TY - JOUR

T1 - Crown plasticity and neighborhood interactions of European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) in an old-growth forest

AU - Schröter, Matthias

AU - Härdtle, Werner

AU - Oheimb, Goddert

PY - 2012/5

Y1 - 2012/5

N2 - Competition for canopy space is a process ofmajor importance in forest dynamics. Although virgin andold-growth European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) forests inEurope have been studied for many years, there are to dateno studies of individual-tree crown plasticity and the waythis is influenced by local neighborhood interactions inthese forests. In this study, we analyzed crown plasticityand local neighborhood interactions of individual trees inthe upper canopy of the old-growth beech forests of Serrahn,northeast Germany. In a 2.8-ha sample plot, wemeasured crown radii of all upper canopy trees and analyzedthe direction and extent of crown asymmetry. Size,relative position, and distance of neighboring trees wereused to construct vectors of neighborhood asymmetrywithin different distances from target trees. The crowns ofbeech trees showed strong morphological plasticity. Meanabsolute and relative displacement of crown centers fromthe stem base were 1.95 m and 0.37, respectively. Circular–circular rank correlation coefficients between thedirection of crown displacement and the direction ofneighborhood pressure showed that trees strongly positionedtheir crowns away from local neighbors. Highestcorrelation coefficients were obtained when basal area andrelative position of neighboring trees within a radialdistance of 12 m were considered. Clark and Evans indexand Ripley’s K-function showed that crowns were moreregularly distributed than stems. Projected canopy coverwas about 10% higher than canopy cover with simulatedcircular crowns. We conclude that the crowns of olderbeech trees have a high ability to plastically respond tochanges in the local canopy conditions, enabling veryeffective exploitation of canopy space.

AB - Competition for canopy space is a process ofmajor importance in forest dynamics. Although virgin andold-growth European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) forests inEurope have been studied for many years, there are to dateno studies of individual-tree crown plasticity and the waythis is influenced by local neighborhood interactions inthese forests. In this study, we analyzed crown plasticityand local neighborhood interactions of individual trees inthe upper canopy of the old-growth beech forests of Serrahn,northeast Germany. In a 2.8-ha sample plot, wemeasured crown radii of all upper canopy trees and analyzedthe direction and extent of crown asymmetry. Size,relative position, and distance of neighboring trees wereused to construct vectors of neighborhood asymmetrywithin different distances from target trees. The crowns ofbeech trees showed strong morphological plasticity. Meanabsolute and relative displacement of crown centers fromthe stem base were 1.95 m and 0.37, respectively. Circular–circular rank correlation coefficients between thedirection of crown displacement and the direction ofneighborhood pressure showed that trees strongly positionedtheir crowns away from local neighbors. Highestcorrelation coefficients were obtained when basal area andrelative position of neighboring trees within a radialdistance of 12 m were considered. Clark and Evans indexand Ripley’s K-function showed that crowns were moreregularly distributed than stems. Projected canopy coverwas about 10% higher than canopy cover with simulatedcircular crowns. We conclude that the crowns of olderbeech trees have a high ability to plastically respond tochanges in the local canopy conditions, enabling veryeffective exploitation of canopy space.

KW - Biology

KW - Canopy displacement

KW - Competition

KW - Crown displacement

KW - Neighborhood asymmetry

KW - Ripley’s K-function

KW - Canopy displacement

KW - Competition

KW - Crown displacement

KW - Neighborhood asymmetry

KW - Ripley’s K-function

KW - Ecosystems Research

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84859500457&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1007/s10342-011-0552-y

DO - 10.1007/s10342-011-0552-y

M3 - Journal articles

VL - 131

SP - 787

EP - 798

JO - European Journal of Forest Research

JF - European Journal of Forest Research

SN - 1612-4669

IS - 3

ER -