scholarly journals The Economy of Canopy Space Occupation and Shade Production in Early- to Late-Successional Temperate Tree Species and Their Relation to Productivity

Forests ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 317 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christoph Leuschner ◽  
Marc Hagemeier

Light capture is linked to occupation of canopy space by tree crowns, which requires investment of carbon and nutrients. We hypothesize that (i) late-successional trees invest more in casting shade than in occupying space than early-successional trees, and (ii) shade production and crown volume expansion are generally greater in more productive species. For six Central European early-successional (Betula pendula, Pinus sylvestris), mid/late-successional (Quercus petraea, Carpinus betulus), and late-successional tree species (Tilia cordata, Fagus sylvatica), we measured through full-tree harvests (1) crown volume, (2) the costs of canopy space exploration (carbon (C) and nutrients invested to fill crown volume), of space occupation (annual foliage production per volume), and of shade production (foliage needed to reduce light transmittance), and (3) related the costs to aboveground productivity (ANPP). The C and nutrient costs of canopy volume exploration and occupation were independent of the species’ seral stage, but increased with ANPP. In contrast, the cost of shade production decreased from early-to late-successional species, suggesting that the economy of shade production is more decisive for the competitive superiority of late-successional species than the economy of canopy space exploration and occupation.

2008 ◽  
Vol 68 (4) ◽  
pp. 781-793 ◽  
Author(s):  
GM. Souza ◽  
RV. Ribeiro ◽  
AM. Sato ◽  
MS. Oliveira

This study addressed some questions about how a suitable leaf carbon balance can be attained for different functional groups of tropical tree species under contrasting forest light environments. The study was carried out in a fragment of semi-deciduous seasonal forest in Narandiba county, São Paulo Estate, Brazil. 10-month-old seedlings of four tropical tree species, Bauhinia forficata Link (Caesalpinioideae) and Guazuma ulmifolia Lam. (Sterculiaceae) as light-demanding pioneer species, and Hymenaea courbaril L. (Caesalpinioideae) and Esenbeckia leiocarpa Engl. (Rutaceae) as late successional species, were grown under gap and understorey conditions. Diurnal courses of net photosynthesis (Pn) and transpiration were recorded with an open system portable infrared gas analyzer in two different seasons. Dark respiration and photorespiration were also evaluated in the same leaves used for Pn measurements after dark adaptation. Our results showed that diurnal-integrated dark respiration (Rdi) of late successional species were similar to pioneer species. On the other hand, photorespiration rates were often higher in pioneer than in late successional species in the gap. However, the relative contribution of these parameters to leaf carbon balance was similar in all species in both environmental conditions. Considering diurnal-integrated values, gross photosynthesis (Pgi) was dramatically higher in gap than in understorey, regardless of species. In both evaluated months, there were no differences among species of different functional groups under shade conditions. The same was observed in May (dry season) under gap conditions. In such light environment, pioneers were distinguished from late successional species in November (wet season), showing that ecophysiological performance can have a straightforward relation to seasonality.


2021 ◽  
Vol 64 (5) ◽  
pp. 1611-1624
Author(s):  
Worasit Sangjan ◽  
Sindhuja Sankaran

HighlightsTree canopy architecture traits are associated with its productivity and management.Understanding these traits is important for both precision agriculture and phenomics applications.Remote sensing platforms (satellite, UAV, etc.) and multiple approaches (SfM, LiDAR) have been used to assess these traits.3D reconstruction of tree canopies allows the measurement of tree height, crown area, and canopy volume.Abstract. Tree canopy architecture is associated with light use efficiency and thus productivity. Given the modern training systems in orchard tree fruit systems, modification of tree architecture is becoming important for easier management of crops (e.g., pruning, thinning, chemical application, harvesting, etc.) while maintaining fruit quality and quantity. Similarly, in forest environments, architecture can influence the competitiveness and balance between tree species in the ecosystem. This article reviews the literature related to sensing approaches used for assessing architecture traits and the factors that influence such evaluation processes. Digital imagery integrated with structure from motion analysis and both terrestrial and aerial light detection and ranging (LiDAR) systems have been commonly used. In addition, satellite imagery and other techniques have been explored. Some of the major findings and some critical considerations for such measurement methods are summarized here. Keywords: Canopy volume, LiDAR system, Structure from motion, Tree height, UAV.


