Skip Navigation


AOBPreview originally published online on November 13, 2002
This Article
Right arrow Full Text Freely available
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrow Content Snapshot
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
91/1/55    most recent
mcg008v1
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Search for citing articles in:
ISI Web of Science (3)
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by OSADA, N.
Right arrow Articles by TAKEDA, H.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by OSADA, N.
Right arrow Articles by TAKEDA, H.
Agricola
Right arrow Articles by OSADA, N.
Right arrow Articles by TAKEDA, H.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

Annals of Botany 91: 55-63, 2003
© 2003 Annals of Botany Company

Branch Architecture, Light Interception and Crown Development in Saplings of a Plagiotropically Branching Tropical Tree, Polyalthia jenkinsii (Annonaceae)

NORIYUKI OSADA*,1 and HIROSHI TAKEDA1

1 Laboratory of Forest Ecology, Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-8502, Japan

* For correspondence at: Nikko Botanical Garden, Graduate School of Science, University of Tokyo, 1842 Hanaishi, Nikko, Tochigi 321-1435, Japan. Fax +81 288 543178, e-mail ss29326{at}mail.ecc.u-tokyo.ac.jp

Received: 10 May 2002; Returned for revision: 18 June 2002; Accepted: 3 October 2002    Published electronically: 13 November 2002

To investigate crown development patterns, branch architecture, branch-level light interception, and leaf and branch dynamics were studied in saplings of a plagiotropically branching tree species, Polyalthia jenkinsii Hk. f. & Thoms. (Annonaceae) in a Malaysian rain forest. Lengths of branches and parts of the branches lacking leaves (‘bare’ branches) were smaller in upper branches than in lower branches within crowns, whereas lengths of ‘leafy’ parts and the number of leaves per branch were larger in intermediate than in upper and lower branches. Maximum diffuse light absorption (DLA) of individual leaves was not related to sapling height or branch position within crowns, whereas minimum DLA was lower in tall saplings. Accordingly, branch-level light interception was higher in intermediate than in upper and lower branches. The leaf production rate was higher and leaf loss rate was smaller in upper than in intermediate and lower branches. Moreover, the branch production rate of new first-order branches was larger in the upper crowns. Thus, leaf and branch dynamics do not correspond to branch-level light interception in the different canopy zones. As a result of architectural constraints, branches at different vertical positions experience predictable light microenvironments in plagiotropic species. Accordingly, this pattern of carbon allocation among branches might be particularly important for growth and crown development in plagiotropic species.

Key words: Annonaceae, branch-level light interception, crown development, leaf dynamics, Malaysia, Pasoh Forest Reserve, plagiotropic species, Polyalthia jenkinsii.


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?




Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.