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Do trees have constant branch divergence angles?
Robert M Beyer1, David Basler2, Pasi Raumonen3
1Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, United Kingdom.
Journal of Theoretical Biology
|December 28, 2020
Summary
Tree branch divergence angles do not follow regular patterns like herbaceous plants. Analysis of European beech, Norway spruce, and Scots pine revealed uniform distributions, likely due to bud development and branch shedding.
Area of Science:
- Botany
- Plant morphology
- Forestry
Background:
- Herbaceous plants exhibit regular phyllotactic patterns generated by a constant divergence angle between successive lateral organs.
- This pattern originates at the shoot apical meristem and is maintained throughout development.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if tree branches along the trunk display similar regular phyllotactic patterns.
- To empirically estimate the distribution of divergence angles between successive branches in mature trees.
Main Methods:
- Utilized terrestrial laser scanning to obtain branch skeleton data from European beech, Norway spruce, and Scots pine.
- Empirically estimated the distributions of divergence angles between successive branches along tree trunks.
Main Results:
- Branch divergence angles in the studied tree species did not cluster around a specific value.
- The distributions of branch divergence angles exhibited statistical properties characteristic of a uniform distribution.
Conclusions:
- Tree branch arrangements do not follow the regular phyllotactic patterns observed in herbaceous plants.
- The uniform distribution of branch angles is hypothesized to result from stochasticity in bud development and branch shedding.
- Mathematical modeling supports that high bud mortality and branch shedding rates lead to uniform divergence angle distributions even with constant bud angles.
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