1X) and a cyclic three-times-a-day regime (3X). Equal daily volumes of water were applied under each regime. Height growth rate increased for sugar maples but decreased for red maples in production cycle two compared to production cycle one. Stem diameter growth rates remained steady for red maple, but increased slightly for sugar maple. A 3X irrigation regime increased stem diameter of red maples, but had no other effect on either species in year one. Height and stem diameter growth of both species were increased by the 3X treatment during production cycle two. This study indicates that the standard production period results in decreased growth in the second production cycle for red maple, but not for sugar maple. Growth rates can be enhanced with a 3X irrigation regime for both species in production cycle two. The 3X irrigation regime only increases the stem diameter growth of red maple in the first production cycle.


2007 ◽  
Vol 37 (9) ◽  
pp. 1748-1754
Author(s):  
Xiaoping Zhang ◽  
Bo Zeng ◽  
Zhangcheng Zhong

In the Three Gorges reservoir region of China, Ficus microcarpa L. and Ficus virens Ait. var. sublanceolata (Miq.) Corner (Moraceae) are widely used in greening and ecological restoration following construction, including roads, railways, towns, etc. Branch cuttings are used for cultivating saplings of these trees. We conducted a 4 year experiment that included four branch-removal intensities to evaluate the influence of branch removal on stem height and diameter growth of these Ficus spp. It was found that branch removal did not affect the stem height growth of either F. microcarpa or F. virens, but decreased the growth of their stem basal diameters. The reduction in growth of stem basal diameter was intensified with branch removal. As expected, branch removal decreased the tapering of whole tree stems, but this effect was mainly due to the alteration of the shape of the bare stem part, and the shape of the stem part within the intact upper crown was not affected by the treatment. The data clearly showed that stem height growth was less sensitive than stem diameter growth to branch removal, and that the response of stem diameter growth to branch removal differed between bare and intact stem parts.


2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 1531 ◽  
Author(s):  
Prajjwal Dubey ◽  
Raghubanshi A. S. ◽  
Anil K. Dwivedi*

A range of leaf attributes was measured for 17 herbaceous species in four contrasting habitats fortnightly from July to September during 2996-2007. All herbaceous vegetation in 5 randomly located plots within each of four sites were clipped at ground level and analyzed fortnightly. Leaf area was recorded by the leaf area meter (Systronics; Leaf area meter- 211). Fresh leaves were dried at 80o C for 48 hr to estimate their dry weight. Specific Leaf Area (SLA) was determined as ratio of leaf area to leaf dry weight. Leaf nitrogen was measured by Kjeldahl method and phosphorus by phosphomolybdic blue colorimetric method. The obtained values were subjected to Two- tailed Pearson correlation coefficients using SPSS (2004 ver. 13) package. SLA, leaf nitrogen, leaf phosphorus and photosynthetic rate show positive relationship with each other.


2021 ◽  
Vol 914 (1) ◽  
pp. 012015
Author(s):  
Mashudi ◽  
D Setiadi ◽  
S Pudjiono ◽  
M Susanto ◽  
L Baskorowati ◽  
...  

Abstract Alstonia angustiloba is a local tree species that have potential for community forest plantation; therefore, it is important to provide improved seeds. This study aimed to determine the diversity of growth, estimate the value of heritability, and the genetic correlation of the 4-years-old A. angustiloba progeny test. Randomized Completely Block Design with two factors (population and family) were used in this study. In this study, families are nested in the population. The population factors consisted of 4 levels, and family factors consisted of 43 families. The analysis of variance showed that height and stem diameter growth were significantly different between populations and families at four years old. The best height and stem diameter growth at the population level was obtained from the Pendopo population, 4.45 m and 7.71 cm, respectively. At the family level, the best height growth was obtained from 9 families (4.46-5.06 m), and the best stem diameter growth was obtained from 11 families (7.48-8.72 cm). The estimated individual heritability value for height was 0.41, and stem diameter was 0.23. Estimated family heritability values were 0.66 for height and 0.50 for stem diameter. The genetic correlation between height and stem diameter was 0.97.


Forests ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 494 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yanfang Wan ◽  
Pengtao Yu ◽  
Xiaoqing Li ◽  
Yanhui Wang ◽  
Bin Wang ◽  
...  

It is important to develop a better understanding of the climatic and soil factors controlling the stem diameter growth of Qinghai spruce (Picea crassifolia Kom.) forest. The results will provide basic information for the scientific prediction of trends in the future development of forests. To explain the seasonal pattern of stem diameter growth of Qinghai spruce and its response to environmental factors in the Qilian Mountains, northwest China, the stem diameter changes of 10 sample trees with different sizes and soil and meteorological conditions were observed from May to October of 2015 and 2016. Our results showed that the growth initiation of the stem diameter of Qinghai spruce was on approximately 25 May 2015 and 20 June 2016, and stem diameter growth commenced when the average air and soil temperatures were more than 10 °C and 3 °C, respectively. The cessation of growth occurred on approximately 21 August 2015 and 14 September 2016, and it was probably controlled by soil moisture. Stem diameter growth began earlier, ended later, and exhibited a larger growth rate as tree size increased. For the period May–October, the cumulative stem diameter growth of individual trees was 400 and 380 μm in 2015 and 2016, respectively. The cumulative stem diameter growth had a clear seasonal pattern, which could be divided into three growth stages, i.e., the beginning (from day of year (DOY) 120 to the timing of growth initiation with the daily growth rate of less than 2 μm·day−1), rapid growth (from the timing of growth initiation to the timing of growth cessation with the daily growth rate of more than 2 μm·day−1), and ending stages (from the timing of growth cessation to DOY 300 with the daily growth rate of less than 2 μm·day−1). The correlation of daily stem growth and environmental factors varied with growth stages; however, temperature, vapor pressure deficit (VPD), and soil moisture were the key factors controlling daily stem diameter growth. Overall, these results indicated that the seasonal variation in stem growth was regulated by soil and climatic triggers. Consequently, changes in climate seasonality may have considerable effects on the seasonal patterns of both stem growth and tree growth.


1994 ◽  
Vol 24 (9) ◽  
pp. 1877-1882 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick J. Temple ◽  
Paul R. Miller

Foliar injury symptoms and stem diameter growth were measured on well-watered and drought-stressed ponderosa pine (Pinusponderosa Dougl. ex Laws.) seedlings at the end of each of 3 years of exposure to three levels of ozone: charcoal-filtered air, nonfiltered air, and nonfiltered air plus 1.5 times ambient ozone. Ozone-injury indices were constructed by adding percent chlorotic mottle and percent necrosis for each needle age-class. Percent necrosis was weighted from 1 to 5 times to construct different indices. Seedlings grown in nonfiltered air plus 1.5 times ambient ozone developed severe foliar injury after 2 years of exposure and were the only seedlings with significant reductions in radial growth after three seasons of exposure to a mean seasonal ozone concentration of 88 ppb. Foliage that had developed >30% chlorotic mottle by September of the 2nd year had abscised by September of the following year. Reduction in radial growth was significantly correlated with amount of foliar injury in well-watered trees, and the best-fit regression equation occurred when percent necrosis was weighted by a factor of 4. Regressions between foliar-injury indices and radial growth in drought-stressed trees were not significant, nor were regressions between radial growth and foliar injury among well-watered trees with only 1 year of premature needle abscission. The low R2 (0.30) between foliar injury and radial growth in well-watered trees and the lack of a significant regression in drought-stressed trees suggest that detection of reductions in stem diameter growth of ponderosa pine in the field in response to ozone injury could be difficult, except for severely injured trees with fewer than 2 years of foliar retention.


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