Shoot growth of woody trees and shrubs is predicted by maximum plant height and associated traits

The rate of elongation and thickening of individual branches (shoots) varies across plant species. This variation is important for the outcome of competition and other plant–plant interactions. Here, we compared rates of shoot growth across 44 species from tropical, warm temperate and cool temperate...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Functional ecology 2018-02, Vol.32 (2), p.247-259
Main Authors: Gleason, Sean M., Stephens, Andrea E. A., Tozer, Wade C., Blackman, Chris J., Butler, Don W., Chang, Yvonne, Cook, Alicia M., Cooke, Julia, Laws, Claire A., Rosell, Julieta A., Stuart, Stephanie A., Westoby, Mark
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Axes (reference lines)
Biomechanics
Branches
climate
Computational fluid dynamics
Correlation
Elongation
Fluid flow
Growth rate
hydraulic conductivity
Hydraulics
Irradiance
Leaf area
leaf size
Leaves
Modulus of elasticity
PLANT PHYSIOLOGICAL ECOLOGY
Plant species
plant traits
shoot extension
Shoots
Shrubs
Species
Specific conductivity
Structural equation modeling
structural equation modelling
Temperate forests
Thickening
Tropical forests
Variation
Wood
Xylem
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Summary:The rate of elongation and thickening of individual branches (shoots) varies across plant species. This variation is important for the outcome of competition and other plant–plant interactions. Here, we compared rates of shoot growth across 44 species from tropical, warm temperate and cool temperate forests of eastern Australia. Shoot growth rate was found to correlate with a suite of traits including the potential height of the species, xylem‐specific conductivity, leaf size, leaf area per xylem cross‐section (LA/XA), twig diameter (at 40 cm length), wood density and modulus of elasticity. Within this suite of traits, maximum plant height was the clearest correlate of growth rates, explaining 50%–67% of the variation in growth overall (p 
ISSN:0269-8463
1365-2435
DOI:10.1111/1365-2435.12972