Allometry, adult stature and regeneration requirement of 65 tree species on Barro Colorado Island, Panama

Bohlman, Stephanie A.; O’Brien, Sean T.

doi:10.1017/s0266467405003019

Cited by 103 publications

(157 citation statements)

References 61 publications

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“…These results agreed with the findings of King (1991) and Poorter et al (2003) and thus with the hypothesis that pioneer species must give priority to height growth to reach the canopy as soon as possible to avoid competition for light. Bohlman and O'Brien (2006) recently pointed out that the differences in size between functional types were only present in the early stages of plant development (up to 10 cm dbh) which covers the range of dbh of the present study.…”

Section: Structural and Allocational Differences Among Tropical Tree supporting

confidence: 61%

Root architecture and allocation patterns of eight native tropical species with different successional status used in open-grown mixed plantations in Panama

Coll

Potvin

Messier

et al. 2008

Trees

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We investigated biomass allocation and root architecture of eight tropical species with different successional status, as classified from the literature, along a size gradient up to 5 m. We focused on belowground development, which has received less attention than aboveground traits. A discriminant analysis based upon a combination of allocational and architectural traits clearly distinguished functional types and classified species according to successional status at a 100% success rate. For a given plant diameter, the pioneer species presented similar root biomass compared to the non-pioneer ones but higher cumulative root length and a higher number of root apices. A detailed study on the root system of a sub-sample of three species showed that the most late-successional species (Tabebuia rosea) had longer root internodes and a higher proportion of root biomass allocated to the taproot compared to the other two species (Hura crepitans and Luehea seemannii). Most pioneer species showed a higher leaf area ratio due to a higher specific leaf area (SLA). We conclude that the functional differences between pioneer and non-pioneer tree species found in natural forests were maintained in open-grown plantation conditions.

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Section: Structural and Allocational Differences Among Tropical Tree supporting

confidence: 61%

Root architecture and allocation patterns of eight native tropical species with different successional status used in open-grown mixed plantations in Panama

Coll

Potvin

Messier

et al. 2008

Trees

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“…In this study, we reconstruct the packing of tree crowns by using data on stem location and stem diameter at breast height. Additionally, relationships between stem diameter d (cm) and other tree characteristics [like tree height h (m) or crown radius c (m)] are used (18,19).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The structure of tropical forests and sphere packings

Taubert

Jahn

Dobner

et al. 2015

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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The search for simple principles underlying the complex architecture of ecological communities such as forests still challenges ecological theorists. We use tree diameter distributions-fundamental for deriving other forest attributes-to describe the structure of tropical forests. Here we argue that tree diameter distributions of natural tropical forests can be explained by stochastic packing of tree crowns representing a forest crown packing system: a method usually used in physics or chemistry. We demonstrate that tree diameter distributions emerge accurately from a surprisingly simple set of principles that include site-specific tree allometries, random placement of trees, competition for space, and mortality. The simple static model also successfully predicted the canopy structure, revealing that most trees in our two studied forests grow up to 30-50 m in height and that the highest packing density of about 60% is reached between the 25-and 40-m height layer. Our approach is an important step toward identifying a minimal set of processes responsible for generating the spatial structure of tropical forests.tropical forest | forest size structure | stochastic geometry | tree crown packing | leaf area F orests are one of the world's best investigated ecosystems (1-4). However, despite all of the studies devoted to forests, mechanistic connections among important features of forest physiognomy are not fully understood. Of crucial importance for this are tree diameter distributions, which have been used for decades in ecology and forestry to characterize the state of forests. Tree diameter distributions are available for many forests of the world and allow together with tree allometries prediction of other important forest attributes like leaf area (5), basal area (6), above-ground biomass (7), tree density, and the presence or absence of disturbances (8). Tropical forests usually include many small trees and far fewer large ones (1, 9). Diameter distributions can also be predicted from dynamic forest models (10-13) in which the forest structure emerges from the interplay between the dynamic processes of mortality, regeneration, competition, and growth.In this study, we argue that tree diameter distributions of natural tropical forests can be predicted by stochastic packing theory-a method usually used in physics or chemistry-together with sitespecific tree allometries. Packing systems have a long history of use across a wide range of disciplines, going back as far as Kepler's analysis of regular packing of spheres (i.e., with a maximum of 74% filled volume). Irregular stochastic packing of spheres has been analyzed in the last decades and shows lower maximal packing densities (e.g., jammed sphere packing systems in physics, with 55-64% filled volume) (14, 15). We show here that simple principles of stochastic packing theory together with tree allometries and other simple structural rules allow for an accurate prediction of observed tree diameter distributions and related structural attributes for two tropical for...

