Growth and hydraulic (not mechanical) constraints govern the scaling of tree height and mass
- 25 October 2004
- journal article
- Published by Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
- Vol. 101 (44), 15661-15663
- https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0405857101
Abstract
The size-dependent variations of plant height L and mass M with respect to basal stem diameter D are important to the analysis of a broad range of ecological and evolutionary phenomena. Prior examination of some of the world's largest trees suggests that the scaling relationships L alpha D(2/3) and M alpha D(8/3) hold true, ostensibly as functional adaptations for mechanical stability. This concept remains engrained in the literature in the form of null hypotheses (or predictive models), despite numerous examples showing that the 2/3 and 8/3 rules are violated by small and intermediate-sized plants. Here, we present a growth-hydraulic model that provides more accurate and biologically realistic predictions of L and M. This model also sheds light on why L, D, and M scale differently across species and habitats as a result of differences in absolute size.Keywords
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