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Tree Growth Rates (tree + growth_rate)
Selected AbstractsThe importance of low atmospheric CO2 and fire in promoting the spread of grasslands and savannasGLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY, Issue 7 2003W. J. BOND Abstract The distribution and abundance of trees can be strongly affected by disturbance such as fire. In mixed tree/grass ecosystems, recurrent grass-fuelled fires can strongly suppress tree saplings and therefore control tree dominance. We propose that changes in atmospheric [CO2] could influence tree cover in such metastable ecosystems by altering their postburn recovery rates relative to flammable herbaceous growth forms such as grasses. Slow sapling recovery rates at low [CO2] would favour the spread of grasses and a reduction of tree cover. To test the possible importance of [CO2]/fire interactions, we first used a Dynamic Global Vegetation Model (DGVM) to simulate biomass in grassy ecosystems in South Africa with and without fire. The results indicate that fire has a major effect under higher rainfall conditions suggesting an important role for fire/[CO2] interactions. We then used a demographic model of the effects of fire on mesic savanna trees to test the importance of grass/tree differences in postburn recovery rates. We adjusted grass and tree growth in the model according to the DGVM output of net primary production at different [CO2] relative to current conditions. The simulations predicted elimination of trees at [CO2] typical of the last glacial period (180 ppm) because tree growth rate is too slow (15 years) to grow to a fire-proof size of ca. 3 m. Simulated grass growth would produce an adequate fuel load for a burn in only 2 years. Simulations of preindustrial [CO2] (270 ppm) predict occurrence of trees but at low densities. The greatest increase in trees occurs from preindustrial to current [CO2] (360 ppm). The simulations are consistent with palaeo-records which indicate that trees disappeared from sites that are currently savannas in South Africa in the last glacial. Savanna trees reappeared in the Holocene. There has also been a large increase in trees over the last 50,100 years. We suggest that slow tree recovery after fire, rather than differential photosynthetic efficiencies in C3 and C4 plants, might have been the significant factor in the Late Tertiary spread of flammable grasslands under low [CO2] because open, high light environments would have been a prerequisite for the spread of C4 grasses. Our simulations suggest further that low [CO2] could have been a significant factor in the reduction of trees during glacial times, because of their slower regrowth after disturbance, with fire favouring the spread of grasses. [source] Tree growth is related to light interception and wood density in two mixed dipterocarp forests of MalaysiaFUNCTIONAL ECOLOGY, Issue 3 2005D. A. KING Summary 1The development of simple predictors of tree growth is important in understanding forest dynamics. For this purpose, tree height, crown width in two perpendicular directions, trunk diameter at 1·3 m height (d.b.h.) and crown illumination index (CI) were determined for 727 pole-sized trees (8,20 cm d.b.h.) of 21 species, on forest dynamics plots at Pasoh Forest Reserve, Peninsular Malaysia and Lambir Hills National Park, Sarawak, Malaysia. A light-interception index (LI = AcrCI2, where Acr is crown area) was calculated for each tree, and wood density (stem wood dry mass/fresh volume) was estimated for each species from reported values. 2Diameter growth rates were linearly correlated with LI (mean per species r2 = 0·45, excluding substantially damaged and vine-covered trees). 3Among trees of all species, diameter growth rate was highly correlated with LI/wood density. 4Mean growth rate per species varied 10-fold among the study species, but increased linearly with mean LI/wood density ratio (r2 = 0·78), consistent with the previous pattern. 5Thus much of the variability in tree growth rates, both within and among species, can be accounted for by the simple mechanistic assumption that, within a given size class, growth is proportional to light interception/wood density. [source] Holocene boundary dynamics of a northern Australian monsoon rainforest patch inferred from isotopic analysis of carbon, (14C and ,13C) and nitrogen (,15N) in soil organic matterAUSTRAL ECOLOGY, Issue 6 2004D. M. J. S. BOWMAN Abstract Soil organic matter (SOM) was sampled from lateritic soil profiles across an abrupt eucalypt savanna,monsoon rainforest boundary on the north coast of Croker Island, northern Australia. Accelerator mass spectrometry dating revealed that SOM that had accumulated at the base of these 1.5 m profiles had a radiocarbon age of about 5000 years. The mean carbon and nitrogen stable isotope composition of SOM from 10 cm deep layers from the surface, middle and base of three monsoon rainforest soil profiles was significantly different from the means for these layers in three adjacent savanna soil profiles, suggesting the isotopic ,footprint' of the vegetation boundary has been stable since the mid Holocene. Although there were no obvious environmental discontinuities associated with the boundary, the monsoon rainforest was found to occur on significantly more clay rich soils than the surrounding savanna. Tiny fragments of monsoon rainforest and abandoned ,nests' (large earthen mounds) of the orange-footed scrubfowl, an obligate monsoon rainforest species, occurred in the savanna, signalling that the rainforest was once more extensive. Despite episodic disturbances, such as tropical storm damage and fires, the stability of the boundary is probably maintained because clay rich soils enable monsoon rainforest tree species to grow rapidly and achieve canopy closure, thereby excluding grass and reducing the risk of fire. Conversely, slower tree growth rates, grass competition and fire on the savanna soils would impede the expansion of the rainforest although high rainfall periods with shorter dry seasons may enable rainforest trees to grow sufficiently quickly to colonize the savanna successfully. [source] Seedling establishment, mortality, tree growth rates and vigour of Acacia nilotica in different Astrebla grassland habitats: Implications for invasionAUSTRAL ECOLOGY, Issue 3 2002Ian J. Radford Abstract A demographic study was conducted in the northern Australian Astrebla grasslands to determine the importance of habitat type in influencing invasion patterns of Acacia nilotica, an exotic leguminous tree from Africa and Asia. One of the repeated patterns observed for A. nilotica is that denser populations are often associated with riparian habitats. Data available on this species do not enable us to determine which of a number of processes has lead to the formation of this pattern. Several explanations were tested for patterns in tree abundance: (i) that more seedlings emerge in wetter habitats; (ii) that mortality is lower in wetter habitats; (iii) that growth rates are faster in wetter habitats; and (iv) that plants are more vigorous (as indicated by leaf cover, flowering intensity and predation rates) over longer periods in wetter habitats. The study was stratified across three habitat types, perennial and ephemeral riparian and non-riparian, which are characteristic of Astrebla grasslands and differentiated by the availability of water. In addition to testing for habitat-linked differentiation in demography, data were also used to test whether seedling emergence, mortality, growth and vigour varied between sites with cattle versus sheep. The data collected indicated that seedling emergence, determined primarily by livestock dispersal, was likely to be the dominant influence on patterns of A. nilotica invasion. Mortality and growth rates were similar in ephemeral riparian and non-riparian habitats, whereas perennial riparian habitats had more rapid growth rates, which may increase the rate of invasion in these areas. Plant vigour was also greater over longer periods in perennial riparian habitats with greater leaf cover, longer flowering season and fewer insect borer holes. Livestock species were found to have little influence on the demography of A. nilotica plants in this study. Very low growth rates and high mortality in A. nilotica populations are likely to lead to net decline in ephemeral riparian and non-riparian habitats in the long term. The importance of episodic recruitment in the maintenance of A. nilotica populations is discussed. [source] | ||||||||||