Leaf nitrogen distribution in relation to crown architecture in the tall canopy species, Fagus crenata

The theory of optimal leaf N distribution predicts that the C gain of plants is maximized when the N content per unit area (N(area)) scales with light availability, but most previous studies have demonstrated that the N distribution is not proportional to light availability. In tall trees, the leaves are often clustered on twigs (leaf cluster) and not evenly distributed within the crowns. Thus, we hypothesized that the suboptimal N distribution is partly caused by the limited capacity to translocate N between leaf clusters, and consequently, the relationship between light and N(area) differs for leaves in different clusters. We investigated the light availability and N content of all individual leaves within several leaf clusters on tall trees of a deciduous canopy species Fagus crenata in Japan. We observed that the within-cluster leaf N distribution patterns differed from the between-cluster patterns and the slopes of the relationships between light and N(area) were lower within clusters than between clusters. According to the detailed analysis of the N distribution within leaf clusters, N(area) was greater for current-year shoots with greater light availability or a larger total leaf area. The latter pattern was probably caused by the greater sink strength of the current-year shoots with a larger leaf area. These N distribution patterns suggest that leaf clusters are fairly independent with respect to their N use, and the productivity of real F. crenata crowns may be less than optimal.