2013 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. 15373-15414 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Otto ◽  
D. Berveiller ◽  
F.-M. Bréon ◽  
N. Delpierre ◽  
G. Geppert ◽  
...  

Abstract. Despite an emerging body of literature linking canopy albedo to forest management, understanding of the process is still fragmented. We combined a stand-level forest gap model with a canopy radiation transfer model and satellite-derived model parameters to quantify the effects of forest thinning, that is removing trees at a certain time during the forest rotation, on summertime canopy albedo. The effects of different forest species (pine, beech, oak) and four thinning strategies (light to intense thinning regimes) were examined. During stand establishment, summertime canopy albedo is driven by tree species. In the later stages of stand development, the effect of tree species on summertime canopy albedo decreases in favour of an increasing influence of forest thinning on summertime canopy albedo. These trends continue until the end of the rotation where thinning explains up to 50% of the variance in near-infrared canopy albedo and up to 70% of the variance in visible canopy albedo. More intense thinning lowers the summertime shortwave albedo in the canopy by as much as 0.02 compared to unthinned forest. The structural changes associated with forest thinning can be described by the change in LAI in combination with crown volume. However, forests with identical canopy structure can have different summertime albedo values due to their location: the further north a forest is situated, the more the solar zenith angle increases and thus the higher is the summertime canopy albedo, independent of the wavelength. Despite the increase of absolute summertime canopy albedo values with latitude, the difference in canopy albedo between managed and unmanaged forest decreases with increasing latitude. Forest management thus strongly altered summertime forest albedo.


2005 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 383-395 ◽  
Author(s):  
Silvia Iriarte Vivar Balderrama ◽  
Robin L. Chazdon

The dependence of tree seedling survival and growth on light availability was evaluated over 15 mo in three second-growth, wet forest stands (15–18 y old) in north-eastern Costa Rica. Seedlings of four canopy tree species (Dipteryx panamensis, Hyeronima alchorneoides, Virola koschnyi and Vochysia guatemalensis) were planted into four canopy treatments in three replicated stands and in a pasture site, spanning a nearly complete gradient of light availability. Survival and growth of all species increased in response to increasing light availability, but species differed in survival in shaded microsites (6–20% light transmittance) and in growth increments per light increase. Hyeronima showed the highest mortality at low light levels and the highest relative height growth increase per light increase. In contrast, Virola showed high survival at low and moderate light, but showed the lowest leaf area and above-ground biomass per light increase among all species. Dipteryx and Vochysia maintained relatively high rates of survival and growth across the entire light gradient. Hyeronima and Virola showed trade-offs between growth and survival responses to light, unlike Dipteryx and Vochysia. Differences among species in seedling survival at low light may be determined by a variety of physiological and morphological traits that may or may not be mechanistically linked to growth responses.


Forests ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 925 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marc Hagemeier ◽  
Christoph Leuschner

The optical properties of leaves and canopies determine the availability of radiation for photosynthesis and the penetration of light through tree canopies. How leaf absorptance, reflectance and transmittance and radiation transmission through tree canopies change with forest succession is not well understood. We measured the leaf optical properties in the photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) range of five Central European early-, mid- and late-successional temperate broadleaf tree species and studied the minimum light demand of the lowermost shade leaves and of the species’ offspring. Leaf absorptance in the 350–720 nm range varied between c. 70% and 77% in the crown of all five species with only a minor variation from the sun to the shade crown and between species. However, specific absorptance (absorptance normalized by mass per leaf area) increased about threefold from sun to shade leaves with decreasing leaf mass area (LMA) in the late-successional species (Carpinus betulus L., Tilia cordata Mill., Fagus sylvatica L.), while it was generally lower in the early- to mid-successional species (Betula pendula Roth, Quercus petraea (Matt.)Liebl.), where it changed only a little from sun to shade crown. Due to a significant increase in leaf area index, canopy PAR transmittance to the forest floor decreased from early- to late-successional species from ~15% to 1%–3% of incident PAR, linked to a decrease in the minimum light demand of the lowermost shade leaves (from ~20 to 1%–2%) and of the species’ saplings (from ~20 to 3%–4%). The median light intensity on the forest floor under a closed canopy was in all species lower than the saplings’ minimum light demand. We conclude that the optical properties of the sun leaves are very similar among early-, mid- and late-successional tree species, while the shade leaves of these groups differ not only morphologically, but also in terms of the resource investment needed to achieve high PAR absorptance.