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“…We measured H and DBH for 36 Jacaranda and 20 Tabebuia as described in (30) and used nonlinear regression to fit these data to the following relationship:…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding strategies for seed dispersal by wind under contrasting atmospheric conditions

Wright

Trakhtenbrot

Bohrer

et al. 2008

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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Traits associated with seed dispersal vary tremendously among sympatric wind-dispersed plants. We used two contrasting tropical tree species, seed traps, micrometeorology, and a mechanistic model to evaluate how variation in four key traits affects seed dispersal by wind. The conceptual framework of movement ecology, wherein external factors (wind) interact with internal factors (plant traits) that enable movement and determine when and where movement occurs, fully captures the variable inputs and outputs of wind dispersal models and informs their interpretation. We used model calculations to evaluate the spatial pattern of dispersed seeds for the 16 factorial combinations of four traits. The study species differed dramatically in traits related to the timing of seed release, and a strong species by season interaction affected most aspects of the spatial pattern of dispersed seeds. A rich interplay among plant traits and seasonal differences in atmospheric conditions caused this interaction. Several of the same plant traits are crucial for both seed dispersal and other aspects of life history variation. Observed traits that limit dispersal are likely to be constrained by their life history consequences.atmospheric turbulence ͉ conditional seed release ͉ Coupled Eulerian-Lagrangian closure (CELC) model ͉ long distance dispersal ͉ tropical forest S eed dispersal allows plants to colonize new habitats, reach sites where resources favor regeneration, and escape pests and competition with siblings and mother and sets the spatial template for all post dispersal processes (1, 2). A mechanistic understanding of seed dispersal could lead to progress on many fronts but requires models that recreate the complex interactions between plants and seed dispersal vectors. Mechanistic models are perhaps most advanced for seeds dispersed by wind (3). We use a wind dispersal model developed and validated for forests and grasslands (4-6) to compare spatial patterns of seed dispersal for factorial combinations of four key plant traits observed for two contrasting tropical tree species. These comparisons, made within the conceptual framework provided by movement ecology (7), provide insight into the complex interplay between atmospheric conditions and plant traits that influence seed dispersal by wind.Seed fate motivates seed dispersal through natural selection (2). Wind dispersal models have traditionally focused on a single aspect of seed fate, the distance moved from the mother (3). Long dispersal distances sample more potential regeneration sites and minimize negative interactions with siblings and mother. The implications of coincident arrival in close proximity have been overlooked for wind-dispersed seeds (but see ref. 8 for animal-dispersed seeds). Coincident arrival of siblings increases the potential for sibling competition and pest facilitation, reduces the number of potential regeneration sites reached, and leads to future inbreeding among adults. Thus, coincident arrival impacts seed fate negatively. Dispersal distance an...

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Allometry, adult stature and regeneration requirement of 65 tree species on Barro Colorado Island, Panama

Cited by 103 publications

References 61 publications

Root architecture and allocation patterns of eight native tropical species with different successional status used in open-grown mixed plantations in Panama

Root architecture and allocation patterns of eight native tropical species with different successional status used in open-grown mixed plantations in Panama

The structure of tropical forests and sphere packings

Understanding strategies for seed dispersal by wind under contrasting atmospheric conditions

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