AOBPreview originally published online on December 7, 2004
Annals of Botany 2005 95(3):535-547; doi:10.1093/aob/mci051
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Annals of Botany 95/3 © Annals of Botany Company 2004; all rights reserved
Variation in Crown Light Utilization Characteristics among Tropical Canopy Trees
1 Department of Botany, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA and 2 Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado 2902, Balboa, Panama
* For correspondence. E-mail kitajima{at}botany.ufl.edu
Received: 2 July 2003 Returned for revision: 21 August 2003 Accepted: 7 November 2003 Published electronically: 7 December 2004
• Background and Aims Light extinction through crowns of canopy trees determines light availability at lower levels within forests. The goal of this paper is the exploration of foliage distribution and light extinction in crowns of five canopy tree species in relation to their shoot architecture, leaf traits (mean leaf angle, life span, photosynthetic characteristics) and successional status (from pioneers to persistent).
• Methods Light extinction was examined at three hierarchical levels of foliage organization, the whole crown, the outermost canopy and the individual shoots, in a tropical moist forest with direct canopy access with a tower crane. Photon flux density and cumulative leaf area index (LAI) were measured at intervals of 0·25–1 m along multiple vertical transects through three to five mature tree crowns of each species to estimate light extinction coefficients (K).
• Results Cecropia longipes, a pioneer species with the shortest leaf life span, had crown LAI <0·5. Among the remaining four species, crown LAI ranged from 2 to 8, and species with orthotropic terminal shoots exhibited lower light extinction coefficients (0·35) than those with plagiotropic shoots (0·53–0·80). Within each type, later successional species exhibited greater maximum LAI and total light extinction. A dense layer of leaves at the outermost crown of a late successional species resulted in an average light extinction of 61 % within 0·5 m from the surface. In late successional species, leaf position within individual shoots does not predict the light availability at the individual leaf surface, which may explain their slow decline of photosynthetic capacity with leaf age and weak differentiation of sun and shade leaves.
• Conclusion Later-successional tree crowns, especially those with orthotropic branches, exhibit lower light extinction coefficients, but greater total LAI and total light extinction, which contribute to their efficient use of light and competitive dominance.
Key words: Anacardium excelsum, Antirrhoea trichantha, architecture, Castilla elastica, Cecropia longipes, crown LAI, forest canopy, leaf angle, light extinction coefficient, Luehea seemannii, photosynthesis, tropical trees
CiteULike 
Connotea 
Del.icio.us What's this?
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  J. M. Posada, M. J. Lechowicz, and K. Kitajima Optimal photosynthetic use of light by tropical tree crowns achieved by adjustment of individual leaf angles and nitrogen content Ann. Bot., March 1, 2009; 103(5): 795 - 805. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
N. G. Selaya, N. P. R. Anten, R. J. Oomen, M. Matthies, and M. J. A. Werger Above-ground Biomass Investments and Light Interception of Tropical Forest Trees and Lianas Early in Succession Ann. Bot., January 1, 2007; 99(1): 141 - 151. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 L. Sack, P. J. Melcher, W. H. Liu, E. Middleton, and T. Pardee How strong is intracanopy leaf plasticity in temperate deciduous trees? Am. J. Botany, June 1, 2006; 93(6): 829 - 839. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 H. Poorter, S. Pepin, T. Rijkers, Y. de Jong, J. R. Evans, and C. Korner Construction costs, chemical composition and payback time of high- and low-irradiance leaves J. Exp. Bot., January 1, 2006; 57(2): 355 - 371. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
K. HIKOSAKA Leaf Canopy as a Dynamic System: Ecophysiology and Optimality in Leaf Turnover Ann. Bot., February 1, 2005; 95(3): 521 - 533. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
N. P. R. ANTEN Optimal Photosynthetic Characteristics of Individual Plants in Vegetation Stands and Implications for Species Coexistence Ann. Bot., February 1, 2005; 95(3): 495 - 506. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
T. HIROSE and I. TERASHIMA Preface: Structure and Function of Plant Canopies Ann. Bot., February 1, 2005; 95(3): 481 - 482. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|