Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-sxzjt Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-18T23:50:06.264Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Allometry of emergent tree species from saplings to above-canopy adults in a Costa Rican rain forest

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 September 2011

David A. King  and
Deborah A. Clark
David A. King*
Affiliation:
Biological and Ecological Engineering, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331USA
Deborah A. Clark
Affiliation:
University of Missouri-St. Louis, St Lous, MO 63121–4400USA La Selva Biological Station, Puerto Viejo de Sarapiqui, Costa Rica
*
1Corresponding author. Email dkingaz@yahoo.com
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract:

Relations between crown width and tree height and trunk diameter and tree height were measured for trees of all sizes of six large emergent species (Balizia elegans, Dipteryx panamensis, Hieronyma alchorneoides, Hymenolobium mesoamericanum, Lecythis ampla and Terminalia oblonga) in the lowland tropical wet forest at La Selva, Costa Rica. Thirty to 45 individuals were chosen per species to provide a relatively even height distribution from 1 m up to the maximum encountered height. Among small juveniles, the crown widths of the two species with the smallest leaves and horizontally spreading branches were greater than those of the four large-leaved species. On reaching and exceeding the canopy, all but one species showed pronounced increases in crown width with increasing height. These patterns are linked to leaf size and first branching height in small juveniles and low densities of emergent trees at La Selva and other tropical forests, where crown expansion in all directions enhances light interception under the equatorial sun in trees that are not crowded by neighbours of similar height.

Keywords

Balizia elegansCosta RicaDipteryx panamensisemergent treeHieronyma alchorneoidesHymenolobium mesoamericanumleaf sizeLecythis amplaTerminalia oblongatree allometrytropical rain forest
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Tropical Ecology , Volume 27 , Issue 6 , November 2011 , pp. 573 - 579
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2011

