Young apple tree development under agroforestry radiative conditions: a multi-scale morphological and architectural...

Area of Science:

• Agronomy
• Forestry
• Plant Physiology

Background:

• Agroforestry is a key strategy for climate change adaptation and mitigation.
• Understanding plant responses to shade is crucial for agroforestry's agronomic viability, especially for fruit trees in temperate climates.
• Limited knowledge exists on the physiological and architectural responses of fruit trees, like apple trees, to agroforestry conditions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present a dataset on the architecture and morphology of young apple trees grown under different shade conditions in an agroforestry plot.
• To investigate the relationships between shade-related agroforestry environments and apple tree morphological and architectural plasticity.
• To provide data for understanding early tree development in response to light gradients.

Main Methods:

• Acquisition of architectural and morphological data for 45 young apple trees over two years.
• Data collection across three growing conditions: open field, between walnut trees, and along walnut tree rows.
• Utilizing multi-scale tree graphs to store plant topology, geometry, and attributes at whole tree, growth unit, and internode scales.

Main Results:

• The dataset includes traits such as organ fate, growth unit length and leaf area, and branch angles.
• Measurements encompass leaf area, flower and fruit counts, and fruit drops.
• Ancillary data on shoots were collected to derive allometric relationships and estimate seasonal radiation exposure.

Conclusions:

• The multi-scale dataset and varying light conditions enable investigation of shade-related environmental impacts on apple tree plasticity.
• This research contributes to understanding early apple tree development in temperate agroforestry systems.
• The findings are vital for optimizing agroforestry practices for fruit production under climate change scenarios.