Morphological plasticity of six tree species with different light demands growing in multi-layered deciduous forests in Central Europe

Abstract

Tree allometry is a plastic feature, and scaling parameters can vary considerably depending on phylogeny, life strategies, growth conditions and ontogeny. We hypothesized that in multi-layered forests growing on rich sites and driven by stand dynamics without stand-replacing disturbances, light is a primary driver of allometric relationships and that the morphological plasticity of tree species is closely associated with their shade tolerance. We quantified and compared the morphological properties of six species that form a shade tolerance gradient: Alnus glutinosa (L.) Gaertner, Quercus robur L., Fraxinus excelsior L., Ulmus laevis Pall., Tilia cordata Miller and Carpinus betulus L. The relationships between tree height and local stand density as predictors and dbh, crown width, crown length and crown volume as response variables were characterized. We found that in the lower stand layer the values of crown parameters increased with tree height at a lower rate in light-adapted than in shade-tolerant species. Conversely, the response of morphological traits on competition was stronger in light-adapted species than in shade-tolerant species. The ratio of crown width-to-crown length was not associated with light demand. Apart from ash, which demonstrated a different allocation pattern, between-species differences in the slenderness ratio were insignificant. Allometry and sensitivity to competition varied in trees growing in the upper and lower stand layers. Our results indicate that the dichotomy of basic growth strategies of stress tolerance versus stress avoidance is overly simplistic and fails to consider social status and species-specific features such as apical control.