ISRN Forestry ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 ◽  
pp. 1-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefanie Fischer ◽  
Burkhard Neuwirth

An improved understanding of the spatiotemporal climate/growth relationship of our forests is of particular importance for assessing the consequences of climate warming. A total of 67 stands of beech (Fagus sylvatica L.), pedunculate oak (Quercus robur L.), sessile oak (Quercus petraea (Matt.) Liebl.), Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.), and spruce (Picea abies Karst.) from sites located in the transition zone from the lowlands to the low mountain ranges of West Germany have been analysed. A combination of pointer year and cluster analysis was used to find groups with similar growth anomaly patterns over the 1941–2000 period. Shifted reaction patterns especially characterise differences in the growth behaviour of the clusters. These are controlled by different reactions to the climate conditions in winter and spring and are determined by a complex system of forcing factors. Results of this study reflect the enormous importance of the length of the growing season. Increasing the duration of the vegetation period climate warming can change the climate/growth relationship of trees, thereby confounding climate reconstructions which use tree rings. Since forcing factors have been detected that are more important than the tree species, we recommend the application of growth-specific approaches for the analysis of tree species’ vulnerability to climate.


2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (24) ◽  
pp. 10861-10870 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bram K. Sercu ◽  
Lander Baeten ◽  
Frieke van Coillie ◽  
An Martel ◽  
Luc Lens ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Vol 46 (5) ◽  
pp. 371-384
Author(s):  
Joshua Petter ◽  
Paul Ries ◽  
Ashley D’Antonio ◽  
Ryan Contreras

As urban areas expand, there are a greater number of urban trees; however, development often leads to a reduction in urban trees in many areas. A reduction in the canopy volume of trees results in a reduction in the number of benefits. Additionally, urban trees can have additional stressors and must be more actively managed to maintain those services. Selecting tree species for the right site can lead to greater benefits and longer-lived trees. Increasing diversity of urban trees can help to mitigate some of the threats facing urban forests, such as invasive pests and climate change. We surveyed Tree City USA designated cities across Oregon and Washington to explore how they are selecting tree species for their municipalities. Responses were recorded for 79 out of 151 municipalities for a 52.3% response rate. Both open-ended questions and descriptive statistics were used to triangulate how managers are selecting tree species. Emergent themes in open-ended responses indicate a variety of justifications for tree species selection and the challenges of balancing those criteria. There is evidence to suggest that these municipalities are actively diversifying the urban forest; however, there are still 10 municipalities that reported ash (Fraxinus spp.) in their top 5 most frequently planted species in 2016. Many municipalities are still planting large quantities of maple (Acer spp.). Overplanting certain genera and species can lead to an increase in susceptibility to pests and pathogens. We recommend an increase in consideration for the diversification of tree species in urban areas.


2013 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 173-180 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ivar Vleut ◽  
Samuel Israel Levy-Tacher ◽  
Willem Frederik de Boer ◽  
Jorge Galindo-González ◽  
Neptalí Ramírez-Marcial

Abstract:Species-specific traits of trees affect ecosystem dynamics, defining forest structure and understorey development. Ochroma pyramidale is a fast-growing tree species, with life-history traits that include low wood density, short-lived large leaves and a narrow open thin crown. We evaluated forest succession in O. pyramidale-dominated secondary forests, diverse secondary forests, both 10–15 y since abandonment, and rain forests by comparing height, density and basal area of all trees (> 5 cm dbh). Furthermore, we compared species richness of understorey trees and shrubs, and basal area and density of trees of early- and late-successional species (< 5 cm dbh) between forest types. We found that tree basal area (mean ± SD: 32 ± 0.9 m2 ha−1) and height (12.4 ± 1.8 m) of canopy trees were higher, and density (1450 ± 339 ha−1) lower in O. pyramidale forests than in diverse forests, and more similar to rain forest. Understorey shrub diversity and tree seedling density and diversity were lower in O. pyramidale forests than in diverse forests, but these forest types had a similar density of early- and late-successional trees. Canopy openness (> 15%) and leaf litter (> 10 cm) were both highest in O. pyramidale forests, which positively affected density of understorey trees and shrubs and negatively affected density of late-successional trees. In conclusion, O. pyramidale forests presented structural features similar to those of rain forest, but this constrained the establishment of understorey tree species, especially late-successional species, decreasing successional development.


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