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Becoming less tolerant with age: sugar maple, shade, and ontogeny
Kerrie M Sendall1,2,3, Christopher H Lusk4, Peter B Reich5,6
1Department of Plant Biological Sciences, University of Minnesota, 1445 Gortner Avenue, St. Paul, MN, 55108, USA. senda002@umn.edu.
Oecologia
|August 31, 2015
Summary
Shade tolerance in Acer saccharum changes with age. Larger trees have reduced carbon gain due to self-shading and biomass shifts, increasing their light compensation point.
Area of Science:
- Forest Ecology
- Plant Physiology
- Plant Ecology
Background:
- Shade tolerance is often considered a fixed trait in tree species.
- Recent research indicates that light requirements can change during a tree's development (ontogeny).
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how gas exchange, biomass distribution, and self-shading influence changes in Acer saccharum's carbon balance as it grows.
- To understand ontogenetic shifts in shade tolerance for Acer saccharum.
Main Methods:
- Quantified aboveground biomass distribution in 18 juvenile Acer saccharum trees of varying heights.
- Measured gas exchange rates in leaf and stem tissues and quantified crown architecture.
- Utilized the YPLANT program to model self-shading and net carbon gain.
Main Results:
- Leaf photosynthesis and respiration per gram increased with plant size.
- Stem respiration per gram decreased with size due to shifts in stem diameter distribution.
- Increased self-shading and stem mass fraction with size reduced net carbon gain per gram of tissue.
Conclusions:
- Net carbon gain per gram of aboveground tissue decreased with increasing Acer saccharum size.
- The instantaneous aboveground light compensation point increased with plant size.
- Interactions between gas exchange, biomass allocation, and self-shading drive ontogenetic changes in shade tolerance.
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