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

LITERATURE CITED

ASHTON, P. S. 1964. A manual of the dipterocarp trees of Brunei State. Oxford University Press, Oxford. 254 pp.Google Scholar
ASHTON, P. S. & HALL, P. 1992. Comparisons of structure among mixed dipterocarp forests of north-western Borneo. Journal of Ecology 80:459–481.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
BOHLMAN, S. & O'BRIEN, S. 2006. Allometry, adult stature and regeneration requirement of 65 tree species on Barro Colorado Island, Panama. Journal of Tropical Ecology 22:123–136.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
CLARK, D. A. & CLARK, D. B. 1992. Life history diversity of canopy and emergent trees in a neotropical rain forest. Ecological Monographs 62:315–344.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
CLARK, D. A. & CLARK, D. B. 2001. Getting to the canopy: tree height growth in a neotropical rain forest. Ecology 82:1460–1472.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
CLARK, D. B. & CLARK, D. A. 1991. The impact of physical damage on canopy tree regeneration in tropical rain forest. Journal of Ecology 79:447–457.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
CLARK, D. B. & CLARK, D. A. 1996. Abundance, growth and mortality of very large trees in neotropical lowland rain forest. Forest Ecology and Management 80:235–244.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
CLARK, D. B. & CLARK, D. A. 2006. Annual tree growth, mortality, physical condition and microsite in an old-growth lowland tropical rain forest, 1983–2000. Ecology 87: 2132.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
CLARK, D. B., CLARK, D. A. & READ, J. M. 1998. Edaphic variation and the mesoscale distribution of tree species in a neotropical forest. Journal of Ecology 86:101–112.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
CLARK, D. B., OLIVAS, P. C., OBERBAUER, S. F., CLARK, D. A. & RYAN, M. G. 2008. First direct landscape-scale measurement of tropical rain forest Leaf Area Index, a key driver of global primary productivity. Ecology Letters 11:163–172.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
DOMEC, J.-C., LACHENBRUCK, B., MEINZER, F. C., WOODRUFF, D. R., WARREN, J. M. & MCCULLOH, K. A. 2008. Maximum height in a conifer is associated with conflicting requirements for xylem design. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 105:12069–12074.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
GREENHILL, A. G. 1881. Determination of the greatest height consistent with stability that a vertical pole or mast can be made, and the greatest height to which a tree of given proportions can grow. Proceedings of the Cambridge Philosophical Society 4:65–73.Google Scholar
HALLÉ, F., OLDEMAN, R. A. A. & TOMLINSON, P. B. 1978. Tropical trees and forests. Springer, New York. 441 pp.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
HOLBROOK, N. M. & PUTZ, F. E. 1989. Influence of neighbors on tree form: effects of lateral shade and prevention of sway on the allometry of Liquidambar styraciflua (sweet gum). American Journal of Botany 76:1740–1749.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
KING, D. 1981. Tree dimensions: maximizing the rate of height growth in dense stands. Oecologia 51:351–356.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
KING, D. A. 1996. Allometry and life history of tropical trees. Journal of Tropical Ecology 12:25–44.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
KING, D. A. 1998. Influence of leaf size on tree architecture: first branch height and crown dimensions in tropical rain forest trees. Trees 12:438–445.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
KING, D. A. & MAINDONALD, J. H. 1999. Tree architecture in relation to leaf dimensions and tree stature in temperate and tropical rain forests. Journal of Ecology 87:1012–1024.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
KING, D. A., WRIGHT, S. J. & CONNELL, J. H. 2006. The contribution of interspecific variation in maximum tree height to tropical and temperate diversity. Journal of Tropical Ecology 22:11–24.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
KING, D. A., DAVIES, S. J., TAN, S. & NUR SUPARDI, M. N. 2009. Trees approach gravitational limits to height in tall lowland forests of Malaysia. Functional Ecology 23:284–291.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
KOHYAMA, T. 1993. Size-structured tree populations in gap-dynamic forest – the forest architecture hypothesis for the stable coexistence of species. Journal of Ecology 81:131–143.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
KOHYAMA, T., SUZUKI, E., PARTOMIHARDJO, T., YAMADA, T. & KUBO, T. 2003. Tree species differentiation in growth, recruitment and allometry in relation to maximum height in a Bornean mixed dipterocarp forest. Journal of Ecology 91:797–806.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
KUULUVAINEN, T. 1992. Tree architectures adapted to efficient light utilization: is there a basis for latitudinal gradients? Oikos 65:275–284.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
LAWTON, R. O. 1982. Wind stress and elfin stature in a montane rain forest tree: an adaptive explanation. American Journal of Botany 69:1224–1230.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
NIKLAS, K. J. 1994. Interspecific allometries of critical buckling height and actual plant height. American Journal of Botany 8:1275–1279.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
OSUNKOYA, O. O., OMAR-ALI, K., AMIT, K., DAYAN, J., DAUD, D. S. & SHENG, T. K. 2007. Comparative height–crown allometry and mechanical design in 22 tree species of Kuala Belalong rainforest, Brunei, Borneo. American Journal of Botany 94:1951–1962.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
POORTER, L., BONGERS, F., STERCK, F. J. & HANNSJÖRG, W. 2003. Architecture of 53 rain forest tree species differing in adult stature and shade tolerance. Ecology 84:602–608.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
POORTER, L., BONGERS, L. & BONGERS, F. 2006. Architecture of 54 moist-forest tree species: traits, trade-offs, and functional groups. Ecology 87:1289–1301.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
REICH, A., HOLBROOK, N. M. & EWEL, J. J. 2004. Developmental and physiological correlates of leaf size in Hyeronima alchorneoides (Euphorbiaceae). American Journal of Botany 91:582–589.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
STERCK, F. J., CLARK, D. B., CLARK, D. A. & BONGERS, F. 1999. Light fluctuations, crown traits, and response delays for tree saplings in a Costa Rican lowland rain forest. Journal of Tropical Ecology 15:83–95.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
SUZUKI, E. 1999. Diversity in specific gravity and water content of wood among Bornean tropical and rainforest trees. Ecological Research 14:211–224.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
THOMAS, S. C. 1996. Asymptotic height as a predictor of growth and allometric characteristics in Malaysian rain forest trees. American Journal of Botany 83:556–566.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
USDA (UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE). 1999. Wood handbook: Wood as an engineering material. Forest Products Laboratory General Technical Report FPL–GTR–113.Google Scholar
VAN PELT, R., SILLET, S. C. & NADKARNI, N. M. 2004. Quantifying and visualizing canopy structure in tall forests: methods and a case study. Pp. 49–72 in Lowman, M. D. & Rinker, H. B. (eds.). Forest canopies. (Second edition). Elsevier, Burlington.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
WARTON, D. I., WRIGHT, I. J., FALSTER, D. S. & WESTOBY, M. 2006. Bivariate line-fitting methods for allometry. Biological Reviews 81:259–291.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
WHITMORE, T. C. 1984. Tropical rain forests of the Far East. (Second edition). Clarendon Press, Oxford. 368 pp.Google Scholar