Beyond the cones: How crown shape plasticity alters aboveground competition for space and light-Evidence from terrestrial laser scanning
Result description
There are many indications that for a true understanding of aboveground canopy competition, the concept of symmetric trees is oversimplified and unsatisfactory; in spite of that, this concept is still commonly used in forest ecology research. In this study we analyzed and quantified the effect of tree/crown asymmetry on crown-to-crown interactions and canopy light availability with respect to tree size and species. Geometric crown models were used to represent the concept of symmetric trees, while data from terrestrial laser scanning were employed to constitute real crown shapes, positions and mutual crown-to-crown interactions. We developed an original approach for measuring three-dimensional crown asymmetry, separating the effect of positional crown shift and local crown plasticity, and analyzed their effect in aboveground competition for space and light. In comparison with reality, the models neglecting tree asymmetry were only poor predictors of trees mutually competing for space. Geometric models taking the positional crown shift into account were good predictors of 'space competitors' for Norway spruce, but were still insufficient for European beech. This is because for spruce crown shifting seems to be the major neighbor avoidance strategy, while beech in addition exhibited high local crown shape plasticity. Additionally, of the two species beech showed overall greater crown plasticity, which (in contrast to spruce) decreased only slowly with increasing tree size. Importantly, the concept of symmetric trees significantly underestimates the potential canopy light availability (and thus overestimates canopy competition for light), because asymmetric and the plastic 'puzzle-like' arrangement of real tree crowns is more effective than assumed symmetric organization. This most likely inserts a systematic bias into stand growth simulators that are based on the concept of symmetric trees.
Keywords
Terrestrial laser scanningGeometric shapeAboveground competitionCrown asymmetryCrown volumeTree crown
The result's identifiers
Result code in IS VaVaI
Alternative codes found
RIV/00027073:_____/19:N0000017
Result on the web
DOI - Digital Object Identifier
Alternative languages
Result language
angličtina
Original language name
Beyond the cones: How crown shape plasticity alters aboveground competition for space and light-Evidence from terrestrial laser scanning
Original language description
There are many indications that for a true understanding of aboveground canopy competition, the concept of symmetric trees is oversimplified and unsatisfactory; in spite of that, this concept is still commonly used in forest ecology research. In this study we analyzed and quantified the effect of tree/crown asymmetry on crown-to-crown interactions and canopy light availability with respect to tree size and species. Geometric crown models were used to represent the concept of symmetric trees, while data from terrestrial laser scanning were employed to constitute real crown shapes, positions and mutual crown-to-crown interactions. We developed an original approach for measuring three-dimensional crown asymmetry, separating the effect of positional crown shift and local crown plasticity, and analyzed their effect in aboveground competition for space and light. In comparison with reality, the models neglecting tree asymmetry were only poor predictors of trees mutually competing for space. Geometric models taking the positional crown shift into account were good predictors of 'space competitors' for Norway spruce, but were still insufficient for European beech. This is because for spruce crown shifting seems to be the major neighbor avoidance strategy, while beech in addition exhibited high local crown shape plasticity. Additionally, of the two species beech showed overall greater crown plasticity, which (in contrast to spruce) decreased only slowly with increasing tree size. Importantly, the concept of symmetric trees significantly underestimates the potential canopy light availability (and thus overestimates canopy competition for light), because asymmetric and the plastic 'puzzle-like' arrangement of real tree crowns is more effective than assumed symmetric organization. This most likely inserts a systematic bias into stand growth simulators that are based on the concept of symmetric trees.
Czech name
—
Czech description
—
Classification
Type
Jimp - Article in a specialist periodical, which is included in the Web of Science database
CEP classification
—
OECD FORD branch
40102 - Forestry
Result continuities
Project
Continuities
S - Specificky vyzkum na vysokych skolach
Others
Publication year
2019
Confidentiality
S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů
Data specific for result type
Name of the periodical
Agricultural and Forest Meteorology
ISSN
0168-1923
e-ISSN
—
Volume of the periodical
264
Issue of the periodical within the volume
15 January
Country of publishing house
NL - THE KINGDOM OF THE NETHERLANDS
Number of pages
12
Pages from-to
188-199
UT code for WoS article
000452931700016
EID of the result in the Scopus database
2-s2.0-85055289195
Basic information
Result type
Jimp - Article in a specialist periodical, which is included in the Web of Science database
OECD FORD
Forestry
Year of implementation
2019