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Age- and size-related changes in physiological characteristics and chemical composition of Acer pseudoplatanus and Fraxinus excelsior trees

Forest growth is an important factor both economically and ecologically, and it follows a predictable trend with age. Generally, growth accelerates as canopies develop in young forests and declines substantially soon after maximum leaf area is attained. The causes of this decline are multiple and ma...

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Main Authors: Abdul Hamid, Hazandy, Mencuccini, Maurizio
Format: Article
Language:English
English
Published: 2009
Online Access:http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/5645/1/Age-and-size-related.pdf
http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/5645/
http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/treephys/tpn001
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spelling my.upm.eprints.56452015-11-18T07:48:46Z http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/5645/ Age- and size-related changes in physiological characteristics and chemical composition of Acer pseudoplatanus and Fraxinus excelsior trees Abdul Hamid, Hazandy Mencuccini, Maurizio Forest growth is an important factor both economically and ecologically, and it follows a predictable trend with age. Generally, growth accelerates as canopies develop in young forests and declines substantially soon after maximum leaf area is attained. The causes of this decline are multiple and may be linked to age- or size-related processes, or both. Our objective was to determine the relative effects of tree age and tree size on the physiological attributes of two broadleaf species. As age and size are normally coupled during growth, an approach based on grafting techniques to separate the effects of size from those of age was adopted. Genetically identical grafted seedlings were produced from scions taken from trees of four age classes, ranging from 4 to 162 years. We found that leaf-level net photosynthetic rate per unit of leaf mass and some other leaf structural and biochemical characteristics had decreased substantially with increasing size of the donor trees in the field, whereas other gas exchange parameters expressed on a leaf area basis did not. In contrast, these parameters remained almost constant in grafted seedlings, i.e., scions taken from donor trees with different meristematic ages show no age-related trend after they were grafted onto young rootstocks. In general, the results suggested that size-related limitations triggered the declines in photosynthate production and tree growth, whereas less evidence was found to support a role of meristematic age. 2009 Article PeerReviewed application/pdf en http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/5645/1/Age-and-size-related.pdf Abdul Hamid, Hazandy and Mencuccini, Maurizio (2009) Age- and size-related changes in physiological characteristics and chemical composition of Acer pseudoplatanus and Fraxinus excelsior trees. Tree Physiology, 29 (1). pp. 27-38. ISSN 0829-318X http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/treephys/tpn001 10.1093/treephys/tpn001 English
institution Universiti Putra Malaysia
building UPM Library
collection Institutional Repository
continent Asia
country Malaysia
content_provider Universiti Putra Malaysia
content_source UPM Institutional Repository
url_provider http://psasir.upm.edu.my/
language English
English
description Forest growth is an important factor both economically and ecologically, and it follows a predictable trend with age. Generally, growth accelerates as canopies develop in young forests and declines substantially soon after maximum leaf area is attained. The causes of this decline are multiple and may be linked to age- or size-related processes, or both. Our objective was to determine the relative effects of tree age and tree size on the physiological attributes of two broadleaf species. As age and size are normally coupled during growth, an approach based on grafting techniques to separate the effects of size from those of age was adopted. Genetically identical grafted seedlings were produced from scions taken from trees of four age classes, ranging from 4 to 162 years. We found that leaf-level net photosynthetic rate per unit of leaf mass and some other leaf structural and biochemical characteristics had decreased substantially with increasing size of the donor trees in the field, whereas other gas exchange parameters expressed on a leaf area basis did not. In contrast, these parameters remained almost constant in grafted seedlings, i.e., scions taken from donor trees with different meristematic ages show no age-related trend after they were grafted onto young rootstocks. In general, the results suggested that size-related limitations triggered the declines in photosynthate production and tree growth, whereas less evidence was found to support a role of meristematic age.
format Article
author Abdul Hamid, Hazandy
Mencuccini, Maurizio
spellingShingle Abdul Hamid, Hazandy
Mencuccini, Maurizio
Age- and size-related changes in physiological characteristics and chemical composition of Acer pseudoplatanus and Fraxinus excelsior trees
author_facet Abdul Hamid, Hazandy
Mencuccini, Maurizio
author_sort Abdul Hamid, Hazandy
title Age- and size-related changes in physiological characteristics and chemical composition of Acer pseudoplatanus and Fraxinus excelsior trees
title_short Age- and size-related changes in physiological characteristics and chemical composition of Acer pseudoplatanus and Fraxinus excelsior trees
title_full Age- and size-related changes in physiological characteristics and chemical composition of Acer pseudoplatanus and Fraxinus excelsior trees
title_fullStr Age- and size-related changes in physiological characteristics and chemical composition of Acer pseudoplatanus and Fraxinus excelsior trees
title_full_unstemmed Age- and size-related changes in physiological characteristics and chemical composition of Acer pseudoplatanus and Fraxinus excelsior trees
title_sort age- and size-related changes in physiological characteristics and chemical composition of acer pseudoplatanus and fraxinus excelsior trees
publishDate 2009
url http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/5645/1/Age-and-size-related.pdf
http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/5645/
http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/treephys/tpn001
_version_ 1643823251487457280
score 13.211869

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